• geekwithsoul@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    26 days ago

    That’s what happens when almost everyone in the country had ancestors who only came here in the last 200 years. The “American identity” is founded in the idea that either we or our ancestors were born somewhere else and then came here. It’s much different than someplace like the UK where so many are probably within a days walk of where one of their 10th great grandparents lived.

    • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      25 days ago

      Nah bro. Elsewhere in the Americas people identify with the country they were born at. It’s a cultural trait. When you start justifying with fake exceptionalism is when you make it weird.

      • geekwithsoul@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        25 days ago

        Not sure what your point is. The US is incredibly diverse, and that diversity has very modern roots (when compared to many other diverse countries). That’s not exceptionalism, that’s just demographics. It’s not a competition. Combined with large internal migrations over its history and its large size, many Americans live in cities and regions they have no historical family connection to. So when answering a question about why “Americans seem to be very obsessed with their nationality” it seemed relevant.