Being a European-American

Questions of Identity, Culture and Adaptation
by Neal R. Karski

I began my journey into the unknown at the age of 12 from Eastern Europe, Poland. I had been born an American yet had spent only a couple of years there before moving to my native land. Living on the brink of the Western and Eastern worlds that diverged from each other vastly due to the varying ideologies, religions and economic policies, I was only had a small taste of the “over-Atlantic influence”. This influence largely depended on sports apparel, music and cinema products. Otherwise, Poles lived their lives the way they desired, or rather how their somewhat conservative yet recently revolutionized culture dictated.

That was before…

And now… many years later I sit back at look at the path that I have marked the steps in my life on in the United States of America as a European-American.

And it has been astoundingly difficult to identify yourself fully with the virtues of either society from the beginning. I believe this lies at the core of many immigrants who come to the United States – a melting pot of nationalities, cultures, traditions and ethnicities. In Europe, we’re taught certain ways of behavior, manners, ethics, numerous etiquettes, interaction with friends, strangers or family, and even how to exactly tie your shoe or ride your bike. Yet after attempting to carry out these “lessons” here, it seemed as if they were not effective or that many people of different ages were not familiar with them. Different land, different creed.

Throughout these years of my life here in the United States, which engulfed residing in the Carolinas and the Chicagoland, I gradually realized that as a European I needed to retain my true sense of origin, values and inner conscience, if you may. Frequently, I failed to do so, but I came right back up to tackle the challenges of adapting to a culture which was a world way. To this day, I see distinct differences in the lifestyles of Americans and Europeans and attempt to find balance – a happy median. Generally, I noticed that Europeans, like all other nationalities and ethnicities in the U.S. tend to find others of the same “kind” more comfortable to establish friendships, as they are able to relate to them on a closer level. Personally, I found that very true, yet my outgoing nature allowed me to meet other notable friends and figures that did not belong to my native realm.

But quite oft’, I would find myself confused… pondering upon my actions. My European side would say: “That’s wrong, or inappropriate,” and my American side would say: “Go on, it’s OK”. This bewilderment arose with dozens of events, people and place that I have encountered. Yet the necessities of life such as faith, family and giving back to others that I have learned to cherish in Europe have helped me to make two ends meet and I think that after linguistic and social struggles, I was able to find a spot in this country. A spot that would elevate me to progress and development of my character, and eventually success…

The Quest for Identity: Being a European-American

by George A. Miu

From the onset of my American journey, I sought to find a common denominator that reconciled my Eastern European heritage with my adopted homeland. There are two prominent parts to this task: the first is becoming wise enough to let go of any unnecessary habits, and the second is gaining enough vision so as to incorporate only beneficial thought patterns.

Without a doubt, the United States has very much to offer in terms of self-discovery and the improvement of oneself. Sure, the cynics will all sneer into their chins and say that America is evil, and that the culture has deteriorated and has proven itself to be a burden to the world time and time again. I reply that, if it were such, immigrants from all over creation would not flock to America like they do. As with all things, the US is capable of corrupting an individual who is unable to keep his-or-her-self in check; there’s all the casinos and hookers out there, waiting. But what is indicative of the fact that these define America more convincingly than, say, hard-working families hoping the send their kids to college? I am sure that the latter category is more numerous than the former. So let’s save that easy breath with which we criticize the US and use the surplus of energy to engage in legitimate reflection about what best exemplifies America.

As far as Euro-Americans go, there are several things that we must come to terms with. For the most part, Europe is not as large, plentiful or well-organized as the United States. The New World contains an over-abundance of activity that easier-living Europeans are baffled by. The adjustment cannot, and must not, occur overnight, as many born-and-bred Yanks (pardon the mild pejorative for some of you) happen to believe. At first glance, America threatens newcomers, with its bustling cities and gargantuan suburbs, the centers of a productivity that the Old World cannot conceive of matching. Eventually, the shock wears off, and the first-generation immigrant is better equipped to assimilate American-isms.

Of course, any non-American will have some kind of burden that relates to the home country. Families grow up, age, and die, societies evolve beyond what their original scope, ultimately rendering the expatriate homeless, for all intents and purposes. The longer a citizen of the EU is a resident of the US, the more irreversible the whole process becomes. The crucial matter is that we are okay with that.

Just last Thursday, I became a citizen of the United States of America, having spent five whole years here. My own, personal journey is far from completed; I would, however, be foolish to say that I have not changed – become nearly unrecognizable – with respect to who I once was. The perpetual act of dropping an outdated habit in favor of a modern one can have severe repercussions. I speak from experience when I say it’s a risk I’m more than willing to take in exchange for a shot at a better life.

Technology - Where Does It Stand Today?

Technology and its Global Impact
by Neal R. Karski

Think technology, and its immense influence on how we live our lives today. Our current generation cannot possibly imagine having to communicate with someone across the country, or even across the globe, without a strike of the keyboard or a click of the mouse. Our parents and grandparents lived in completely different eras, where their neighbors weren’t reachable via a cell phone or a computer. Technology has altered the communications and social media to a largely extensive degree – currently the world operates at a much more advanced pace and the information turnover is immense. Nowadays, we don’t realize the speed at which we, and our surroundings, conduct variety of actions and interactions, and if I’m not mistaken the days and nights go by much faster than in the historic years.

Technology stands not only for progress, but change. And change, in hand, brings opportunity costs… lots of them.

It is can be considered the root of good, as well as evil.

It created a new way of doing and not doing; fostered new approaches to religion, science, medicine, business, travel, education and all other aspects of our lives on Earth. Let’s face it – we are living in 2010 and in this new millennium [in the last decade] we have built approximately as much as in the last fifty years. This transgression not only engendered growth, it created countless problems to which solutions are continuously debated about.

A tad about cost-benefits analysis, or rather relative to weighing consequences of the technological influence on the world…

The industrial revolution, which was brought about by the discoveries, technological achievements of many brilliant-minded individuals and with the help of the preliminary scientific findings, accelerated the fields of medicine and studies of natural sciences. This gave us a better understanding of our environment, other living and non-livings things, climates, and mostly importantly – ourselves. Through microscopes, X-rays and various other tools of technology, we could get to the core of the cell and relate the framework of our bodies to other polarities on this planet.

This also elongated a particular conflict and created new ones. The struggle to find the median between science and religion has gone on for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the gap wasn’t closed or even slightly narrowed by the above mentioned advancements. The persistence of religious groups and scientists to ascertain their arguments about the origin of life, existence [or inexistence] of God, definition of “life”, stem cell research and assisted suicide did not cease to find a common ground. Technology pushed this debate farther, into bitterness and animosity – one that conflicted views and separated masses into groups of popular beliefs. Then, politicians got involved, but this I will not cover in this piece…

Moreover,

The computer and internet boom – WOW! My mother would have never thought to have been using a laptop in the days when she was a young girl trapped in the Communist territory.

The internet era brought on a completely new perspective to the international spectrum – it influenced the way we do things, say things, perceive things, act, behave, interact, talk, etc.

Businesses, I must say, have benefitted astonishingly from the E-marketplaces, commercial platforms, information system, and customer service tools. This caused worldwide economical, political, social and occupational sectors to take a complete 360-degree turn and re-establish themselves as the new world indicators of change as a variable of technology.

Economics. Nations began to trade more and more with each other, and as specialization of labor and resources grew, many developing economies began participate in this cycle of imports and exports. The GDPs of nations showed an increasing growth, yet whether that improved the conditions of the poor and impoverished is quite insignificant. As technology grew, so did the greed for money. When a man has a lot, he wants even more. Although the national products and stockholder payouts shined with self-glorification, the world took a huge hit when the U.S. was not able to uphold its worldwide globalization strategy. Having economic ties with almost all of the nations in the world impacted the downturns and bankruptcies that occurred abroad. Another small negative – the Earth’s resources are finite and we’re still on a fast path to depleting them quickly, especially oil. Side note: I suggest the U.S. better make peaceful arrangements with the Middle East or otherwise we shall be dependent on the public translation or suffer the loss of Alaskan wildlife.

Political. The convenience of worldwide communication allowed leaders of different countries to share their ideas about the current events and gave them the opportunity to see their nation in relation to others, on a broad spectrum, with the press of a button. Although, international conflicts caused by intelligent and high-tech weapons fueled quick wars and resulted in thousands and thousands of deaths, and debts. Just think about the Cold War Race and the War on Iraq.

Social. The cultural trends travel from nation to nation progressively via different social media means, and clearly influence the societies in which the receivers reside in. This introduces those societies to diversity and new fashions, yet it also it disrupts their status quo and way of life that they’re accustomed to. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re constantly bombarded by the technological discoveries that trigger the communication medians and social platforms to affect us in one way or another, and possibly from the other side of the world.

My challenge for you today, is to see where technology stands for you today and assess it as to the significance of its benefits and costs.

PS. I truly recommend reading the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

God Bless.

Technology – the Gift and the Curse
by George A. Miu

The advent of modern technology was supposed to propel society unto a new level of enlightenment, all the while allowing it to retain the basic values that had enabled it to make progress in ages past. Think of the fantastic prediction set forth by “The Jetsons”. The plan, it is clear in retrospect, was that society would remain static in its conventions with regard to person-to-person interactions, within the family and outside of it. The great disappointment that we are faced with today, contrary to popular perception, is not that the concept George Jetson’s flying car never came into fruition. Rather, it is that our generation is, for the most part, so very far removed from the standards of decency that defined America until the sixties and seventies.

So, instead of robots and space elevators, the twenty-first century brought with it the Digital Age, and all of the corresponding advances in computing and telecommunications. While these are worthy discoveries that have greatly improved many lives, and have the potential to help millions of people in need, they bring a certain social decay on a scale never before seen over the course of human history. Gradually, Facebook usurped initiating physical contact with old friends or acquaintances, AIM became a substitute for calling, and e-mail totally replaced good old-fashioned letter-writing.

Moreover, the very foundations of the English language are under attack. Between things like internet slang, emoticons and leetspeak, fewer and fewer adolescents feel obliged to express their emotions in an eloquent manner. The result of this is a population that has forgotten how to spell words such as “definitely” and cannot distinguish between “your” and “you’re”, and could not tell apart a subject from a predicate to save their Xbox. This is the height of irony, because the Internet also ushered in a new age for literature, where any given piece of literature may be easily procured or even read for free, online.

Furthermore, the very same telecommunications advances that were meant to open our minds to new possibilities and people with whom we could never otherwise have interacted have in fact narrowed our worlds and made us more isolated than ever! I myself fell victim to this, when I was tempted to have a chat with Neal just yesterday, but instead decided to text him my abridged thoughts. On a wide scale, this is highly damaging, because electronic messages are no substitute for in-person conversations.

Concluding a piece that intends to simultaneously celebrate and bemoan progress is complicated, at best. I hope it shall suffice to say that, if we are to maintain the essential facets of society that have brought us this far, we must exercise more control in using technology to solve our wants, and take greater initiative to preserve traditions that are integral to the human spirit, such as in-person communication. With this in mind, I encourage you, the reader, to continue looking forward to the fantastic vision of the future that we are constantly promised, but to also sneak the occasional glance behind you, at the pillars of the society of which you are a product. If successful, you will gain much insight into both where we have been, and precisely where we are going.