When a person doesn't have a home per se, can they still get homesickness?
I find myself uncomfortable with being an American frequently. I think this is largely because I do not miss it when I am gone, besides missing toilet paper (omg, 2 ply?! quilty, absorbing texture? oh my!!) and family members who reside there. But as for the place, and the comforts (excluding toilet paper) that go with it, not so much. If the idea is to identify yourself as you see yourself, then I shouldn't, based on this sentiment, call myself an American.
I feel uncomfortable with the American dream, dreaming instead of other things. I itch to be elsewhere as soon as possible immediately after putting my bags down inside the U.S.A.. The world is so big, why should I restrict myself to just one way to live?
But do I really know what it is to even be an American? Shouldn't I have a better understanding of what I am renouncing? Are we Conservative? Liberal? Are we all immigrants or are we anti-immigration? Are we warm and inviting individuals, or are we individualistic? Are we all morbidly fat? Or do we have a national eating disorder? Do we love our gas-guzzling suburbans (and parking said vehicles in the suburbs), or are we green-innovators?
Or is a sense of nationality more subtle?
This article suggests, in an argument about why starlings should be the national bird, Americans are adaptable, of an enterprising nature, seizers of opportunity, and prone to overtaking the competition. Being of Native American descent though, I'm not sure I like these qualities in their application. But then, not all American history is terrible.
I am going to an ex-pat party tonight at a club owned by 2 Americans to celebrate the national holiday with other nationality-confused individuals. Happy 4th of July.