shakran

That is completely and utterly false. It's interesting that you say we have no culture, then immediately list a huge contribution (individuality) to American culture.

The USA absolutely does have its own culture. Sure, it's a mix of other cultures, and it varies somewhat from region to region, but that doesn't mean it's not a culture. There are plenty of countries out there whos' cultures are blended from other cultures - most of Europe can trace cultural elements back to the Romans, the Greeks, and many other cultures.

As for varying from region to region - that doesn't mean the US has no underlying culture. Every region has a strong undercurrent of individuality. The differences are part of our culture as well.

I'm really tired of hearing that we have no culture. If you believe that, you're spending too much time in the basement on the internet. Get out there and talk to people. You'll find a LOT of culture.

wilbjammin

There's several factors in these titles.

Do the terms refer to your ethnicity, nationality, religion, tribe, continent, or what?

Being called an African-American can still mean that you're white if you're from South Africa. These labels are almost useless as the largest growing population in America is the "mixed" category.

The reason these things are important to our society has to do primarily with money. The Census is used by Congress to allocate money, and it is deemed important in our society to pay attention to how equitable different groups are treated. This has to do with our history of slavery, near genocide of the indiginous people, and that our country is a country of immigration. Strangely enough, in Canada it is illegal to ask questions about ethnicity on their Census.

I think the problem with this is that the "melting pot" idea of America has been proven to not be as accurate as we think. Most minority groups, particularly non-English speaking, live in enclaves and have a very different experience of America from a cultural standpoint. The American heritage of someone from the Chinook tribe is a lot different than the American heritage of someone who has roots from those who came over on the Mayflower, which is also a lot different than someone who's heritage is that of coming from a slave family.

These titles indicate how diverse and fragmented America is.

I remember a workshop that I went to where a man stood in front of a large room of pre-service teachers like myself and asked, "what is the first thing you noticed about me?" Well, he was black, and I raised my hand to say that. He called on about 12 other people first commenting on his smile, his red shirt, his shoes, his height, and on the 12th person someone said "you're black." The fear of making an issue out of race caused us to look stupid. Now, I find African-American to be a stupid phrase for black people who have roots in America going back several hundred years. I do think it is important to note these differences because attempting to ignore them is impossible.

This assumes that they should assimilate. I understand that there are lots of reasons that small minority groups in the US do not want to assimlate. For instance, when meeting with some old native Americans in Warm Springs about 10 years ago they were talking about how unfortunate it was that they felt they were losing their children to American capitalism. Rather than embracing the old traditions, their languages, etc. - everything was getting lost. I remember one of them saying, "Given a choice between buying headphones and Nintendo or learning our traditions, it seems the Nintendo is winning."

This has been called cultural imperialism, and I think that there is something to it. However, I also understand the need to be a part of a larger society. Globalization is putting us all in a position to be consumers/laborers before anything else, and I personally think that it is unfortunate and making our cultural landscape less and less rich.

I understand why someone would hold on to their ethnic titles and their national titles... they feel that they have something that the US at large doesn't have and they want to hold on to that at all costs. I'm certainly not one to judge them for that.

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Innominate.

Bentley Little

Of course central America exists. But it is just the same as saying the middle East, or the Orient. They are not specific countries, but descriptors for area. What you said, what the America is a continent. Technically, it is North America and South America to be exact. That was all I was saying.

wilbjammin...excellent insight. thanks.

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That is my 2 cents.

phedre

OK speaking from my own experiences as an Asian-American, or more specifically, a Chinese-American, I think the hyphenation serves a purpose. Now, I've never called myself a Chinese-American, we've always been referred to as ABCs (which is so much easier dont u think) but only amongst other Chinese ppl. If an American approached me and asked me what I am, I would tell them Chinese. I would assume that the American part is a given and that they are asking me what KIND of American I am.

But among other Chinese, it serves to separate us from the traditional Chinese generation. I'm part of the first-generation in my family. I grew up in a very traditional manner but my own values are quite distinctly American. My children and all my cousins' children will likely identify themselves as simply American, because they will likely grow up without the very strict traditional Chinese upbringing. So it's kind of a way to identify how 'integrated' you are. Integration takes time, not just years, but generations too. I'm willing to give all those immigrants that time.

As for all those little pockets around America, all those Chinatowns and Little Italys and Little Tokyos etc., I wouldn't tell people that they should mix together more and that these pockets should cease to exist. They're great reminders of all the little bits and pieces that did get meshed together to form American culture.

Sledge

I think what phedre said makes a lot of sense.

anti fishstick

I am pretty much the same way with being "filipino-american". What does this mean to me other than roots and heritage? I don't feel like I am particularly deeply rooted with my culture but I can understand where people would want to hold on to something that makes them uniquely american by adding the subgenre title. However, I see a lot of seperation between minorities and the rest of americans and I'd like to see this change. We need to embrace eachother's cultures and sometimes it seems like we just don't want to learn about eachother at all. One thing that really bothers me is when people assume that minorities are "lesser" people and are therefore stupid. They will raise their voice and enunciate syllables and speak in a slower tone as if you are deaf and dumb. Being able to speak their own language AND english (which i'm sure they're a lot better at than if you tried to speak theirs) doesn't seem dumb to me at all.

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And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

Sparhawk

I find learning about folks and their heritage to be one of the most interesting parts about building relationships, and as much as a struggle as "german-swiss-irish-cherokee-american" might be, I find it fascinating.

-a very boring WASP

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"In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. It's - and it's hard work. I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work. We're making progress. It is hard work."