I was out to eat with my forever friend this evening at a good ole fashioned diner in a good ole fashioned town. This family came in, with the dad wearing jeans and a wife-beater tank top (that phrase is another rant all together), and had that messed-up hair look aced. He was with a woman I'm assuming to be his wife, who was also very "stereotypically" American. This man says to another man in the party "I'm glad for some good American eatin' at an American place."
That got me thinking. What exactly is American? Why is a diner that has a little bit of everything, but nothing relating to another culture... why is that American? Is this country represented by hotdogs and hamburgers, or by the diversity of ethnicities and individuals that create its backbone? Would my lifestyle be considered American?
I don't wave the flag around, and I don't always agree with those governing my country. I don't believe in war and would never agree to kill someone no matter the reason. It's not legal for me to wed the type of person I would wed in the majority of states. Hell, I can't even walk down the street with my hand in the hand of the woman I care about.
What is American? What counts as a legitimate representation of this country? Would this NOT be the place for someone such as myself? A country founded on the belief that all people should be equal, should have the freedom to practice their religion and their lifestyle of choice. If someone like me isn't American, then what is?
Needless to say, I ordered a Greek omelet with homefries and bbq sauce. I design my own path in life, and I design my own dinner at the diner.
i am not american, but... i hear shit like that all the time. i recently had a conversation with a friend... a good friend, but she is a teeny bit racist... about how people should 'learn to speak english dammit' and how she does not like to hear people speaking their native languages in public. wha?
ReplyDeletei disagreed... i feel that multiculturalism is a really important part of what makes canada canada.
i'm a bilingual canadian... english is my first language, french is my second. i had a french-canadian friend who was told BY OTHER CANADIANS "drrrr why don't you learn english?" and he says, "i'm speaking english right now. why don't you learn some french? they are both official languages."
eh. ignorance, i suppose.
Agreed completely!! And it makes me mad. Because I am proud of my country for many reasons and I want to be proud to call myself American. Then people do stupid shit like mess with the immigrants in Arizona or denying two people in love the right to marry.
ReplyDeleteOne day... one day I'll be proud of the place I live.