I recently watched a program on PBS about African Americans and their ancestry. They did genetic testing on many famous African Americans and their families, and they found that almost all of them had caucasian blood in them. Some had native American blood. The average African Americans have 20% caucasian ancestry... 20%!!! That's a lot.

Many whites that I know have native American ancestry (including my girlfriend and her family and some of my extended family). Some have minor African ancestry.

So can we please just forget about defining ourselves in narrow terms, such as race? Why is it still so important? I no longer identify myself by my ethnic heritage, as my ancesters did. Rather, I define myself by my nationality. I really wish that one day we no longer define ourselves not as white or black or hispanic or asian Americans... but simply Americans. Thoughts?

This is an idea that has been around for ages. When will it totally come into light as a real, doable idea? Who knows.

I get tired of racial jokes and slurs; I also get just as tired of school and workplace "quotas" and other affirmative action supporting only certain minorities over all others.

It'd be nice to all just be American and skip our ancestry, since, ultimately, it matters little to anyone. We are our own people, in a modern America.

It's simple. When you have to fill in the blank beside race, just write in "human". I've done it for years.

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

Let's also stop identifying ourselves by our nationality and religion, and hell, throw in sex, too. Why not?

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WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

. "You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

I agree 100%, Joker.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

religion and nationality and sex all have clear and important boundaries... race does not.

__________________
WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

. "You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

There are times when religion, nationality or sex matter. When does race matter?

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

However, religion and nationality only matter when people show their very worst characteristics.

__________________
WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

. "You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

Sex matters because it actually has implicit and unavoidable consequences. Men cannot get pregnant. But most of the things we apply to sex are arbitrary and obsolete. Thus, sex matters. Gender doesn't.
Nations and religions are arbitrary cultural constructions as are race and gender.

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That information is classified and to be given only on a need-to-know basis...

And I do not need to know.