Our roots shape us now
I was never heavily in touch with my Lebanese side when I was younger, and looking back now, I really wish I had been. I can’t speak Arabic, I can’t make kafta, I can’t dance dabke. Maybe if back then I’d identified globally as I do now I’d be able to do those things, maybe I’d even know how to cook traditional Italian pasta as my great-great-grandparents did back in Italy. In truth I’m just Brazilian by birth, my mother’s side is Italian and my dad’s Lebanese, and for a long time I struggled finding one culture to identify myself as. Was I Italian, Lebanese, both, or just Brazilian? But that had been my first mistake, trying to choose just one. I could be all of them if I wanted to. I could be a global citizen and be part of as many cultures as I want to. That is what being a global citizen means to me. While some might argue that only our national identity shapes us, I believe that we can look to our roots and create a global identity for ourselves because it is our origins and our backgrounds that truly shape us.
For example, in Brazil, many people are decedents of other nationalities. I’m the perfect example, my mother’s grandparents immigrated from Italy at a young age and on my parent’s side, his parents immigrated from Lebanon a few years before he was born. Consequently, that makes me Italian-Lebanese. And that is the case for many Brazilians. Back in the 1950s Brazil had high immigration rates from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and still to this day being the international economic hub that it is, Brazil still has many foreigners immigrating there for work, family, personal desire. My own brother-in-law for example, his grandmother on his mother’s side immigrated from Japan after marriage and on his father’s side he’s from Italian descent. The mix of cultures due to a high influx of immigrants is everywhere in Brazil.
As a result of having various nationalities within one country, many people live amidst many cultures throughout their lives. One day I’d be eating kafta at my aunt’s house listening to the echo of Lebanese music in the background, and the next I’d be celebrating Easter with my grandma listening to Italian orchestra. That was my reality, for others it was Japanese katsudon one night and Portuguese cod fish the other. And that was how the many 1st, 2nd, 3rd, generation immigrants of Brazil lived their daily lives, amidst a mix of cultures from either side of their family. These Brazilians who have mixed or different backgrounds have their global identity shaped by their background.
To put it another way, people are in touch with their cultural backgrounds, be it Japanese, Italian, Lebanese, or any other culture, while also living a more Brazilian lifestyle. While these global citizens of Brazil are in touch with their roots and their backgrounds, the majority also live a relatively normal Brazilian lifestyle, and that is the true beauty of a global identity. They are surrounded by such diversity from their own family but when they step outside they
By contrast, people who only identify nationally choose to abandon or ignore their roots in favor of only identifying with one specific culture or community. That feels like such a waste of so much knowledge, ranging from cuisine to customs to ways of thinking. While identifying as just one nationality definitely facilitates the process of explaining your identity to others (been there done that) but in truth it is only a façade in attempt to hide their true identity whether it be in shame of their roots or for mere ignorance of the fact that having a global identity truly shapes them.
Here some may object not everyone in a nation has many cultures to create a global identity with. Some people are born and raised in one country with parents and grandparents and ancestors from that country, and that’s not something they can change. These people might feel as though they are trapped, and can’t help but be drawn to a single national identity.
They are right, however this still does not mean that they cannot be in touch with other cultures from around the world and still create a global identity without solely identifying nationally. But a global identity isn’t just about where your parents are from or where you immigrated from, it’s about how you learn from and interact with other cultures around you or far away from you.
This will result in a conglomeration of various different cultures in just one country with people being in touch with their roots as well as others exploring different cultures outside their own.
In conclusion, in order to shape our global identity we must reach out to our roots as well as expand our knowledge of other cultures.
