Saturday, June 12, 2004

John Wayne, track 2

One of the things that always bothered me were the artificial subdivisions that were caused by the use of a particular bit of punctuation, and the use of that punctuation in describing ones heritage.

I’m part Indian, and I have had many people tell me of all of the benefits that could be had from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including free health care, educational benefits, maybe a share in a casino, etc.

I’ve told them all that I think that I would be deliberately separating myself from the nation around me. I hear people call themselves “African-American”, “Mexican-American”, “Italian-American”, “Asian-American”, and all I can think is that these people are trying so hard to remember the first part that they forget the second part.

I am an American. I am proud of being an American. I have done everything I could to improve my society and give back to the nation that has given so much to me. But choosing to start using that bit of punctuation would mean that I was concentrating on being something other than just an American.

I present to you, the Hyphen.

Think about it.