Cultural Identity Paper

When we speak of ethnicity, we also have to speak about nationality. These are not the same things, and sometimes they even come into conflict, but only being considered together they can fully describe the type of a person, a group, a community you contact with. African Americans have received the right of citizenship, and now we are full-value citizens of the States, so we share all the troubles and benefits the state has to offer to its citizens, and the country our hearts take pain for is the Unites States after all.
The other question is multiracial ethnicity. Despite wide-spread law of endogamy, assimilation is also a natural process, and I don’t think it destroys our identity; on the contrary, it only makes it brighter and strengthens genetics, as the smartest children are born in mixed families. Yet they also face problems with what to identify themselves, as usually there is some part they have to sacrifice, but keeping a balance is also possible. Some of my relatives are biracial, and I see no obstacles in communicating with them. Our family is religious, and there are a lot of customs we still are faithful to. Sometimes, of course, they come into conflict with the ethnic customs from other gene lines, but no one is to blame for that. If we begin to particularize, we should also speak of macroethnicity and microethnicity.
All in all, I think that the question of exclusion and incorporation is too politicized at the moment, and no outsiders can perfectly define the identity of a group. In any way, I think the strongest thing that determines ethnicity is not some certain custom or linguistics or physical feature, but the belief in common beginning and common destiny, which fills our blood and helps to feel the support of the predecessors in any trouble and life test. And finally, I think the best way to feel the strength of your identity is not to search the reasons for conflicts with some external forces, but to seek understanding and peace, as there are values shared throughout the world, and we all need to unite around them.

References
Abizadeh, Arash (2001). Ethnicity, Race, and a Possible Humanity. World Order, 33(1), 23-34.
Thomas Hylland Eriksen (1993). Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto Press.