America is a bit like Washington, D.C. That is to say almost everyone is from somewhere else and we’re proud of it. We label ourselves as Irish Americans, Asian Americans or Jewish Americans, and although we may be proud of our heritage, unlike transients in D.C., we have no intention of ever going back.
My father’s side of the family has been in the U.S since the early 18th century when one man arrived from Ireland as an indentured servant. Eventually he was freed and we can trace our lineage, although it’s a bit spotty, back to the founding years of this country. The other side of my family arrived in the early 20th century. We are what my dad says lovingly “Heinz-57”, our family heritage has a little bit of everything. I’m part Native American (several different tribes), part Irish, part Scottish, part English, part Ukrainian and the list goes on and on…
Today in the U.S, we celebrate memorial day, a day to remember those that have given their lives for our country. They have fought and died for the ideals and values that we hold sacred. They are from all sorts of backgrounds, races, cultures and classes. Some arrived as servants, others as slaves and others as refugees. Since our founding days we have been a country of immigrants and over time we’ve meshed into the society we are today. Hopefully when you look at the U.S. be you an American or a foreigner, you see that same mosaic of cultures today. Not one ideology represents us all, not one way of thinking or one political party can encompass all our opinions. We are a “Heinz 57” nation, a nation comprised of many varieties of people.
Today’s picture comes from Hawaii, it’s the flag that commemorates the USS Arizona, destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.
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