Then I thought about it, and I realized that to be a writer you just have to write. And since I would like to be a writer, that means that I should find something to write even when I don't "have anything really meaningful" that I have been thinking about.
And then, by what I truly consider a sort of divine providence, I was convicted of something to write about during my American Literature class this past Thursday: the question of identity. As I was pondering where we receive identity and how we are defined in this world, I encountered the question of identity again during a Ted Talk on the Problem of the Single Story. So I've decided that maybe this is something God wants me to ponder.
One of my ancestors that I know of emigrated from Scotland to America - specifically Connecticut if I recall correctly. I imagine that this great(x7)-grandfather, if asked the question "What is your ethnicity?" would have replied "Scottish" even after he lived in America for years. Probably his sons would have done the same. Perhaps even their sons. So when did it change?
To be honest, I have no answer for that question. I went to England this summer, and when people heard my accent, they would say, "Oh, are you American?" I always answered with an affirmative and never really second guessed it until now. It's one thing if someone asks, "Oh, are you from America?" Obviously, yes. I was born here and I was raised here. But am I American?
Ethnically, no. Ethnically, I am Scottish-German-American with a bunch of other small percentages thrown in there. I suppose since I do have a small amount of Native American blood in me, I can consider myself ethnically American as well - although by no means exclusively.
Geographically and politically, however, I suppose I am American. I won't go into politics here, because frankly, my personal political views have nothing to do with this post. On the other hand, it is definitely true that our world has begun to define identity by location and political leaning instead of ethnicity and cultural tradition.
I don't know if this is a positive or negative development - probably some of both. What I do know is that identity is changing. Collective identity is changing, personal identity is changing, and we have to be cautious about how much we let it define us. We have to understand identity, but we cannot let it be decided for us. We as citizens of a modern must learn to define ourselves - and I don't want to define myself by someone else's flippant but well-meaning question: "Are you American?"
I am American, but that is not all I am.
