by Corey Kealiher

Created on: June 29, 2007

Steeped as we are in the emptiness of consumer materialism, the quest for identity gives us, at least the illusion of belonging to a greater whole, even if that sense of belonging is itself devoid of any real substance. The tendency for most Americans is to claim identity through various commercial products. Buying a gas glutton Hummer might identify someone as belonging to an upper class group. Buying Nike shoes and sports jerseys might identify another as a jock. Buying dark clothing and having a particular hairstyle might identify someone as Emo. With these identities, people view themselves as unique among there peers, and find meaning that uniqueness- even as that sense of uniqueness is itself based on equally empty superficialities.

In essence, the various ethnic or racial labels we slap upon certain groups are every bit as one-dimensional. To find identity through whatever piece of dirt one's ancestors used to live on is every bit as empty, especially since most Americans have no idea what the culture or traditional values of their ancestors were- that goes for blacks, whites, Asians, Indians, or Latinos. We have no connections to our pasts, the only culture we know is American culture, and that alone is the culture that has ingrained the sense of who we are as human beings.
All these racial identity titles are perhaps the most shallow of all, because they are intended to identify a person by the very thing they have absolutely no choice in- their physical attributes. At least the rich guy in the Hummer needs a vehicle to drive, the jock needs apparel compatible with his sports endeavors, and Emo kids need to wear clothes of some kind, thus, each identity is going consume various kinds of necessities.
However, racial identities are not a choice, and yet we spend a whole lot of time making sure we are identified by them. It is not an identity that is based up a particular ethnic culture from which one is descended, but rather upon the unique physical attributes alone. For instance, the average American black guy hasn't the slightest clue of what it means to be "African", any more then I know what it means to be "European". So the term "African-American" is an identity based on nothing more then his dark skin, and really has no more meaning then "Blond-American", "Brown-Eyed-American", or "Black Haired-Hazel Eyed-White Skinned-Five Foot- Twelve Inch-American".
The stupidest thing about cataloging people by "race", is that "race" doesn't exist at all. It is merely an artificial concept that seeks to highlight the various differences from one human being to the next. Everyone has the same color skin, it's just a matter of how much pigmentation is produced in that skin between the two sets of genetic coding that your parents gave you. I find it hypocritical that in contemporary culture we spend so much time trying to teach ourselves to look past the physical, and then turn around and spend even more time on getting ourselves to be constantly aware of those differences, such as our use of race-identity titles. In another 5,000 years, we'll all be the same "race", so why spend so much time wrapped up in the silly notion now? Get over it.

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