Why hyph-e-‘nations’ are more than word divisions.

I left England at the tender age of eight and some lessons carried forward.

Perhaps it was the influence from having a parent that had worked in the London print industry, but I was encouraged not to leave hyphens dangling at the edge of a page.

Certainly, it is a convenience, but why learn an unnecessary usage rule?

5 Years hence, I became a Naturalized American.

America, at that time, was thought to be a melting pot but at some point, the amalgamated American transitioned toward a stew pot with separate ingredients.

People who identified with the continent of Africa began to use African-American as their identifying demographic.

Does anyone reading this know how many countries are in Africa?

Perhaps the accepted total is 53.

Asian-Americans and even country specific hyphenations came into vogue.

People began to use hyphenated names. Certainly, this made some practical sense for career-minded couples in order to retain their individual identity, as I saw in the military, but the trend to hyphenate seems somewhat overly self-promoting to me.

Perhaps if there was a push to put the American part first, I could grow to appreciate the use of hyphenations. There should be nothing wrong with being an American first if one chooses to live in America instead of say Myanmar (Burma) or North Korea where Juche has died.

Photo of Aung San Suu Kyi courtesy of opednews.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating the heritage and culture of all Americans and indeed, the country is represented by a diverse population that adds to its collective strength and beauty.

Celebrating days or even months of Hispanic heritage, Asian-Pacific Islander etc. serves a fundamental purpose and builds tolerance and understanding though I think a day each is plenty.

On the other hand, perhaps the pinnacle of any American hierarchical celebration should be for all Americans. This is what July 4th stands for?

Beyond that, there should be a celebration day for all humans. Humanity Day?

Human-American-fill-in-the-blank day to provide anyone with a day of celebration to identify with and to recognize our similarities and differences with respect and tolerance.