Ethnicity in America

Note: This post also appears on the blog But I Can Hear You.

I am proud of my white background. That statement seems racist, or at least arrogant and elitist. Is it really though? After all we have an entire month devoted to black history. The topic of my post today is this: America is a country comprised of different ethnic groups, and it is not racist to think that this is a good thing.
Yet we have many people who do. These people are the same people who would think that the first statement I made was racist. But again I pose the question, is it really racist? We have a whole month devoted to black history. Are all black people racist? Of course not. In fact we have a holiday completely devoted to black history (Kwanzaa) that, while a bit silly having no precedent or historical/religious reason to be celebrated, does not make black people racist. So why does the first statement seem so racist? Because of people that like to feel guilty for being white, and those who believe that I am racist for saying things like that. I'll be frank, I'm sick of being called racist by people who have no other argument. People who use that argument generally don't look beneath the surface. Am I racist because I said I'm proud of my European background? Why am I racist for that? Why can other ethnic groups say that they're proud of their background and everyone thinks it's a great thing? Well it is great. But it needs to work both ways. If some people can be honored for saying it, so can the others. That's what makes America great. We are a nation of several different ethnic groups. Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and yes, Whites. America needs to stop focusing on the differences of these races however, calling themselves African-Americans or Asian-Americans or Hispanic-Americans, and just call themselves Americans. We seem to forget that we're not a bunch of ethnic groups, we're a country. A united country. And while the statement I made at the beginning is true, I am proud of my European background, I am more proud to be American.