I remember travelling to England in my early 20s with an Irish-American who felt the need to be very, very quiet about his background because of The Troubles still very much in evidence back then. We did discuss things with our host who asked "Why do Americans persist on worrying about who they WERE? Your ancestors left, and probably for good reason. You're Americans now, aren't you?" It led to an interesting, and long, discussion.
I'm also a conventional mutt: English, Scottish, French, Spanish, northern Italy, Dutch, German. Am DAR and Mayflower, and descendent of an Earl, I completely don't care. Though my dad did the genealogy thing, he was extremely firm about perspective: "In the end, it doesn't matter who your ancestors were. It matters who your children become."
I don't have kids, so I have to say "It matters what I make of myself."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-09-14 04:04 pm (UTC)I'm also a conventional mutt: English, Scottish, French, Spanish, northern Italy, Dutch, German. Am DAR and Mayflower, and descendent of an Earl, I completely don't care. Though my dad did the genealogy thing, he was extremely firm about perspective: "In the end, it doesn't matter who your ancestors were. It matters who your children become."
I don't have kids, so I have to say "It matters what I make of myself."