An Open Question for 'Jock Scot' (and Scots)

[Sir William]

To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, Scotland and the United States are two cultures divided by a common heritage.

On the one hand, we have Americans who are proud of their Scottish heritage and celebrate it buy wearing kilts and as much tartan as they can muster at Americanized Highland Games, Burns Dinners, St Andrews Societies, Scottish Country Dancing and the like. There are also a few that mourn the lost Jacobite Cause though they know very little about it.

On the other hand, we have Scots who cannot understand why Americans want to celebrate something they left behind when they should be embracing their new cultural identity. Jock Scot, Phil and others have explained this far better than I can.

The Scots perceive the the United States has a distinct historical culture that can be embraced and celebrated, when in reality no such culture exists. As a nation of immigrants, most Americans have little or no link to the American British-European historical culture. Consequently, save for the 4th of July, Americans mostly celebrate their regional and ethnic (to include racial and religious) diversity. Throughout the country are many ethnic population centers: Scandinavian, Arab, Polish, Hispanic, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. that only helps to reinforce our racial and ethnic diversity, rather than homogenize it.

In fact, race and ethnicity is an important component of the American identity. Almost every form we fill out asks for that information, and the recent 2010 national census was heavily focused on the increased growth rate of the Hispanic community. Many people in the US identify themselves with a hyphen: African-American, Asian-American, etc.

The American culture celebrates diversity and ethnic heritage, so it is both natural and expected that those with a Scottish heritage to embrace it, just as it is equally expected that those Americans with a Polish, Chinese, Peruvian, or Moroccan heritage to embrace theirs.

The irony is that for Jock's hypothetical grandson to celebrate his American culture, he would have to embrace his Scottish heritage.