identity
Already : Hatachi Archives
identity Sunday September 26
i've been struggling with national identity.
there is no point where this story "started", it's been brewing in my head for many years, i think. various collected experiences from college have prompted me to ask, "what does it mean to be american, what does it mean to be me in a nationalistic construct?"
before i address those questions, i will explain a few stories from recently to help you understand my line of thinking. for my final research paper in japanese class, i've chosen the topic of japanese identity, but specifically, how we can define the boundaries of that nation's identity by examining the people who "stand on the edge" -- namely, people like cara. conveniently, i have to interview one native japanese speaker. admittedly, this is partially why i chose the topic.
yet, my interest in this topic began in my earlier EALC coursework: in a post-world war ii japan, the country was beat up both physically and psychologically: identity is something that usually people tend to be proud of. japanese scholars and authors in the 1970s developed a "theory of uniqueness" as it is often called, the 日本人論 -- which literally translates as "theory of japanese people".
the working ideology was that there was something special and unique about japanese people in context of the entire world -- solely because they were japanese. an identity based on blanket exclusion, certainly, but scholars since that time have basically abandoned this idea; reasoning that it was more or less psychological propoganda to bolster a developing, but beat-up, nation. it also was seen as very conservative to some, given that it embodied some of the same rhetoric employed by the fascists in the 1930s.
so that's the background i'm coming from. it is part of a larger construct that i am still developing; i'm sure it leaves holes for criticism, but this topic is something i've been thinking about, not researching. i may research it in the future, so i encourage your criticisms and comments.
i was at a party friday night with mostly asians and latinos. at one point, discussion turned towards heritage: cara's half bit came up, and her friend is half columbian-half mexican. but grew up in the united states. the conversation was rather fascinating, listening to these people talk about pulling certain aspects of their cultures and combining them with american culture to produce an unusual output.
this is why we have asian-american, mexican-american, and so on. these are unique mixes in culture. but i'm not talking about culture so much. i want to discuss identity. how do these people identify themselves?
later, at this same party, there were some caucasian individuals acting like idiots, and i actually contributed to the conversation: "that is not my culture," i commented, observing these grown men jumping in puddles created by the melted ice chilling the keg, splashing most of the folks on the balcony.
indeed, i have trouble with our national identity. i am white male born in twentieth century america. my heritage has been long ago diluted and forgotten, and i come from a small town in northern illinois. yet, i don't fit in with most people. i don't do the same things as most people.
yet, i cannot defy being american: i grew up here. but, as i observe other cultures and often appreciate how they do things, does that not continue to shape my identity? most other cultures are far older than ours, it seems that cultures need time to grow and shape themselves -- not just following history's ever-changing course -- but something deeper than that. and i look at other national entities and see a far richer cultural identity.
what makes these cultures 'rich'? solidarity.
compared to what i've seen, america is different because its identity (if there is one) is supremely ideological. i don't have to be from anywhere to be american. i can be from any country or from any background and still get by. certainly, it's easier for us white folk to get by -- racism and favoritism run rampant still -- but i am hopeful after living in new york this summer that it is getting better.
yet, in american culture today, sensitivity to other races and cultures is very important. we certainly can't just step all over outside ways of doing things -- precisely what caucasian man has been good at for so long. i think that the mixed kids have an upperhand in america -- their heritage and difficulties growing up and straddling two or three cultures gives them almost a "street cred" that us white folk cannot afford. simply, they've got more perspective.
it almost seems that because american culture, being ideological, lacks total solidarity, then embodies the idea of non-conformity and difference as its major mode of identity. certainly, individualism has never been an undervalued component in our society.
