Ireland as a Commodity in Irish-American Culture

I grew up right near Philadelphia and I completely took for granted the culture (in general) available to me. When I went for Ethoipian food, there were people from Ethiopia. My favorite Irish pub had touring musicians from Ireland. I frequented the place a lot and enjoyed singing there.

It really hit me when I moved to Michigan. Suddenly I knew only a few people of Irish descent in my new hometown; everyone else was completely different heritages and had completely different traditions. I didn't even realize that some of the things I did were of Irish origin--they were just practice. Five years after my trip to Ireland and 600 miles even further west from my grandmother at Christmas, and all you need to say to make me burst into tears is "the best part of you is Irish."

I love my tricolor flag and I have a few tee shirts. I love to drink. I'd say I'm a nice mix of more traditional Irish values passed down from my family and the typical American commercialism. That can make anyone pretty sarcastic and volatile, but when you go around being dissatisfied with crap like the local economy and it feels like the man is kind of kicking you down, I guess it all makes sense. I look around and think 'wow, back home, everyone on my block would have had a fit about this.' It wasn't that we sat around and talked about our heritage, it was the inherent way things were passed along that really stuck with me. A phrase here and there, or Christmas without me singing Danny Boy for my grandmother. I guess I realized it all after I moved and started to feel the lack of it.

Out here with less people like me, I have to admit to buying into the commercialism sometimes. Honestly, I'm pretty broke, and I find more value anyway in exploring history and culture than I do in wearing a shirt that identifies my heritage. What I find most challenging in the Midwest is the ethic of mistreatment--sometimes when people are treated unfairly, they just take it. I was taught never to do that. It wasn't something I learned from watching Boondock Saints a few times in a row (not knocking it, it's pure genius!), I learned it by example. I feel the lack of it. I take pride in my hometown of Philadelphia and my Irish-American values.

I used to think it was a whole "I'm proud of my heritage" thing, but no matter how many people love you, it's still a lonely world out there, and there's not a shirt in the world that can adequately express how it must have felt for my ancestor Nora and her daughter to go hungry or sail steerage on a vessel of questionable safety.

So when I sit awake at 5 AM and think about my life--a Bachelors degree making less than $8/hour--I ask myself if it's worth it. I feel a greater responsibility to improve my situation and take a certain amount of risks--because after all, I wouldn't be here if other people hadn't done just that.