American identity: its meaning
Introduction
What does the word identity mean? The Royal Spanish Academy defines this concept as a "set of features of an individual or a community that characterize them in front of others". So, when talking about Puerto Rican identity, it is referring to those common characteristics that define what it is to be Puerto Rican.
In the past months that Puerto Rican identity was witnessed when people took to the streets to express their disappointment with the government, and a thought that characterizes us was tested, the self does not take away. This patriotic pride has defined, represented and united for years at important times of our history.
However, having this feeling of honor of our homeland, we know nothing about it. Today you ask men and women basic questions about the history of Puerto Rico and they don’t know how to answer you. For this reason, if we do not know our past, the Puerto Rican identity that defines us as Puerto Ricans really does not exist.
Developing
A country that instructs and educates young people constantly from those who are as citizens of this country, generates a genuine patriotic love. In Puerto Rico, that nationalism, those qualities as Puerto Ricans that encourage our identity have been fading little by little. It is true that Puerto Ricans, in moments of unity, we feel around the world, but unfortunately we do not know the roots or the reasons why those desire to fight are already in our blood.
How to know? The Puerto Ricans, especially young people, are not to blame for not knowing their past. Since the United States invaded our island, it has been forced in Puerto Rican education to erase everything that represents us. Starting over their arrival when they demanded their language, English, as an official in schools until today where it has been considered eliminating history classes in elementary degrees of the public system.
The first -hour newspaper published an article in 2015 when the Department of Education implanted the elimination of the class of social studies in the first degree to third grade degrees. The same, entitled “’ inconceivable ’that remove the history class of Puerto Rico”, explains that the department will not completely eliminate the class, but that its plan was to join it with the Spanish class in the writing part.
Several historians and leaders of educational organizations criticized this decision, since for them that is greatly affecting "the integral training of students who initiate their academic process". Ricardo Alegría, a well -known Puerto Rican historian, made a very important comment that agrees to what is trying to explain in this text: “… a people who do not know their history, cannot feel love and pride for their national identity, nor is it able to defend him and fight for his future ".
Therefore, if we have an education system that the only thing that has done is to belittle our past, which has tried to take away the right to educate ourselves about our roots since we are children, how are we going to be able to have identity of who we are as a nation If we are not aware of our past?
In addition to this decision of the Department of Education, in 2014, the last Governor Alejandro García Padilla, established as Law the Senate 1113, where it was proposed to eliminate national holidays where Puerto Rican political leaders such as Eugenio María de Hostos. With this law implanted, instead of having several days where these leaders are held, one day was chosen to celebrate them all. The assigned day was the third Monday of February, the same day where the presidents day is celebrated nationally in the United States.
Similarly, in 2017, our former governor Ricardo Roselló eliminated July 25 as a holiday, day that the Associate State Declaration of Puerto Rico is celebrated. On the other hand, this governor, declared on March 2 as the day of American citizenship. This holiday that really celebrates American citizenship, a right that was only granted to us to be able to represent the United States in World War I, was the substitute for eliminating the day where the installation of our Constitution is remembered.
The elimination of these days holidays leaves a bitter feeling, since they only remain active days where achievements of the United States are celebrated. Shocking days in our history such as: September 23, shout of Lares; October 30, shout of Jayuya; March 21, Ponce massacre; May, where the Navy retired from Vieques, are not celebrated. So, if most of the holidays that are celebrated in Puerto Rico are holidays from the United States of America and not Puerto Ricans, which tells us how we remember our roots?
The national identity is based on that feeling of love, honor and pride that your country has. These emotions are founded by having knowledge and knowing of our history that is acquired from young people. Therefore, if you do not educate your past, how can you acquire this nationalist thinking? I always compare this thought and explain it as love in a relationship.
conclusion
You really love someone when you know that person completely. When regardless of its past, its bad tricks or bad habits, you still appreciate it the same. In other words, to love your homeland, to be able to represent it and know what identifies us as Puerto Ricans, you have to first know it.
To be able to say that in Puerto Rico there is national identity, Puerto Ricans have to educate themselves from their past; They have to know the reasons why we are as we are; They have to understand that this thinking of the self does not take away is not now, but that it has been existing for hundreds of generations. We as Puerto Ricans need to educate ourselves, need to know and need to learn to love our homeland correctly before saying that we have national identity, Puerto Rican identity.
Bibliography
- Alcaide, Maritza Díaz. “‘ Inconceivable ’that they remove the history class of Puerto Rico.”First hour, 7 AP. 2015. Web. Sept. 19. 2019
- "Governor signs law that consolidates holidays.”La Fortaleza, July 28. Web. Sept. 19. 2019
- "Identity". Spanish dictionary. Ed. 23, 2018. Web. Sept. 21. 2019
- Vargas, Daniel Rivera. “To work on July 25 and 27.”First hour, July 16, 2018. Web. Sept. 19. 2019
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