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Yes, at the end of the day you are your own person. But I don't believe you are solely the result of your personal experiences. The US has 'culture' of individualism where throughout our lives the heroes we are presented with are that lone person who makes good, fights evil, etc. Not much about their great-grandfather!
For me, it's not about loving another country or two, its more about knowing about the lives my ancestors lived, the cultures that shaped them, etc., etc, etc. Why? because just like those little codes passed down on those pesky strands of dna, something of what shaped them shapes me. Their struggles or successes shaped how the next generation either repeated of overcame missteps, learned from experiences, passed on family lessons. I acknowledge that I am not that mythical individual shaped by random fate & learning things only from my own experience; but that at least part of who I am is a sum of those who came before me.
It has to do with respect for your ancestors...You must appreciate where you came from or you will never know where you are going...heritage is the past....the past is what made us who we are today...You can not pretend you have no past....plus genetically speaking certain groups have certain traits.....I think back about my father who would be 113 years old - and his father born in the 1800s...that is not long ago...and who my grandfather was - is a bit of me living in another time....I am sure that we perceived the world through the same eyes to a degree...am I to deny this ancestor? Who in part is me...that would be to turn my back on myself.
I'm not the most eloquent writer. So I'll just put it in simple terms. Throughout my entire adult life, I've always believed in the individual. For the most part, I generally have my own point of view, I know myself well, and I see myself very individually. So, then that raise the question. Why do people care so much about heritage? When people talk about "where they come from and the need to recognize it
", I have to ask, what does it even matter? I'm a black American, I could care less where my ancestors came from. Knowing about my ancestry has little value to me. But what type of value could it even possibly have? In life, through experience and introspective, we all formulate our own world view. Does it really even matter how your ancestor's felt about something, when the reality is that you're your own person at the end of the day. For those who believe in heritage and culture, of what value is it? Does it do anything for you that is relevant? I can understand finding out that your 4x great grandfather was a millionaire, and you're the aire. But in 99% of cases where people are concerned about heritage, this isn't the case. So why does it even matter?
Culture helps put things into perspective and defines who you are. It might not matter to you but it matters to everybody else. You can have a Ph. D, MD, and JD,, be a multi millionaire, a tech whiz, whatever, and immerse yourself in another culture, but, you are still part of your race. Everything you do and everything those like you ever did, reflects on you and the way people react to you. You can deny it all you want, and there might be a small few who see you as an individual but, to most people, including those in your own race, you will be judged on your race. Therefore, in a multicultural society, I think it's important to understand your origins.
“But one of the first and most leading principles on which the commonwealth and the laws are consecrated, is lest the temporary possessors and life-renters in it, unmindful of what they have received from their ancestors, or of what is due to their posterity, should act as if they were the entire masters; that they should not think it amongst their rights to cut off the entail, or commit waste on the inheritance, by destroying at their pleasure the whole original fabric of their society; hazarding to leave to those who come after them, a ruin instead of an habitation - and teaching these successors as little to respect their contrivances, as they had themselves respected the institutions of their forefathers. By this unprincipled facility of changing the state as often, and as much, and in as many ways as there are floating fancies or fashions, the whole chain and continuity of the commonwealth would be broken. No one generation could link with the other. Men would become little better than the flies of summer.”
― Edmund Burke
It has to do with respect for your ancestors...You must appreciate where you came from or you will never know where you are going...heritage is the past....the past is what made us who we are today...You can not pretend you have no past....plus genetically speaking certain groups have certain traits.....I think back about my father who would be 113 years old - and his father born in the 1800s...that is not long ago...and who my grandfather was - is a bit of me living in another time....I am sure that we perceived the world through the same eyes to a degree...am I to deny this ancestor? Who in part is me...that would be to turn my back on myself.
I agree with this post. This post has more to do with cultural attitudes rather than appearance but that played a major role. The culture I am from is not very open minded and people are not treated fairly because of who they are. When I went back to visit a couple of months ago, I once again felt the discrimination.
So, yes, I can see where I came from and know where I want to go. I live in a very diverse part of the country and it has been beneficial to learn from other cultures. Life changing, really. But I do find myself wanting to learn the more positive sides of my culture. It is actually encouraged around here.
As far as becoming more "ethnic", I won't do that. One thing I learned in my new culture is that it is smart to learn and respect social rules. There are ways of breaking those rules that look more like creativity. So in a way, knowing where I came from and where I am going is also beneficial to the people I left behind.
When I visit them, they feel like they are learning something new, a new way to look at things. And I am not smug about it.
I do feel like I am their explorer to the outside world. LOL!
I'm a fellow person of color OP, and I believe many Black Americans have no idea where their ancestors came from and so we have no ties to that part of us. Not to mention, the only legacy we truly do have is a rather shameful one of our macro-heritage ( USA American), and it's one we are frequently encouraged to dismiss as "in the past" as if it means nothing. I remember asking my great grandmother, was her great grandmother a slave when I was a small child. Now, seeing as how my great granny was born in the late 1800's (she lived to be 102!), she HAD to know someone who was a slave. Well, it was taboo even for that old lady in her senile old years to tell her curious grand-daughter about that aspect of the past. The only thing I got her to open up about was life as a sharecropper in Eastern North Carolina, and her own mother that was from a local Native American tribe (Meherrin), who died in childbirth with her 6th kid.
I think this is why many fellow people of color hold onto things like "Afrikan" culture (certain lingo, expressions, euphemisms, names for children, etc.), even though few of us have any true knowledge of what region our blood hails from. I remember going to visit relatives in NY, and seeing these dudes called 'street preachers' that were dressed up in Halloween-ish garb. My cousin encouraged me to walk fast, as they were some brand of Black cultural movement wackos called the Black Hebrew Israelites. These men were quite brazen and opinionated about a multitude of issues. One thing I quickly gathered from their show, was how this 'movement' seemed to be born from the confusion that many people of African descent in America feel concerning their roots. Speaking of roots, I believe Alex Haley and many other famous Blacks traced theirs back to several places in Africa by MtDNA testing. So, there is one way to find out if you have the change to spare. I do kind of envy my European friends who know their whole familial history down to their family coat of arms and etc. Must be nice to know so much of who you are, or should I say, what made you who you are. Even the recent immigrants have their own ways and cultures. Blacks seem to be the only 'lost people' in a sense. I don't say these things from a place of malice towards those who have a heritage to call their own, but just as a general observation. How can we respect what we do not know of? Caribbean Blacks got to keep their heritages. I wonder why we didn't? With the exception of people like the Gullah/Geechie people of coastal S. Carolina, I can think of no Black culture in the USA that descended from slavery that does have a true heritage.
I have no answers, only observations and opinions. This is why I call myself Human, and my heritage is North American. What else do I know?
My background is English/Scots. I would say that ancestry, culture, and that sort of thing is mildly interesting to me. The real question here for me is this:
1. Why is culture and cultural background controversial among some?
The simple answer is because it becomes an "exclusive" rather than an "inclusive" concept. Once it becomes "my group did this/does this and your group didn't/doesn't" it sets the stage for exclusivity that leaves other people feeling left out, deprived, and even jealous.
One of the neat things about America has historically been mobility of social class, culture, and even race. Although, it may be less so today than it was 30 or 40 years ago, we don't have to remain in the socio-economic class in which we were born. We can also marry outside our culture, race, or class with little stigma in doing so.
What I love are events where people of all races, sexes, and religions are invited to join in or appreciate the cultural practices of other groups. I've been to been events like this where there was Irish dancing going on. Years ago, I had the privilege to attend an event that involved African American gospel and folk music that included dancing.
I would encourage those who make culture and ancestry and important part of their life to find ways to share it with people outside their group. This makes it a less divisive and a more inviting thing for all the people that you live around. They may ultimately choose not to be interested, but its nice for people to have that choice.
Sometimes we value independence to the detriment of ourselves. Roots matter, even being uprooted to move across town is somewhat of a shock. Do they matter to the detriment of ourselves? it's probably inevitable to some degree. Understanding our heritage, our history helps us deal with life. Not falling into the same patterns unless they
are healthy. Productive. And our heritage defines how we eat to keep ourselves healthy. Certain foods are better for certain races. Being 1/4 Norwegian helps me understand why I have light skin yet prefer more darkness to living in this State of Sunny California.
Understanding and learning how the family came about, their values and ways of thinking helps us learn about ourselves. And others. You learn how certain aspects of doing things got handed down to you. If there is love in the family, it's only natural to be curious about these things. Age often plans a part in when this curiosity peaks
...
After reading up on my family tree book and the history of the Indians, much makes sense now. I value the Indian on my fathers side.That family connection to my deceased Ancestors is comforting. I'd have had more patience for my father when he was alive ...the culture he was raised in if I had understood what i know now. Not necessarily how he was raised, just what he went thru due to the area & times.
If your family is from Africa, despite slavery, there will be things you value(d) about them if you learn enough about them. They had their own Government, Society etc... yet it was stolen from them. As was their Soul. This is our Own family, our Own heritage, exclusively unique to us as individuals. Yes it's important
Last edited by californiawomann5; 09-29-2013 at 08:32 AM..
My heritage and culture has everything to do with who I am, as the first generation born in the U.S. It is the reason why during my formative years, the cuisine in my house was different from most around me, as well as the music etc. It is why my family has a different accent and dialect and on and on. It explains the differences in how certain holidays are celebrate in my family. It is the reason I had a passport from age 2 and also have fond memories in a country other than the one where I was born and raised. And now as an adult, my heritage and culture has everything to do with my daily life. I love that and want to pass it on to my future children...
Americans by-and-large don't need culture or ethnic heritage unless they are out to get something thru social or political stress.
Americans have shopping malls and shopping centers and shopping strips and websites to shop from on the internet.
Shopping and consuming is American culture, and purchasing is the only heritage that is important enough to consider as it is all most of them have.
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