Text 34406, 113 rader
Skriven 2016-07-11 20:37:07 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
  Kommentar till text 34389 av David Drummond (3:640/305)
Ärende: Keeping Things Honest
=============================
Hello David,

 DD>>> It exists within a nation, a country - it is there sovereign land (or
 DD> water
 DD>>> in this case).

 LL>> You are confused.  Cajuns were here before there was a nation/country
 LL>> known as the US of A.  Cajuns will continue to be here long after the
 LL>> nation/country known as the US of A ceases to exist.

 DD> But you were NOT there before USA became a country (that included the
 DD> swamp).

Cajuns settled in Louisiana well before the US of A became a country.

 LL>> Arogines were in Australia long before there was a nation/country
 LL>> known as Australia.

 DD> None of them are alive today.

Aborigines are still alive and kicking in Australia today.
Just as Cajuns are still alive and kicking in Louisiana today.

 DD> Virtually all Aborigines were born in the country of Australia.

Australia is a continent.  Louisiana is basically a swamp.
The southern part.  The northern part is mostly woodland.

 LL>> Maoris were in New Zealand long before there was a nation/country known
 DD> as New Zealand.  A people who were there before
 LL>> there was will likely be there long afterwards.  Unless they are extinct,
 DD> in which case it won't matter.

 DD> Those people no longer exist - only their descendants.

Maoris are Maoris.  Not descendents of Maoris, but Maoris.
Cajuns are Cajuns.  Not descendents of Cajuns, but Cajuns.

 DD> EVERYBODY's ancestral line comes from somewhere, and those lines started
 DD> before those somewheres became a country (a political territorial
marking).

Just because our original parents were Adam and Eve does not
make us all Africans.  Even if we are.

 DD> [...]

 DD>>> Being a Cajun of French origins does not preclude you from being a
 DD>>> USAmerican (citizen).

 LL>> Cajuns are not Cajun Americans.

 DD> You are Cajun, AND USAmerican.

A society is part of a culture, not the other way around.
Even though a society tries to make a culture a part of that
society.  Understand?  That is the trap you have fallen into.

Aborigines have their own ways and traditions.  Their own
way of life.  Their own culture, which is unique from other
cultures.  Same thing with Maoris.  And Cajuns.

Cajuns have become Americanized to the point of having lost
much of who they once were.  The world I once knew was very
rural, but is now an urban nightmare.  The language I spoke
as a child is no longer spoken by so many, but only a few.
But we are still Cajun, not some other people nobody cares
about.

 LL>> We were here first.

 DD> You were NOT there first.

Native Americans were here when we got here.  And they helped
us to survive.  But other than that ...

 DD> You have only arrived in the last century. USA is older than that.

French and Spanish settlers, along with Cajuns, were here
before the USA became a country.  And let's not forget about
Native Americans, who were here long before any Europeans
arrived.

 LL>> If there had been a US of A when we got here, then you would
 LL>> have a valid argument, claiming that Cajuns are Cajun Americans.
 LL>> But since there was no US of A, what does that make us?  Cajuns!

 DD> And USAmerican citizens.

What is a citizen?

 DD> Whatever the Cajun may have called their place in USA it has been
swallowed
 DD> by that nation - and has always been part of the Americas - as long as
they
 DD> have been known as that.

A society tries to make a culture part of its own.  But
the reality is the opposite.  A culture makes a society
part of its own.  Cajuns were here before the US of A
became a country.  Cajuns later adopted American ways,
a result of having been forced to do so rather than by
choice.  But the way Cajuns do things continues as it
always has, and will continue long after the US of A
ceases to exist.  For example, Mardi Gras is a Cajun
tradition, part of our culture.  It makes no difference
if there is, or is not, a US of A.  Mardi Gras will
continue.  With, or without, a US of A.

--Lee

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