Category: Let's talk
How would you define your nationality as could you explain what makes you American, French or Canadaian ect...for me it is almost impossible to define being Scottish I have tried on so many occasions and failed..
Hehehe, interesting questioin. Hm, what makes me German? I don't know but it is a good question. I am not proud of my country so I try to hide all the German things, hehehehe.
Hmmm I have found that Germans are often scared to be patriotic as they are worried that their pride will be seen in a negative light even after all this time...
Ithink your nationality is determined by where your ancestors came from. That's why you can have so many different nationalities. On the other hand, you might feel more loyal, more patriotic, about the country you live in (or not, depending on the circumstances). hence phrases like "Asian American". That gives credit to one's descent and one's current status.
I'm not sure how to explain what makes me American, as I don't feel I can compare it to what it would feel like as compared to being in any other country, except maybe Mexico. I mean, people mention "the land of the free","the American dream", and stuff like that, but it really isn't all that as I think some people would think. Although most of us do have a right and the freedom to express ourselves, some really don't and there's still discrimination related to that. Also, besides that, many people have to work hard to get a good job and comfortable life... I guess I'm trying to say that although we're supposedly known for being free, lucky, and sometimes even rich, it's nothing like that most of the time, so I think it'd be like living in almost any other country, where you have to work hard and everything... Also, I can't see myself as a full-blooded American because I have a lot of family from Mexico and have been to Mexico myself, so I feel somewhat at home there as well. (I've never lived there but have been to visit several days at a time.) Plus, Mexican culture is pretty important to me. For instance, if a Mexican food seems way too different, for instance if it is made totally different from what it really is supposed to be, I would be reluctant to eat it. For instance, I was in Austin, and someone offered me some tacos but called them some migas (which are nothing like each other), and just hearing them call it that made me not want to eat it. Also, from what I notice, most Mexican families are pretty close in that family members tend to be there for each other while Americans are known or thought to be more independent and mostly self-reliant, and although I feel like I'm independent enough to get things done for myself, I have nothing wrong with asking my family for help and they are usually there when I need them and even if I'm away from home... Hopefully this all made sense, but yeah, that's my thoughts on this. *smiles*
Leilani
Agreed with what 1800trivia said. Also, as I mentioned before, it would be hard to define what makes you a certain nationality if your home country is all you know to begin with. *smiles* But yeah, I do agree that what you feel like has a lot to do with where you come from as far as where your family is from and if they still hold the same values and traditions they did when they came from their original country, if that was the case.
Leilani
nationality, is it where you came from. the background of that place its culture and everything about it.
Goblin that might well be, this might be the average German, although I hope I am not this way.
What nationality a person is should depend on what country they are living in. Some people may change their nationality during their lives.
Mmh no I disagree there, Wayne. I think nationality is the land where you are from. Not the land you live in. Nationality is always the same. I will always be German, even if I emigrate to England, or Spain, or anywhere else.
I agree with both Wayne and Inesole to a point. Of course it would mean where you're living at, if you were born or became a citizen there. But It still also has a lot to do with where you came from, as you would still have a lot of the traditions/customs of your family, especially if you came from another country (for instance someone who came from germany to the States), or if family members )such as parents/grandparents) came from another country. For instance, I do call myself an American, but I also consider that my grandparents came from Mexico or if not, that their parents did. Therefore, my parents picked up beliefs, traditions, etc, from Mexico and so did I. But of course I was born here in the States and have really lived here all my life... So yeah I think it's really both.
Leilani
Exactly, nationality is not based on where you curently live, for one thing most countries do not grant citizenship easily, in the U.S. it's almost impossible to get a citizenship. And where you are born and brought up will define who you are much more than where you currently reside, language, culture, school, family, friends, that's your circle and where they reside that's where your roots are and hence your nationality.
Well put Tinkerbell I have noticed that Americans are taught to have an almost all consuming pride in their country and I have always wondered why...when the only true Americans have been treated so badly..maybe the incomers feel the need to stamp their identity on a country that will never be truly theirs
Yeah. I would just find it hard for someone to just claim to be American and nothing else, especially, as I've mentioned, if they've recently moved or had a few generations moved to the States. Maybe even if their family has been here for awhile. Their are just so many different cultures here that you can't just say "i'm an American" and leave it at that because there are so many traditions, customs, etc taken from everywhere else. And yeah, it really sucks what Native Americans had to put up with. I honestly don't know if they still have to live in reservations but just the fact that they were moved from their own homes and forced to live there is really messed up to me. Sometimes I'm curious on what things would be like if noone else but the Native Americans had been here. I know I probably wouldn't be here as I also have some Irish and more than likely some Spanish in my blood, but still. I know for sure that some groups like the Incas, Aztecs, and/or Mayans were pretty advanced in some stuff, at least here. But besides religious freedom, the Spanish, English, and others felt they also had to conquer the Native Americans, some of which were very friendly, and some of which were understandably angry. It's sad knowing that that's how this country got to where it is today. (And I say that last part because I wouldn't know if it might have been different otherwise, probably so but who knows.?)
Leilani
Yeah. I would just find it hard for someone to just claim to be American and nothing else, especially, as I've mentioned, if they've recently moved or had a few generations moved to the States. Maybe even if their family has been here for awhile. Their are just so many different cultures here that you can't just say "i'm an American" and leave it at that because there are so many traditions, customs, etc taken from everywhere else. And yeah, it really sucks what Native Americans had to put up with. I honestly don't know if they still have to live in reservations but just the fact that they were moved from their own homes and forced to live there is really messed up to me. Sometimes I'm curious on what things would be like if noone else but the Native Americans had been here. I know I probably wouldn't be here as I also have some Irish and more than likely some Spanish in my blood, but still. I know for sure that some groups like the Incas, Aztecs, and/or Mayans were pretty advanced in some stuff, at least here. But besides religious freedom, the Spanish, English, and others felt they also had to conquer the Native Americans, some of which were very friendly, and some of which were understandably angry. It's sad knowing that that's how this country got to where it is today. (And I say that last part because I wouldn't know if it might have been different otherwise, probably so but who knows.?)
Leilani
I'm Swiss so I'm boring, precise, and reserved. I'm also Canadianized, so I'm no into cheap, glittery, fast-produced things en masse, and I have the emotional range of a child. Just kidding... :-) I do think that one's nationality has an impact on one's personality because, well, growing up in a particular country means that one grows up in a particular environment with everything that comes with it, and it's only reasonable to assume that one absorbes some of this, whether one endorses it or rejects it, and that this is a factor in building one's personality. So, I agree that one perhaps can never totally shake off the culture of the land one grew up in (besides, who would want to? Isn't that a huge part of what one is?), but I also think that by moving somewhere else and living there for a long time might lead one to absorb some of the culture prevailing there. For example, having lived in Canada for almost ten years, I don't think I've exactly taken on a lot of Canadian habits, but more subtly, I imagine I've adopted some Canadian perspectives without even realizing it.
Tinkerbell your right and its tragic that many next generation Americans, we'er either never taught or have no knowledge of the struggle of the native Americans. As far as they are concerned, their ancestors arrived on an uninhabited continent, which they then claimed as their own....the Aztecs Maya and Incas were mostly untouched until arrival of Cortez and Pissaro of the Spanish Conquistidors but they too suffered terrible atrocities in the name of discovery...I'm also unsure how the Indians have faired I think their tribal lands have only been returned to them if they have been prepared to fight tooth and nail with a government that is unwilling to recognise their rights as true Americans...
Susanne I agree with that but you would be surprised at the amount of Scots, who would rather be anything, other than Scottish...still many are not brought up to be proud of themselves....Do you prefer the Swiss perspective or the Canadian
Wow, interesting topic. Honestly.
With some brilliant answers ...smile
Well, Goblin, I don't think it's possible to separate the Swiss and Canadian perspectives so tightly. They're not really two perspectives at all, more just an assortment of tendencies and experiences mixed up together in one perspective, namely mine :-). Also, it seems that the wording of your last post implies that one has a choice of one's perspective, i.e., that I could choose either the Swiss or the Canadian perspective. Do you really feel that one can choose one's perspective? I'm not sure, I think it just is what it is. Sure, one can choose how to act on the basis of one's perspective, but the perspective itself one can't choose. Also, as for the Swiss and Canadian perspectives in particular, I actually don't think they're so different. Both nations are the little brother to a much larger neighboring nation, both of them are big on at least pretending to be the moral conscience of that larger nation, and both have, as a result, a bit of an inferiority complex, but also a strong awareness of what we are *not*, namely Americans and Germans respectively...
Is it normal that I can't stand my nationality, that the Germans totally annoy me? Those who want to go there, who like it - it is different to go and travel there than to live there. I am not proud to be a German at all.
Insele why do you hate your own race you have a lot to be proud of..Germany has produced some of the best composers, philosophers, athletes and footballers..ect personally I wouldn't mind a holiday in Germany, and if want annoying, well you can't get more irritating, than a self satisfied englishman...
Yes, Ines, I can't stand Germans either... I'm required to say that, I'm Swiss! Just kidding, Germans, as a people, aren't any worse or any better than anyone else. I think it's natural that you might not like to be associated with those around you, especially in a time of your life when you are looking for your own personality, and who is more strongly around you than the rest of the people in your country? But seriously, what is it that you dislike about Germans/being German? As Goblin says, Germany has produced its fair share of influential people, both good and bad. I'm just asking because I find your response interesting. To me, nationality isn't something you like or dislike, it just is.
Ohh I don't know as I have memntioned in a previous topic. In Scotland there is now a disturbing tendency to adopt everything American,mostly the accent, while denying the existence of the Scottish identity ..this is prevelant among teenagers so one hopes its nothing more than the latest trend...I have asked these teenagers why they feel the need to be american, and they are yet to provide an answer, beyond a non commital grunt...