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After reading the articles by Tatum, Lapham, Novak, and Kalcik, I am supposed to write a paragraph on the American identity. What does it feel like to be an American individual? I don't know quite how to answer that. I could do it the '7 categories way' as mentioned by Tatum. Therefore I'm Caucasian, male, agnostic, homosexual, upper middle-class, young, and pretty intelligent. However, that doesn’t even begin to describe my experiences and my feelings towards being an American individual. Being an American is unique; there’s no doubting that. I live in the only country in the world (besides Canada, maybe) that was settled by a bunch of immigrants. I live in a country that is full of double standards and hypocrisy, but at the same times those seem to be the things that America thrives on. Being an American is a confusing process. It’s full of intangible qualities. The things that I think of that describe my experience seem like they could be used by people in other countries. More than ever (ah, here’s the point) it seems truly surreal, especially with my generation. I’m living at a time when the United States is definitely the modern version of an “empire”. The only problem with that is that every empire throughout history has eventually run its course and we (Americans) don’t seem to realize that eventually our time will be up, too. I think the main problem with my establishing the American identity is that I don’t identify myself as American. I agree with the majority very rarely. I often feel that our foreign and domestic policy is mistaken and convoluted. I don’t feel much connection with people my own age. I don’t care for the current attitudes of culture and the “masses.” Well, I’ve established my American identity, anyway. Isolated. That is the American identity. |
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