The Clashing of Ideas...

As you can see in my previous post Diversity, America is changing demographically, and as a consequence, the very nature of how we handle education, work, etc... and general neighborly interaction must change. It is interesting to see that the subject of cultural diversity is being brought up. Of course, it needs to be addressed. Our country is changing, and we must change in the process. The clashing of ideas comes into play when we talk about being united within the United States, yet we still try to divide everyone into groupings. "I am African-American", "I am Irish-American", "I am Hispanic-American", blah, blah, blah.... Why can't you say, "I'm American who happens to be BLACK" or "I'm an American whose descendants are from Ireland" ?? It was commented to Whoopi Goldberg, "You know, I don't think I've ever heard you use the term African-American..." Whoopi's response? "No, I've never used it. Because I'm not." Whoopi would even tell you she's an American who is black and who has an African ancestry. Do you see the difference between saying "I'm an African-American" and "I'm an American with African ancestry"? The first seems to be another type of America. It's not just the United States of America, but also African-America, or Irish-America. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being Irish (or having Irish ancestry) or being African (or having African ancestry), etc... But why do we have to divide everyone? The odd thing is everyone says 'treat me as you would treat anyone else!" - ok, if that's so important to you, why do you want to be known as African-American? Why can't you be known as American? And leave it at that? It seems to me you're looking for special treatment by terming your heritage as "African-American" or "Irish-American" etc... Furthermore, these groups also treat themselves as charity cases. Have you ever heard of "don't let a good mind go to waste" ? Oh.. plllllleeeeaassssseee!! If they're American, they have all the opportunities every American has. I can hear the objections - "But they're from the Ghetto!" Talk to Whoopi Goldberg about that or someone else who's made it big. That's a cop-out. There are poor white people just like there are poor black people. Makes no difference. They both have the same opportunities. There is a serious inconsistency in what people teach. I think I'll just stop there... for now....