Annika77,
Most Americans are not immigrant kids, except in the sense that all people came to where they are now from somewhere else somewhere in the past if you look back far enough. Most of us are happy we are Americans and identify with being Americans and do not identify very deeply with our past origins. Often we do not even know about them. It is important in our culture to look to the future and not the past. My family (the part I get my family name from) came here before there was an America (or at least that is what I understand-I am really not all that concerned with it, but it is interesting to know). They came here to not starve to death in Ireland in an early potato famine, or that is my guess. Most of us are from families that came here for a better life and have been here more than one generation and think of ourselves as Americans. Only the first generation of children are immigrant kids. Even they often identify with American and not the country and culture of origin. After that most of us fully indentify with being Americans.
OK. Americans dont care of their past and look into future! But why its seems to me reading these boards some people forgot their brain in Europe?
Talking about irish, potatoe desease or not, but why irish guys dont let russian "girls" to scam them, why irish people dont look "family values" in society they havent a clue (so called FSU).
Why big plains full of americans land in Shannon every day and bring people to Ireland look their roots?
Most successful nation in USA, jews, have very strong national identity.
This looking to future thing sorry but I grow up in Soviet Empire and dont belive any propaganda!
I am sorry but I am not following what you are saying very well. Also, I did not mean to offend you. I was not trying to argue with you or disagree about how foolish many men are. What I said was only to your comment that we were immigrant children and you asked 'Am I wrong". I was just answering that aa an American I do not see people here who think of themselves as immigrants.
And the fact that Americans go to Ireland looking for their roots seems to support my statement. If you know who you are you do not have to go looking for your roots, you know. We don't and so some of us go looking. For me to go would be fun but not serious. My name is Irish is only a consequence of how names are assigned and means nothing; my blood hasn't had any new Irish in it, that I know of, for over 200 years. I am not Irish; I am American with many different heritages mixed.
I am not supporting the idea that economic reasons are what the man or the woman should base their finding someone to make a family with, but I do understand it can be why a woman would be motivated to find someone outside her country. I do not think it is because of the country even, but because many of the men do not want to support their families. Most people in our country had very difficult times as bad and probably worse than any that exist in the FSU now during our depression, but our family values were strong then and families were strong and many had very happy lives. Both my parents had many stories of hardships but of much family happiness.
It is not the economic that makes happiness. I am sure that those women in the FSU who do find good men who take care of their families are happy in their home and I am sure most would prefer this, but they cannot find such men, so they look to other countries. We have the same problem in the US in some cultures here. I agree with you that many guys have a poor attitude about this. They do not see that it is the good man with family values that is most important to most women. I was actually reading what you said and not so much all the other comments because I was interested in your view. I posted my comment to reply to your question. I do not disagree with you about the importance of family values to most women in the FSU. I only wanted to say that I don't think that most Americans think of themselves as immigrants or have an immigrant mentality.
I am not an Irish guy, I only have an Irish name. I doubt that I have very much true Irish heritage at all. I have probably more German than any other one thing, but I have Cherokee Indian and all sorts of stuff, most I don't even know, but I do know of some Welsh and English families that were part of my family tree, so I really do not have any heritage to identify with. Many, if not most Americans are like this. I don't even know all the different nationalities from my heritage. I don't really much care. I enjoy learning about my 'roots' but it is not meaningful to me in the way it seems to be to people with a strong heritage identity. It is just interesting to me. Being an American is what I identify with. And I do not identify with many of the things that American as a country does. I identify with the good values and standards that are what my country means to me. I identify with the myth of American, not with it's many shortcomings, but with the ideal American dream values of freedom and justice for all that we all dream of and hope to experience. Most Americans as individuals are like this just as most Russians are good decent people who want to have a good life for their families.
Thank you Annika. I also wish you well. I hope to not get hurt nor hurt anyone, but that is a part of life and having relationships that is not easily avoided and you sometimes have to experience.