What does it mean to be white in America?\nIt means that you only have to think about race if you choose to. It means that you can live your whole life without looking at any racial conflicts. You don't even have to know what it means to be white, because you probably don't feel a connection to a white community. I certainly don't. I don't feel a calling to any particular white culture, or white traditions. My Judaism, (which I don't subscribe to as a religion), is part of my identity because of my home life growing up -- but my whiteness?\nI feel no pull toward a white identity, which is in many ways what the white identity is all about. I'm not even comfortable talking about "the white race," because it seems the only people who use that term are White Supremacists.\nIt means that because of the predominantly white media, my popular culture will never be referred to as "white." Filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Kevin Smith are as much "white filmmakers" as Spike Lee and John Singleton are "black filmmakers." But Scorsese and Smith will never have that label placed upon them. \nBeing white means that even though I am a fun-loving kid who hates to work and is by all accounts quite lazy, I will have opportunities of financial stability and prosperity placed in front of me. With my work ethic, if I were a minority, I probably wouldn't have made it into college.
What does it mean to be an American?\nIt means you are surrounded by two oceans and two countries, all of which help to separate you from the problems of the rest of the world. It means someone can make millions of dollars in the entertainment industry while others make $40,000 a year teaching kids to read while others make minimum wage, working 60-hour weeks and struggle to feed a family. It means that while 12.3 percent of Americans live below the poverty line and 5.4 percent are unemployed, in some other countries, more than 70 percent of the people live in poverty. \nLiving in America means you have the power to elect the world's most powerful person every four years. It means that instead of searching for the land of opportunity, you are living in it. Living in America allows you to be out of touch with the rest of the world, if you want to. Since Sept. 11, I've learned about entire countries I didn't even know existed.
What does it mean to be a human on Earth?\nIt means you give yourself supreme authority over all other beings on the planet. It means you can kill animals, nature and the environment without facing any severe penalties. It means you can live your life without regard for all other species, and in many cases with little regard for your own. \nI wonder what it means to be an Earthling in a nine-planet solar system?
