Saturday, May 31, 2003, 07:46 GMT
A Spanish friend of mine once asked me why Americans were so obsessed with finding their 'ancestors'. We were in the Public Record Office in London in the midst of a swarm of Americans in shorts going on loudly about their great great great great something or other who had a family heraldry or was in the miliary for Britain or whatnot. And frankly, I couldn't really explain it to my friend beyond that at least where I grew up, where you 'come' from is very important. We all knew that we were a quarter this and an eighth that and were slightly jealous of people whose grandparents really had come from Europe. They seemed so much more genuine than us.
Which comes down to the heart of it, I think. Run of the mill WASP Americans are obsessed with geneaology because we don't seem to have a culture. There are definite cultural groups out there... Italian Americans, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, etc etc. But there aren't... what... what culture can we claim as our own? Certainly not British American or Irish American as there's a fair chunk of German in there. Our 'ancestors' were around too long to have any claim to that European heritage which created our culture 100-200 years ago. So, we tend to feel like we have no culture and we must reach back to our roots to find it.
So that's why so many mainstream Americans are so obsessed with European culture. It's deemed better than our nonexistant one. Except it's all a gross misunderstanding, a blatant lie we've told ourselves as we grew up. How can we not have a culture? Of course we do. All humans do, despite their genes. Being descended from some Scots, Irish and Germans does not make me German or Scottish or Irish. It makes me a descendant of a German or a Scot or an Irishman. It's as simple as that, yet somehow we see that as inferior. I've found in my time living abroad that I have huge cultural attachments I never knew existed. I thought I hated my home and it's still true that most Americans annoy the hell out of me. They did when I lived there and they do now. But I can no longer deny that I *AM* American. I adore open spaces, unattached houses, and healthy plumbing. I feel it's an inherent right to own a car and not pay through the roof for fuel. Of course that doesn't mean I have those things.. but I feel the necessity for them, it's how I grew up, it's something that my friends and I all share in common and I'd suspect a large proportion of my contemporaries in middle-town WASP American would as well.
Which is why now I am so irritated at the mass of geneaology sites out there and the driving urge so many people have to find their ancestors. What's the point? I know that I have a grandfather born in Virginia before the Revolution. So what. How far back should I trace it? Will I find an ancestor buried in some sweet English graveyard? What then? Trace long-lost relatives? What good does that do. I probably won't even like them. Where once I was driven to know where I came from, after living in England where so many Americans flock to find their roots, I fail to see the point. I doubt most Americans recognize that to be 'English' is hardly a set definition. Is my English ancester descended from Vikings or Normans? Is there Celtic blood in there? Maybe Roman? How far back am I meant to go to 'find' myself?
So now I think this geneaology surge is useless. If people want to find themselves they better look at what's around them, not the circumstances that brought some ancestor over the ocean. I am grateful my ancestors went where they did for whatever reason.. I quite like my life. But I am only who I am and their lives are of no consequence to mine. What has made me, me, is not who I descended from but the circumstances of my life. I wish more people would realize that, and maybe then America could start healing some of its self-afflicted wounds.
Which comes down to the heart of it, I think. Run of the mill WASP Americans are obsessed with geneaology because we don't seem to have a culture. There are definite cultural groups out there... Italian Americans, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, etc etc. But there aren't... what... what culture can we claim as our own? Certainly not British American or Irish American as there's a fair chunk of German in there. Our 'ancestors' were around too long to have any claim to that European heritage which created our culture 100-200 years ago. So, we tend to feel like we have no culture and we must reach back to our roots to find it.
So that's why so many mainstream Americans are so obsessed with European culture. It's deemed better than our nonexistant one. Except it's all a gross misunderstanding, a blatant lie we've told ourselves as we grew up. How can we not have a culture? Of course we do. All humans do, despite their genes. Being descended from some Scots, Irish and Germans does not make me German or Scottish or Irish. It makes me a descendant of a German or a Scot or an Irishman. It's as simple as that, yet somehow we see that as inferior. I've found in my time living abroad that I have huge cultural attachments I never knew existed. I thought I hated my home and it's still true that most Americans annoy the hell out of me. They did when I lived there and they do now. But I can no longer deny that I *AM* American. I adore open spaces, unattached houses, and healthy plumbing. I feel it's an inherent right to own a car and not pay through the roof for fuel. Of course that doesn't mean I have those things.. but I feel the necessity for them, it's how I grew up, it's something that my friends and I all share in common and I'd suspect a large proportion of my contemporaries in middle-town WASP American would as well.
Which is why now I am so irritated at the mass of geneaology sites out there and the driving urge so many people have to find their ancestors. What's the point? I know that I have a grandfather born in Virginia before the Revolution. So what. How far back should I trace it? Will I find an ancestor buried in some sweet English graveyard? What then? Trace long-lost relatives? What good does that do. I probably won't even like them. Where once I was driven to know where I came from, after living in England where so many Americans flock to find their roots, I fail to see the point. I doubt most Americans recognize that to be 'English' is hardly a set definition. Is my English ancester descended from Vikings or Normans? Is there Celtic blood in there? Maybe Roman? How far back am I meant to go to 'find' myself?
So now I think this geneaology surge is useless. If people want to find themselves they better look at what's around them, not the circumstances that brought some ancestor over the ocean. I am grateful my ancestors went where they did for whatever reason.. I quite like my life. But I am only who I am and their lives are of no consequence to mine. What has made me, me, is not who I descended from but the circumstances of my life. I wish more people would realize that, and maybe then America could start healing some of its self-afflicted wounds.