Last week, Twitter caught on fire after “That’s So Raven” star Raven-Symoné did an interview with Oprah Winfrey and said she did not want to be labeled an African-American, but rather, just an American.
Additionally, after recently coming out of the closet, she also stated that she does not want to be labeled as “gay,” but just as “a human who loves humans.”
At first, I was perplexed by Raven’s statement. However, after taking a moment to think about what she was really trying to get across, I realized my original reaction was misguided and that Raven hit the nail on the head.
We should not be calling ourselves African-Americans, Asian-Americans, European-Americans or any other hyphenated form of American. We should all just call ourselves “Americans.”
Plenty of problems plague our nation — economic disparities, equality issues and race tensions — and they only seem to be getting worse with time.
Some may blame these complications on a different group, race, creed, nationality or ideology that isn’t their own, and therein lies the underlying problem — dividing ourselves and then using these divisions as a means to an end.
If you think I’m wrong, then just take a look at one of the most divided groups currently in America — our own Congress.
Both Democrats and Republicans are constantly accusing each other of destroying America, while also not getting much done and then trying to get their constituents to do the same, all with an agenda behind it. We end up just hating each and not moving forward.
The sensationalizing American media love this conflict and just add fuel to fire by feeding off the hatred flooding our news outlets with its 24 hours, seven days a week cycles.
We can’t turn on Fox News for more than 10 seconds without hearing a news anchor blame the latest catastrophe on Democrats, nor can we turn on MSNBC without hearing Al Sharpton blame racism for all the nation’s woes.
The problem extends beyond political parties. The hatred has trickled down, and we are all starting to resent those who aren’t the same as us.
These mindsets are not healthy if we want a functioning society, and the only way to change things is to make a conscious effort to alter our perspective.
Let’s stop hiding behind hyphenations and labels.
When you attach a label to yourself, you also diminish your contribution to America. America is a nation of immigrants where we all come together to create something better for ourselves.
When we identify ourselves as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Mexican-Americans or any other hyphenated-Americans, we isolate ourselves from the beauty of America and reserve part of our loyalty for another country.
We shouldn’t have to label ourselves as anything other than American.
A white, straight, Catholic man from Italy is just as American as a black, gay, atheist woman from South Africa, and calling ourselves anything other than American automatically begins a cycle of destructive dualism.
I am not saying that one shouldn’t be proud of who they are. You can be black and be proud of your culture, but being black and being African-American are two very different things. The former is an identifier, while the latter is exclusive and divisive.
I am also not saying that people can’t be different. In fact, I am saying the exact opposite.
I love living in a country where we are not persecuted for being who we are.
No matter what traits and lifestyles make us unique, we are all still Americans.
I know that we don’t live in a color-blind or prejudice-free society and that problems still exist among races, sexual orientations and other traits. At the same time, we should do everything in our power to look past these dividing characteristics.
Instead, we should focus on the fact that we are all Americans working together to build better lives for ourselves and for future generations.
It may be hard sometimes to fight the urge to divide ourselves.
However, if we want to persevere and continue our progress, we should take Raven’s advice and just be proud to be Americans.
Nick Eagle is a UF economics and political science senior. His column appears on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6on 10/13/2014]
