At 6/27/08 04:52 PM, Me-Patch wrote:
I don't think that there is anything wrong with taking pride in the history and heritage of your culture. You can take pride in something that others have done, the triumphs of our forefathers make a standard of what we should live up to in our own lives. Abandoning your cultural heritage is disrespectful to the trail blazers of yesteryear.
I have to agree with you on taking pride in cultural heritage, but I think to many people confuse race with culture. My cousin and her husband traveled Italy and experienced their culture by staying with some locals who farmed. Their lifestyle hadn't changed except for a few improvements to their standard of living. Along with festivals, traditions, and how they go through life, I would classify that as culture.
But when you take me for example, my grandparents game from Holland to Canada after WWII and they cook Stump-pot, crepes, split-pea soup, and Indonesian food. That's all find and dandy, but I wouldn't consider myself to be culturally Dutch like my grandparents who grew up in Holland.
It's like another user was saying in the political forum, FUNKbrs I think. There is a distinct difference in being an African-American and a black American. African-Americans were born in Africa and immigrated to the US, black Americans were born in the US. Just like I'd call myself a Canadian, not Dutch.