St Andrew's day ink

[Bugbear]

... I can't speak for people outside America (and I don't even pretend to speak for all Americans), but to me the answer is simple. Americans don't have much of a history or a culture of our own. Everything we are, we brought from somewhere else. Those who were born and raised in Scotland - and elsewhere in Europe and Asia - have a pretty good idea where they came from. They have a long history, plenty of cultural roots, etc. We Americans can only look back so far in our own history before we run up against the proverbial wall. We came from somewhere else. Where else would we look besides where we came from? ...

I'm puzzeled by this notion of Americans having no history or cultural roots.

[Phil]

I'm puzzeled by this notion of Americans having no history or cultural roots.

I know. For a nation which has existed independentlyfor over 200 years not to mention its colonial past before that it is puzzling. Is it because many Americans only see their culture as a reflection of the various cultures imported by immigrants? I don't believe that is entirely true, however the culture that is perceived as peculiarly American is all fairly recent. Coca-Cola, Hollywood, Jazz, cowboys etc..

[Bugbear]

I know. For a nation which has existed independentlyfor over 200 years not to mention its colonial past before that it is puzzling. Is it because many Americans only see their culture as a reflection of the various cultures imported by immigrants? I don't believe that is entirely true, however the culture that is perceived as peculiarly American is all fairly recent. Coca-Cola, Hollywood, Jazz, cowboys etc..

Well, I look at the underlying framework of those things you just listed and see roots going back centuries. I live in the desert South West which has a cultural flavor going back eons. Corn (maize) and beans as a traditional food, for example.

[Phil]

Well, I look at the underlying framework of those things you just listed and see roots going back centuries. I live in the desert South West which has a cultural flavor going back eons. Corn (maize) and beans as a traditional food, for example.

Exactly. And I wasn't trying to overlook native American history rather trying to answer the question of the historical roots of mainly European settlers.