Absolutely, and that is a crucial point. Your race is genetic, but your culture is experiential. My wife, for instance, is Indian but was born and raised in Virginia. Her parents gave her a good cultural foundation in her Indian heritage, but she is culturally more American than Indian.
Having said that, American black culture is insular and is informed by a shared history of slavery, oppression, and the struggle for equality. What makes Obama different than previous national leaders in the black community is that while his experience may be informed by that shared history, his message is not driven by it, but instead is driven by a desire to move beyond the politics of race. He is just another American, like you or me, and when he talks about his vision for the country, he is speaking to all Americans, regardless of race, creed, or color. On Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 11:01 AM, G Money wrote: > Great post Robert. Let me ask you a question though....is culture and race > intertwined? If a particular race has developed a particular culture, is > it > possible to experience that culture if you are not of that race? And > conversely, is it possible to be a member of that race, but NOT experience > that same culture? > > If a child is born in Cambodia, and moved to the United States when they > are > 10 days old, and they are raised without any hint of the culture of > Cambodia.....aren't they are Cambodian by race, but American by culture? > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:256262 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
