My America
This is an earlier post that I re-post here, in honor of the Fourth of July, with pictures I took yesterday at the Independence Day ceremonies at Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home). More pictures here.
This was an essay i wrote for my religion class. The prompt was very broad: “What does it mean to be an American?”
What makes me an American? I asked myself a series of questions to help me attack this issue. I didn’t come up with answers to all of them, but I’ve reached some “enlightened confusion,” which is, according to Isaac, as good as an answer.
In terms of group affiliations, what are the defining parts of my identity?
To this, I answered: Muslimah, American, Pakistani descent, first-generation child of immigrants. I wasn’t sure what the order of all of these identities was, but I was certain that being a Muslimah (a female Muslim) was first. We’ve discussed in class that nowadays in America, identifying yourself by your religious identity along with your American identity is “acceptable” and the “safest” way of differentiating yourself. But I am compelled to take it a little further. I am not afraid to say that I am Muslim first and American second. And not to play the victim, but I think I live in an era and a country where that is scary to hear for a lot of people. But why should it be? Though it is a crazy hypothetical, wouldn’t a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu choose their religion over a national identity if it came down to such a choice?
As the child of an immigrant family who both understands the struggle for personal success and the difficulties of living in a country where freedom of speech and religious practice is not to be taken for granted, being American means that I can freely express myself without being forced into conformity and without fear of retribution. I know that I can succeed by getting an education and working hard without having to wet the palms of greedy government officials at every step.
That’s the traditional answer for a first-generation American, but there has to be more than that cliché. So I asked myself more questions. What do I miss when I visit my family in Pakistan for an extended period of time (one to two months)? I miss being able to go to the mosque on a regular basis and participate in community activities (women in primarily Muslim countries generally do not go to the mosque). I miss my conveniences (internet, primarily, but also things like clean water). For a longer term, I’d miss education…..and I’d miss the environment of people who think like me. Wait…that’s not right. I’d miss the environment of conversation, dialogue, and discussion. Is this what makes me being American?
But the very first thing I said I miss was a religious thing particular to my faith community. True. One of the major things I consider as my American identity is the ability to practice Islam without as much influence of the “back home” cultures (Southeast Asian, Arab, etc.). I don’t have to practice the kind of Islam the government allows through its filters. I have a greater range of motion within my community, allowing me to take leadership roles and engage in activities that are, to me, very Islamic but would not be allowed for Muslim women in primarily Muslim countries.
Secondly, America to me is a place where there is a (relatively unique) environment of open conversation and dialogue. Politics sucks, as everyone complains, and someone is constantly offending someone else. But the fact that you can say anything and respond to anything, the fact that people will take each other to task for speaking about (or not saying enough about) a particular topic is something that literally cannot happen in other countries. I surely don’t agree with everything I hear on the airwaves and read in the paper and a lot of it pisses me off and I wish they wouldn’t say it, especially if someone insults my religion. But the fact that they can insult my religion and the fact that I can use my freedom of speech to call them out on it and convince them not to (which, of course, I hope they eventually will) is what makes America what she is.
America is home. I don’t think I’d be able to settle permanently anywhere else.
But I am not a patriotic person. It is not in my nature to be patriotic. I support ideas and causes, not states and countries.
The most I’ll give is support to an organization. But does that make me any less of an American? Do I get chills when I hear a great version of the Star-Spangled Banner? Yes. But I don’t really celebrate the 4th (though I do enjoy fireworks) and I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Until recently, I wasn’t aware that Thanksgiving was supposed to be a traditional American holiday. I’ve only been to a full-scale Thanksgiving dinner once, and I realized I wasn’t a big fan of turkey. But does any of this make me less of an American?
I’d be offended if you told me it did.