What's Wrong With Being Just An American?

I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American.
~Daniel Webster~

Am I the only person who’s offended by the term “African American”? It’s not the ‘African’ part that offends me; rather it’s the part that says being just ‘American’ isn’t good enough. Don’t get me wrong, I support the right of every individual to honor his or her heritage, but who seriously believes that all black Americans descend from African ancestors? That’s like saying all fair-haired, fair-skinned white Americans descended from Scandinavia or those with darker hair and complexions might be from Spain, Italy or Greece. Really? C’mon, peeps, get real.

My next-door neighbor is black but he’ll put you in your place in a heartbeat if you call him ‘African American’. His ancestors were Haitian and he’s offended that he’s considered African because of the color of his skin. I used to work with a lady who would get just as fired up for the same reason. Her heritage was Jamaican. I heard Whoopie Goldberg say one time when she was hosting some kind of award show that she didn’t like being called ‘African American’. According to Whoopie, she’d never even been to Africa nor had anyone in her family that she knew about.

I suppose some will say that it’s a race issue but it isn’t to me. It’s a HERITAGE issue and, frankly, if you’re an American, then you’re American. Period. Not ‘something-American’ - American. Be proud of the heritage you got from your ancestors but be also proud of your heritage as an American. This is a great country and deserves our pride and respect. As countries of the world go, we’re still relatively young yet we’ve achieved so much in a mere 400 years. Besides, where else in the entire world can you become one just by nature of your citizenship – natural or naturalized makes no difference.

My ancestors came from the British Isles – England, Scotland and Ireland – but I don’t refer to myself as ‘British American’ or ‘Scotch American’ or ‘Irish American’. They settled in Virginia and North Carolina. Wanna guess which side they fought on during the Civil War? Should I call myself a “Confederate American”? It is, after all, my heritage and I can be just as proud of mine as anyone else. I have no doubt that I’d be called racist if I chose to use that label to identify myself.

Or maybe it IS a race issue. Maybe those who add the “African” label to their ethnicity (nativity?) are attempting to remind us that slaves were brought here from Africa. If so, that’s a shame. Slavery is part of our history and should not be forgotten but it also shouldn't be used as a means to hang on to hatred. Every black American isn’t a descendant of slaves any more than every white American is descended from someone who owned them.

So, why is this one classification so accepted in the US? I limit this to the US because, frankly, I’ve never heard of ‘African Canadian’ or ‘African Mexican’ or ‘African German’ or Greek or French or Italian or Russian or any other nationality. Why does this seem to just happen in the US? Nevermind that, why does it happen at all???? Can’t we just be AMERICANS who are proud of our individual heritages? Works for me!