Hyphenated Americans

While coaching at a youth summer sports camp in Ireland, I was asked if my last name was American.  It certainly wasn’t Irish, much to the shock of the kids, after all, how could I be in Ireland without an Irish name?  The conversation was as follows:

Girl:  Is your last name American?

Me:  No.

Girl:  What kind of name is it?

Me:  German

Girl:  So, you’re German?

Me:  No, I’m an American.

Girl:  So, your parents are German?

Me:  No, they’re American as well.

Girl:  How are you an American if you have a German name?

Many people who go to the United States, especially those from Ireland, find it odd, irritating, and even ignorant to hear Americans say they are ‘Irish’ or ‘German.’  So, are they?

Yes.  And, no.  The demographic history of the United States tells the tales or world oppression, pestilence, conflict, and greed.  Those born in the U.S. are not, categorically, anything other than American.  But, we are more than where we are born or our last name.  Native Americans are the only real, true Americans.  They roamed the Great Plains long before European ‘discovery.’  The rest of us are immigrants, or descendants of immigrants. 

It would be foolish to believe that once immigrants land on American shores they lose the identity and culture of their homeland.  Euphemisms and colloquialisms may change, but the core remains intact.  A son of Polish immigrants growing up in Chicago will be taught the Polish language and will be raised nearly identical to the way his parents were.  Likewise the daughter of Swedish immigrants, and so on. 

So, who am I?  Am I German?  Am I American?  The answer is, I am the combination of my entire heritage.  Am I German?  Partly.  Am I American?  No.  My ancestors came to this country from across an ocean.

If, on your travels in the United States, you come across one of the many claiming to be ‘German’ or ‘Irish,’ keep it in perspective.  Accept the fact that culture can transcend generations and that we can be more ‘German’ than ‘American.’