For some, America is a birthright appellation whose culture and substance is inherited via spiraling coils of DNA. In reality, culture is a living thing and one becomes part of a culture by being part of that culture… not by having sufficiently similar DNA to those in the past who did. As Edmund Burke noted:
It is a contact that people may join… or leave. Having an ancestor who participated that is indeed something to be proud of. Being a descendent of a “First Family” or eligible to the Sons/Daughters of the American Revolution ought to fill one with pride… but only if one keeps the meaning of that heritage and the idea that is the representational distillation thereof. As one if prideful of what came before, one should dedicate themselves to adding to it, and those without such a long genetic pedigree can become part and parcel of America by contributing to it and being part of it.
