American

Hello, my name is Rage and I am an American. Born and raised in this country I love, yet sadly in this country I am the smallest minority there is.  If you were to travel to every country on the planet and ask the natives what their nationality was they would respond with the title of the nation they live in.  This holds true for every nation on the planet except for the United States of America.

     If your rolling your eyes at this point then try it yourself.  Today at work ask a coworker what nationality they are.  Chances are they will tell you what their parents were.  "My mother is French and my father is German."  The typical response is to list a form of lineage rather than what the question really asks which is What Is Your Nationality.

So why don't Americans embrace their country of birth as their true nationality.  The answer is simple.  Americans pride themselves on their individuality. As far as the common person is concerned their life is unique and original compared to everyone else.  The mere thought that they are in fact part of a similar mass sets most Americans on a self righteous tangent bent on proving to everyone around them that they are in fact unique individuals who have experienced more trauma  than others and thus have some sort of self imposed worth greater than those listening. This mindset contradicts the majority of what is considered to be patriotic of an American.

As an added bonus, America gave birth to the worlds largest melting pot.  Every race, creed, color and religion is welcomed. And comically enough this frightens most citizens. How can the average citizen feel superior to his neighbor if everyone is supposed to be viewed as equal. To the average mind this makes no sense.

And this brings me to my wife's greatest fear.  You see my father is Jewish.   Now by Jewish law this means that I am not Jewish because it travels through the mothers side and not the fathers, however as is a common rule I have the same last name as my father and so does my son. So my son has a Jewish last name. My mother is a Roman Catholic, and with my father being Jewish you can just guess how pro religion I grew up to be.  That being said I am an Atheist.  My wife is a former Catholic who has turned to spiritual religion.  So here I sit with my two year old son, born with a Jewish name but with a lineage so mixed the only thing I ever want to tell him is that he is an American.

What will you think of him?  Will you see is olive skin and assume he is foreign, or will you see his last name and assume what his religious beliefs are? I can only hope that you will see him for what he really is, an American child, born and raised in this country.