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Does anyone feel like the nationality they were born/raised with is wrong?
I am a born and raised American. My family has been in the US for many generations. Born in San Francisco. I've never left the US except for a few trips to Canada.
Yet, I've never really 'felt' American. The pledge of allegiance was always a chore to me. 4th of July is about fireworks and BBQ IMO. I never felt like 9/11 was an attack on me as an American, just something that happened to a bunch of other people. I even kind of understand why they did it, not that I think it was justified or anything. American hegemony is annoying and we really are an existential threat to other cultures, I think 9/11 was in their eyes an act of self defense, and I wouldn't be too shocked if our own government allowed it to happen or even planned it because our government has done a lot of evil things in its history.
As to what I would feel better as, maybe a Canadian or a Scandinavian or even English. Does anyone else feel the same way about their country? Like their 'personality' isn't right for their country of origin?
The only American value I'm really adamant about is the free speech thing.
I love America and am proud to be an American. That being said, however, I have always longed to live in a 3rd world country. The times I have traveled and visited 3rd world countries I always felt very much more at peace and comfortable there.
I think I am in luck, however, because it seems as though every day that passes America is getting closer to becoming a 3rd world country so perhaps I will eventually get my wish.
Really though, sometimes I feel like I don't even belong on this planet. People are pretty strange.
I don't think thats a good thing for a person to say, everyone is different, just be yourself, you don't have to "act american" whatever that means. just act like you and look at the positive things in life
Does anyone feel like the nationality they were born/raised with is wrong?
I am a born and raised American. My family has been in the US for many generations. Born in San Francisco. I've never left the US except for a few trips to Canada.
Yet, I've never really 'felt' American. The pledge of allegiance was always a chore to me. 4th of July is about fireworks and BBQ IMO. I never felt like 9/11 was an attack on me as an American, just something that happened to a bunch of other people. I even kind of understand why they did it, not that I think it was justified or anything. American hegemony is annoying and we really are an existential threat to other cultures, I think 9/11 was in their eyes an act of self defense, and I wouldn't be too shocked if our own government allowed it to happen or even planned it because our government has done a lot of evil things in its history.
As to what I would feel better as, maybe a Canadian or a Scandinavian or even English. Does anyone else feel the same way about their country? Like their 'personality' isn't right for their country of origin?
The only American value I'm really adamant about is the free speech thing.
I am American born Chinese and I do enjoy the freedom and equality that America offers (as well as the wealth) but I am disgusted at how liberal America has become. I am conservative, both socially and fiscally. Besides the fact that I am Christian, I am culturally quite Chinese and my mother tongue was Cantonese. I speak Cantonese with a convincing Hong Kong accent and can write Simplified Chinese. The vast majority of 2nd generation Chinese are illiterate in Chinese, and some cannot even speak, so, sorry to boast, but my Chinese is exceptional. That makes my language situation similar to Chinese Singaporeans.
I feel that people in Irvine (wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, 40% Asian) are aggressive, arrogant, liberal, elitist perverts, rebellious and greedy. The intelligentsia of Chinese society tends to be more humble, and competition (in Hong Kong, probably not in Mainland China) is more humane than in Irvine, yet their educational standards are probably even higher. I am rather bitter that I was not born in Hong Kong, as there I would get a better education academically and actually enjoy it. Now I am stuck in a place where barely anyone speaks my native tongue and a lot of people haven't even heard of it being mentioned and mistake it for Vietnamese and Korean (despite Irvine being 13% Chinese). All this after working for years to improve my Cantonese.
I can't blame them, but I don't enjoy it when 1st generation Chinese stereotype me as being a 2nd generation Chinese and thus having mediocre Chinese.
Yes, and Irvinites (people of Irvine) are liberal bigots. Better to go to Singapore; don't mind a dictatorship as long as it is conservative. Besides, it has a superb subway is like Irvine (same high quality of life) except with a Chinese majority.
I am American born Chinese and I do enjoy the freedom and equality that America offers (as well as the wealth) but I am disgusted at how liberal America has become. I am conservative, both socially and fiscally. Besides the fact that I am Christian, I am culturally quite Chinese and my mother tongue was Cantonese. I speak Cantonese with a convincing Hong Kong accent and can write Simplified Chinese. The vast majority of 2nd generation Chinese are illiterate in Chinese, and some cannot even speak, so, sorry to boast, but my Chinese is exceptional. That makes my language situation similar to Chinese Singaporeans.
I feel that people in Irvine (wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, 40% Asian) are aggressive, arrogant, liberal, elitist perverts, rebellious and greedy. The intelligentsia of Chinese society tends to be more humble, and competition (in Hong Kong, probably not in Mainland China) is more humane than in Irvine, yet their educational standards are probably even higher. I am rather bitter that I was not born in Hong Kong, as there I would get a better education academically and actually enjoy it. Now I am stuck in a place where barely anyone speaks my native tongue and a lot of people haven't even heard of it being mentioned and mistake it for Vietnamese and Korean (despite Irvine being 13% Chinese). All this after working for years to improve my Cantonese.
I can't blame them, but I don't enjoy it when 1st generation Chinese stereotype me as being a 2nd generation Chinese and thus having mediocre Chinese.
Yes, and Irvinites (people of Irvine) are liberal bigots. Better to go to Singapore; don't mind a dictatorship as long as it is conservative. Besides, it has a superb subway is like Irvine (same high quality of life) except with a Chinese majority.
I think you have the definition of liberalism confused with conservatism. Irvine is not liberal. It is owned and run by a corporation. Having a car-culture city that doesn't give a darn about the environment and pedestrians is not liberal. Driving nice cars is a representation of wealth accumulation and that is conservatism. It is a suburb and everyone living in "gated community" is not liberal. And it is in one of the most conservative counties of California. Singapore is city-state that has high taxations, very ecofriendly, UHS, and prioritises the greater welfare over individual freedom. There's more but you get what I mean. I dislike Irvine too and I think Singapore is a great place to live.
I think you have the definition of liberalism confused with conservatism. Irvine is not liberal. It is owned and run by a corporation. Having a car-culture city that doesn't give a darn about the environment and pedestrians is not liberal. Driving nice cars is a representation of wealth accumulation and that is conservatism. It is a suburb and everyone living in "gated community" is not liberal. And it is in one of the most conservative counties of California. Singapore is city-state that has high taxations, very ecofriendly, UHS, and prioritises the greater welfare over individual freedom. There's more but you get what I mean. I dislike Irvine too and I think Singapore is a great place to live.
Sorry to burst your San Francisco bubble, but most liberals in the U.S. are not San Francisco or California, or even West Coast for that matter, liberal types. Here in the East Coast, especially in the Northeast, the liberal is most usually the Ivory Tower academic that drives a hybrid Lexus or the mid level civil service manager or tenured teacher or some other white collar profession that is seen driving around in their 5 series BMW, Audi A7, or Acura MDX and lives in a 3000 sq. ft. house with a half acre lot in the suburbs of Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and D.C. These are the types of liberals I have to put up with, the upper middle class elitist types. They are the ones who lecture us about how wasteful we are while they are living a luxurious lifestyle themselves.
Somewhat. I'm just a tad envious of people who share the same nationality and ethnicity. For example, "Japanese", "Spanish", "German", and "Chinese" are both nationalities and ethnicities, whereas "American" is just a nationality. The other nationalities/ethnicities, share a common culture, language, and history. While Americans do to an extent as well, America is a melting pot of the world's races and ethnicities, therefore several languages and cultures are shared, and I can't identify with all of those.
Like most Americans of European descent, I'm a mutt, a Euro-mutt. I have very little if any Native American ancestry. So, where am I indigenous to? The Japanese are indigenous to Japan, Spaniards to Spain, Germans to Germany, and the Chinese to China. I'm of mixed European descent and Americanized since I was born in America. I'm not indigenous to North America since I'm not Native American, but I can't really be indigenous to Europe either since I'm a Euro-mutt and Americanized. Most Europeans don't identify with three or more different European ethnicities like Euro-Americans do. Most Europeans are just English, or just Danish, or just German, or just Greek, etc. Where am I truly indigenous to? All I can be sure of is that I'm indigenous to Earth.
Ha some of the replies here 'At least you don't live in Bangladesh'. Gotta just laugh sometimes
Really though, sometimes I feel like I don't even belong on this planet. People are pretty strange.
Same here.
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