[Andrew1978]

Ineed. All you have to do is speak English and move here and there you go, you are an American.

Well I'm sure you have to also be connected to the American culture to some extent. The ultimate question in being American or not comes from which country you would fight for. America or your native/ancestral country.

[tpdirorg]

Well I'm sure you have to also be connected to the American culture to some extent. The ultimate question in being American or not comes from which country you would fight for. America or your native/ancestral country.

Nah. Muslims living in Arizona or Michigan are Americans while Islam has nothing to do with 'American culture'.

[radikal]

Nah. Muslims living in Arizona or Michigan are Americans while Islam has nothing to do with 'American culture'.

Would they be willing to fight for America over their native country?

[GentlieGant]

Would they be willing to fight for America over their native country?

You would have to ask them that. I really have no idea.

[rasiasertew]

You would have to ask them that. I really have no idea.

Well that's the ultimate question, since it shows their allegiance

[Kliopeion]

Bump.

[agildeta]

After the immigration reform of 1964, the US has become a hyphenated Salad Bowl without a collective idenity. Will there ever be a unifying American identity like it used to be?

It was 1965, actually. And no, there's nothing that unifies Americans anymore. There are many people with U.S. citizenship who care more about the country they or their parents came from yet live here so they can enjoy a high standard of living.

America's identity today is trash TV and sports.

[Berta]

I believe there is a strong American identity in the Southern United States,i just skimmed through the thread.But everyone seems to be talking about how everyone in American identifies as being Irish-American or Italian-American ect.This may be true for places up north and other parts of the U.S.,but as a person who was born and still lives in the southern United States,i think the South is the place of birth for the American Identitiy if you wish to believe there is one.

EVERYONE here will tell you,they have NA ancestry (usually bullshit stories most of the time in my opinion),German ancestry ect. but they will tell you they are American first and foremost,heck the Southern U.S. even puts ''American'' as their ancestry on census records lol.Now i attribute this to the fact that most of our ancestors have been here before the Rev. War,so most people are a mutt of European nations and couldn't identify with one or two specific ones anyway.But most people in the south are of British Isles, extraction including English,Irish,Welsh,and Scottish.With some German thrown in for the ''upper south'' if you will like Tennessee (where i live) and Kentucky,and Virginia.

I am a mutt of English,Irish,German,and minor (1.5%) African ancestry going by DNA test and genealogy research.But i most likely have Scottish,Welsh,and French ancestry as well...and who knows what else.But i am American first and foremost,i ain't no Irish-American or what have you like the people up north.

Since my earliest known ancestors arrived here in 1751 from Germany what else would i be besides American?The south also stands apart culturally i feel more than any other ''region'' of the U.S.....i believe we are also the biggest ''region'' if you will.Sorry for the long post,this is just my opinion.And probably not a well thought out one lol.

[zabiqapara]

^^ Agree with the above post. I identify as American and a southerner. Would I run a Jap, Limey, Mick, Kraut, or Polack through with a bayonet in a time of war? Goddamn right I would, without a second thought.

[GVsdJZ2H]

Well, I have heard a lot of people say: "I am American". What more..?

[SNUfR8uI]

Ethnic American or American Nationality?


Geeze, I am an ethnic person, I also have a nationality and I'm part of a race..... just not a religious group. lol

Some people identify with ethnicity, nationality, race or religion.

[FredderiK]

People still come here with the expectation of making money, sending it back home to relatives. They live in isolated etnic communities and practice their languages and culture until (if) subsequent generations break the cycle. Once people leave the major urban centers and suburbanize themselves, they become more "American." But you could visit some places here in NYC and swear you were in another country.

[cabonuserollyo]

Well that's the ultimate question, since it shows their allegiance

Most probably would if they truly consider themselves American but I suppose it's on an individual basis. A first generation Muslim immigrant probably feels less connection to an American identity than a 3rd generation Muslim American who's ancestors were immigrants.

In my case, I'm 3rd generation and while I feel some connection go my ethnic background and parts of Northwestern India, those connections pale in comparison to my American and Canadian identity. I wouldn't ever consider choosing India over the US or Canada and I expect it to be the same for my children who will be 4th generation and so on.