Heritage

What precisely is heritage? For many, their heritage, is a source of pride or sometimes shame, but mine is a source of complete consternation. I have no heritage and no people group who will take me into their fold as I am. I am isolated and I am not uncommon. If not for my past, I would surely have just claimed to be American and send myself into the cool media embrace of my somewhat native country. Three things hold me from this course. My America will not allow me to be that which my blood, conflicted as it is, calls at me to be. It wants me sterilized and with out opinion. Second, I am as much African as I am American (or was), but I cannot be of African in this country, Africa nurtured me, held me, I am not black. If you don’t believe me imagine a white looking kid telling people he is an African American artist. I did just that in a African American art history class as an undergrad. That was a fun day! Finally, I cannot be American because what it is to be American, in the sense of history, is gone in favor of clinging desperately to the pseudo cultured and refined Europe of today. This last part really makes me sad.
I loved john Wayne. Do the right thing to hell with the consequences! Reminds me of Christ in some weird way I have yet to figure out. But this desire for conformity, to a culture that seems devoid of moral “grit” is upsetting and traumatic to those of us who believe that right is not a point of view nor is it negotiable. We in America hold free and transparent elections. They are not perfect but we choose the direction of our country. This is a rare gift even in today’s world, and it breaks my heart that we would cling to others opinions and our privilege when others suffer and our oppressed. Thousands of people died in Liberia during years of civil war. They starved, they pleaded for help for our government. Meanwhile, pundits debated on air, for salary, whether the country was worth saving. Whether the people were worth saving. They said cost in money, troops, resources, how long would it take?
We landed a handful of marines, around 200 and ended a fourteen year civil war in a day. Now Liberia just has to disarm the thousands of kids running around with no education out side of war. We did not help with that part. But, to be fair, after months of debate we ended the war. We should have done it sooner.
People suffer and are scared all over the world. We can, and given our abilities, as a nation help, and must.
So again what precisely is heritage? Mine is confused and made up of a lot of not American, and our nation’s is in peril.