Who Are We?

"So when will China elect it's first black president?" I posed this question to my Chinese friend Clark sitting across the table as we enjoyed some really good Japanese food. (It's good to have a break from Chinese food every now and then!) I think this question caught him off guard as he looked very confused and immediately answered, "It is impossible!" The day Obama was elected I was very proud--proud at how far we had come as a country and excited at the historical magnitude of the event. I won't lie, I would have liked to have been in the US for just this day, but on the other hand being in Beijing on election day gave me some insight into how the "other side" sees American politics.

The shared excitement over Obama's victory led to many conversations about race, politics, and culture between my Chinese friends and I that ended up giving me the best insight I have into for a long time...

It is easy for us (as Americans) to assume that the whole world is like us--or at least that they want to be like us. As I have travelled here to China and even lived in a dorm of other international students from countless other countries, I see just how different America is than much of the world. I tend to over-criticize our country and point out her flaws more than most. This is not one of those flaws...

I love America. I love America because she is the unwanted step-child of the nations. We are a people of people. A culture of cultures. Although I have always "known" this to be true, seeing a country on the opposite end of the spectrum has aided in my perception. After I asked this question about Obama, I realized a very simple conclusion--China is not just a country. China is a race. China is a people. China is a language. China is a culture. China is China. The idea of a "non-Chinese" being president makes absolutely no sense. After this revelation, I frantically started thinking to other places-- Germany (language, race, culture) --Japan (language, race, culture) -- Korea (language, race, culture) -- and the list goes on.

A terrible feeling came over me-- I call it "perceived cultural illegitimacy". As an American i suddenly felt like an overshadowed, sickly orphan boy wandering through the rows and rows of defined cultures wondering who I was and where I really came from. Who are we? I asked this out loud with a dismayed look and my Chinese friends didn't really seem like they knew the words to make me feel better! Think about it-- Anyone can be an American. Within 1 generation, any family can fully become English speaking, voting, working, Americans. This includes Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, Senegalese, Kenyan, French, or anyone else you can think of. Who are we? We are us. This is the beauty of America that keeps bringing me back to her even in times of my deepest discouragement...

We are indeed the great experiment-- a hodgepodge of peoples from every corner of the globe all coming together to risk a new life. America is beautiful because it is for anyone and everyone. We see this so much that we tend to take it for granted. Living in China for the past few months I have began to appreciate the beauty of diversity. Here, everyone knows I am not Chinese. I will definitely never be president here- no matter how much time I spend here. In America you can never pin-point the "foreigners" or the "real Americans." Some attempt this and in doing so deny the very fabric of our flag --the very definition of our land. We are us. Whatever your political persuasion- you have to be in awe at a country where it is possible that the son of a Kenyan immigrant and Kansas woman can become president where just 50 years ago he would have been denied even the most basic of rights! That is something to be proud about. American identity is both a blessing and a curse. One one hand, we lack the kind of national unity and understanding that is so present in a place like here in China. We are a mutt-country. On the other hand, we were an experiment that worked-- a beautiful bouquet of the world's most colorful cultures coming together in one land.

American is a young country. We are a country that is constantly evolving and re-inventing herself. This is so incredibly different from this ancient culture that is had made me question my own identity. Here, family and ancestry is so important. It's all about where you come from and who you come from. Some friends of mine who say they are "from" Shanghai although they had never been there--their family is from Shanghai. In a culture like this, how can an American not feel slightly left out? They want to hear me say I am British/Irish/German, but I am not-I am American--but what does that mean? Who are we? We are American. WE--And thank God it's not just people who look, talk, and believe like me.

As I have come to appreciate and love this side of America, I realize the danger in creating our own "pseudo-nation."With a recent rise in racist events and anti-immigrant behavior, it seems like many people need a lesson on America. I have met many people in the States that seem to imagine a Chinese-type society where everyone shares a race, language, and culture. (Coincidentally, this is white and English speaking.) I'm sorry--you can't have it both ways! America is not like this. We never have been and we never will be, and the sooner people realize that the better off we will all be off! If you claim to be a patriot, then you need to love the real America--not the idealized and uniform version you have built up in your culturally monolithic communities. I love America precisely because she is a country unable to be defined-- a country of countries. I love this America--complete with all the blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and languages involved.


America is a passionate idea or it is nothing. America is a human brotherhood or it is chaos. ~Max Lerner, Actions and Passions, 1949

America! half-brother of the world!
With something good and bad of every land.
~Philip James Bailey