Heritage

On Saint Patrick's Day, everyone with a drop of Irish blood in their veins boasts about how much cooler they are for being Irish. I don't see the point about being proud of a simple genetic fact. My ancestors came primarily from England. I'm not proud to be English, I just am. English people never seem to boast about the fact that they're English. To be English is to be a blank cultural slate. Sure there are awesome English celebrities, musicians, and literary figures. But descendants of the land of the Beatles, Monty Python, Harry Potter, and the Queen, rarely celebrate their heritage with authentic garb, cuisine, music, or art. English-Americans already speak English, wear clothes that are fairly similar to Americans, and in general aren't recognized as being different or unique. Perhaps it's because of the whole empire phenomenon that we experience Caucasian guilt for trying to take over the world and impose our (lack of) culture onto everyone. We overcompensate by not thinking in terms of nationality. Which I think is kind of sad. Why should every other culture get a holiday, or a club on campus, or their own language in which to talk about people behind their backs? Oh well. I don't even think about my national origins on a daily basis, so I really don't care that much. Maybe that's how I celebrate my heritage.