Defining the American Nationality

Nobody loves answering the question "what is an American?" more than I do.

One of the most important political projects of the next few decades will be providing an answer to the question “what is an American?”

There are many reasons for this that are difficult to articulate, but I think Andrew Callaghan from Channel 5 News puts it best - there is a deep spiritual sickness in our country resulting from a loss of connection to our national collective identity.

Most people would agree that one of the foundational aspects of the American Nationality is some notion of multiculturalism (i.e. the melting pot, a nation of immigrants). No matter what race you are, you can be an American.

But this assumption seems to be taking fire.

The Dissident Right has been forcing this issue for some time, but now it appears that even some on the Progressive Left like Trevor Noah are converging on the belief that American multiculturalism might be more problematic then we realize.

And in the spirit of radical centrism, when I see both ends of the political spectrum agreeing on the same point, it means that point must be contended with directly.

Let me say this from the outset

This is a very complex and controversial topic and I am 100% going to be missing some things and getting other things wrong. I am writing this Substack in order to A) formulate my current thoughts and B) hear what others have to say so I can improve upon them.

With that being said…

The role of ethnicity and race in American Nationality

There are two competing ideas for what constitutes American nationality. One view is that American nationality is entirely ideological, and the only thing that makes an American is a commitment to a set of principles. The other is that American nationality means being a part of a particular people-group with common customs, traditions, and mythology. Most nationalities fall into the second category.

Unlike other nationalities like the English or the Japanese, the American Nationality is not explicitly tied to a single genetic/racial lineage. And as an American, it’s very amusing to watch English people pretend as if there is no such thing as an “English” ethnicity out of fear of appearing racist or something.

But at the same time, I am left feeling somewhat confused as a white American, because my national identity isn’t quite as easy to define. And to make matters worse, there so many freaks like Jared Taylor or Thomas Rosseau who claim to speak on “behalf of white people” when it comes to the issue.

For the record, I have the same opinion as Tucker Carlson on white identitarianism.

But putting aside the freakishness, there is a productive conversation to be had around white racial identity in America, and the broader American Nationality in general.

Like most white Americans, my European heritage is not particularly relevant to my identity as an American, so the notion of hanging a Polish or Irish flag outside my house seems absurd. I fly an American flag, because I am an American national.

But since America is a multiracial and multiethnic society, it seems to be the case that my identity as an American National is predicated on customs and traditions of other nationalities.

Chinatown, Little Italy, or your local Historical Black College are unique and vibrant cultural enclaves that exist across the United States, and many Americans rightly feel a personal connection to these cultural institutions.

But as a white American with no real connection to my European heritage, it doesn’t really feel right to say that these are my cultural institutions, even if I ignore the hollow and meaningless accusations of potential “cultural appropriation.”

It is interesting to note that black Americans are actually in a relatively similar position as white Americans, in that many have a very limited personal connection to their original African or European heritage. In that sense, I think there is something to be said about black and white Americans being uniquely culturally intertwined in a vaguely similar way that the English and Scottish are uniquely intertwined.

That’s why I feel like black American icons like Dave Chapelle, Jimi Hendrix, and Walter Peyton are just as integral parts of the American Nationality as white American figures like Shane Gillis, Anthony Kiedis, and Tom Brady. This is largely because no other nationality has a greater claim on these figures than us Americans.

Albert Einstein, Paul McCartney, and Ichiro Suzuki are all titanic contributors to American culture and therefore the American Nationality, but they are clearly the products of their home nations (Germany, England, and Japan) more so than the American nation.

I truly believe the American Nationality is great in part because we have such a commitment to see beyond race and to welcome other cultures in our country. But if the only defining characteristic of our nationality is tolerance and inclusion of other nationalities, we have a serious problem.

We can’t just define American nationality as a commitment to certain ideas around freedom of speech and limited government - these just define what type of things we are free from. We have to ground our identity in something in something else - something affirmative.

Defining our national identity requires the exclusion of others

If we are to define the American Nationality as something other than liberal tolerance and inclusion, we must acknowledge that this will necessarily involve the exclusion of other peoples and beliefs.

As an obvious example, there is no world where an American Nationality exists under the rule of Islamic Sharia Law. It is an oppressive and authoritarian ideology that contradicts our most foundational beliefs.

I would also posit that an American National is someone who can speak and understand basic English, since the ability to communicate with your fellow citizens seems to be a prerequisite for a functional society.

This insightful comment was left on one of my videos I did on this topic, and I think it succinctly captures the key point at hand here.

The question that emerges from all this is what are the affirmative characteristics of the American Nationality?

This is the hardest question to answer, and one that I am most curious to hear other people’s thoughts on. I will attempt to outline my thoughts on this below.

The features of the American Nationality

There are of course many subcultures within and permutations of American Nationality, but the following are my proposed key characteristics of every American National.

• Loyalty to the American Nation-state over all other nation-states

• Commitment to free speech as a sacred principle

• Knowledge of the foundational parts of the American mythology and it’s key figures (the founding fathers, MLK, etc.)

• Rejection of ethnocentrism (the belief that your genetics is the fundamental determining factor in how “American” one is)

• Belief in the right of the people to exert democratic control over their elected officials

• Participation in (or at least the appreciation of) key National cultural events and customs like Christmas, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, the Superbowl, etc.

• Explicit or implicit recognition of secular and/or Christian morality as the basis of the American moral and legal systems (i.e. “All men are created equal endowed by their creator with inalienable rights”)

Obviously, some people will take issue with some or all of these. I am not positing these features because I think they will convince people - I am positing these features because they are what I believe as of right now. Convincing you of these will have to come later once I’ve gotten feedback on these ideas.

As I mentioned, another key point to recognize is the existence of sub-nationalities within the broader American Nationality.

For example, “black culture” is a uniquely American phenomenon that (by definition) is a product of a particular racial lineage. This in no way shape or form prevents non-black Americans from including black culture as part of their American national identity (given we are a multiracial country), but it still has a grounding in a particular race.

So, does this imply the existence of a “white American culture” that includes things like playing baseball in the suburbs, blasting country music & classic rock, and saying “fair enough” too much?

I don’t know. Obviously, you could point out that not all white Americans abide by these cultural aspects and therefore there is no such thing as “white American culture.” But you could say the same thing about black culture, and I don’t think it’s practical to pretend that there isn’t such a thing as black culture.

“E Pluribus Unum”

In order to address the spiritual sickness of being part of a “nation with no ancestors,” we need to have an idea of what an American National identity actually is.

And as a white American, I am particularly interested in the prospect of identifying a white American sub nationality, in part so the only people beating the drums on the issue aren’t a bunch of less-than-impressive whites like Nick Fuentes or Jared Taylor.