There is a lot
to comment on in this story of an American of Indian ancestry and his interest
in the Civil War and attempt to see himself and his people as a part of
American history. Why are some people so
fascinated by the armed conflicts of history? Why are some people interested in acquiring balast
while others choose to travel light? To what extent is America a country where
anyone can find acceptance no mater what their origin? Does
Chamberlain's speech ring true then or now?
Do you empathise with the need to connect with your nation's history
even if you do not share the same ethnicity or even race as the majority? To what extent is it possible for Slovak
citizens of non-Slovak origins to identify with events in Slovak history?
Monday, November 1, 2021
Were some of the boys in blue brown?
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In some ridiculous way, I can sympathise with the author’s need to connect with his nation’s history and justify his place in it. Even though I’ve been born in Slovakia, the same way Mr. Nautiyal was born in America, my ancestors, are to my knowledge, absent from Slovak history. While my skin colour might not be different from other Slovaks, I can’t say I have never come upon feeling a bit alien. It is a fact that my name bears no Slovak signs within. I have a hard time even tracking my ancestry. Yet, I have much love for the country I’ve been born in, and it would be impossible to not see my origin one of the major parts of my identity. I want to say that I am a proud Slovak no matter what my name is. It seems natural to me for a person to want to be proud of where they are coming from. From my point of view, the aforementioned alignment of ancestry and a country’s history just simply might not always be present, and the people with these circumstances might find themselves searching for pride and justification of their country of origin in many different areas. If you asked me, perhaps the alignment shouldn’t be sought for in history, but rather built in that person’s future.
ReplyDeleteWhat also caught my attention was the author’s background for this article. In other words, I appreciated his view into all of the important media that influenced his mission, meaning, and identity. I absolutely enjoyed his boldness in displaying these, drawing importance from what might have appeared as the most irrelevant nuance, for instance a computer game or a movie. In addition, I think the question of how different ideas people consume in the space they are in show up to them later as patterns all around them to be highly relevant. In view of this, I have no trouble saying that many of a person’s identity is formed all throughout their childhood and adolescence, at the very least. Similarly to how Antiques Roadshow compelled the author to think about tangible inheritance- heirlooms, I too have watched many shows that encouraged me to think about topics not ventured before. Thus, a person’s preferences are quite integral to the development of their personal meanings. To some it may be wars, to others their cultural treasures, but all affect each person differently. We all have different tastes and strive for our individual understanding of our circumstance. To me, it seems fair to infer that all of the things that impact one’s view and life are equal and valid, no matter what your neighbour next door might say about it.
Lucas
Dear Filip,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the characteristic of achieving life misions isn’t limited to white people. However, it is very important to define the debate properly because the issue of race isn’t necessarily an issue of ethnicity. Be mindful of that. For example, in South Africa there’s a lot of people of both races born, but the social biases still exist between them regardless of their ethnicity.
Furthermore, I don’t think that wars should in any way referred to be fun. It is apparent to me that you probably meant the game by saying that it’s no fun knowing the strategy to winning a war as your faction, but declaring the goal of a war to be winning and then reshaping it to be an idea about a game comes of inconsiderate. War is a highly controversial subject, and while reliving it by a game has been mentioned in the article, I think comparing War to a game is stretching its experience foundations a bit far.
Lucas