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I have mixed feelings about this. I think identifying oneself by ethnicity is limiting and creates separation between people that doesn't necessarily need to be there. I don't have a problem with it, but it creates obvious resentment (witness the posts above) for some people who see emphasizing difference as a threatening thing. Hyphenatig people are tilting against a pretty strong windmill on that one.
On the other hand, for a lot of people their ethnic heritage and their culture are huge parts of their identity, and that ought to be respected. To demand that they assimilate and subsume that identity to a larger, homogeneous identity of just "American" is a little fascist. Nationality is, quite frankly, as arbitrary as ethnicity in terms of how you look at people, and I don't see why it ought to take precedence.
Bottom line, I have no problem with people referring to themselves as whatever-American, and I think it wouldn't be a problem if people didn't find difference threatening. I think it's a legitimate means of drawing attention and acceptance to cultures and practices and identities that are outside the mainstream of American identity. But it can also backfire and actually solidify prejudices and fear of difference.
Complicated situation. Thanks for bringing it up! I'll have to think about this some more....
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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
- Anatole France
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