Identity Independence


		IdentityIndependence.com
		Some Principles of Personal Identity Political Correctness Thoughts on American Identity My American Identity A Case of Identity My American Heroes
		There is a crisis of white-male identity in America. This web site attempts to address some of the issues. As an American, I demand my Identity Independence! Identity Independence means the ability to choose your own identity instead of having someone else do it for you. You define who you are and are free to pursue your personal goals and ideals. One would think that, more than other people, Americans are in control of their identities. We have the freedom to do what we want and be what we want to be. While that may be true in theory, Americans are also exploited. If I say “I am an American”, what does that mean? Stereotypically, it means that I salute the flag, root for my “hometown” professional sports team, drink Budweiser beer, drive Chevvy trucks, and eat at McDonald’s. In other words, I am a loyal patron or supporter of someone else’s well-organized scheme. Who am I in and of myself? That question is harder to answer. I think it starts in the genes. I am what my genetic heritage gave to me plus the culture gained by experience. An authentic culture is what I received from my parents at an early age. I learned how to talk. I learned the rudiments of social behavior. My parents learned those things from their parents and so we have a continuous culture going back many years. This is an authentic source of personal identity. At a certain age, however, children absorb the culture which society wants them to have. This is not always in the child’s interest. School curricula may be influenced by politics. Adults insert a political message into course work which the children must take to be passed to the next grade. And so they are forced to accept unauthentic identities. Their type of person may be discouraged or degraded. Other negative influences come from news reports or the entertainment world. There is an attempt to make people believe they are other than what they are or should be. Does each person has a right to define himself or herself freely? If so, what can be done to combat those who would deny individuals that right? For starters, let’s discuss the identity problem. Once people know who they are and what they want, they are in a position to do something about it. Whoever you are, you should know that identity independence is an idea whose time has come. My Identity Organization: a Call to Action (for straight white males) Who are you? an internet contest Where Personal Identity Starts In the genes Who am I? Goethe’s three questions and other approaches to self-identity How civilization subverts personal identity The tendency to point to something better than oneself Identity through one's place in a story You are the character that you play in life. Three Principles of Personal Identity To guide each person to a more authentic and socially compatible sense of self The Need for Personal Recognition Plato’s concept of “thymos” explains much in politics and society Unequal Identities An unacknowledged impulse to stand out in the crowd Personal Branding Establish a clear occupational identity and publicize it Teen Identities in Cyberspace The social phenomenon exhibited on MySpace.com Human Identity according to Mark Zuckerberg Does a person have just one identity? Pick your own Religious Identity Church affliliation less a matter of ethnic heritage Techniques to Define Political Identity Microtargeting messages to voter segments likely to be sympathetic Grocery Stores as Indicators of Personal Identity You are where you shop for food The Paradoxical Disadvantage of Education How its programmed experience may preclude opportunities to develop self-confidence and an authentic personality in meeting real challenges in life Seminar on Purpose for Persons Approaching Retirement Age How this relates to the question of identity * * * *** * *** * *** * *** * Some American Identities How Americans have seen themselves at certain times in history The Strong, Silent Type Once self-reliant, Americans now have to talk constantly A Land of Free Thought and Imagination Where Albert Einstein sought refuge in the 1930s Efforts to Promote American Identity in the Early 20th Century The Boone and Crockett Club promotes frontier manliness while Jewish women stress assimilation The Government’s Idea of What it means to be an American Questions on a new test for prospective U.S. citizens Inger Sites’ Take on American Identity A Norwegian immigrant looks at life in America with an eye to healthy personal development African Students Talk of Themselves and America They are African first and eventually want to go home Are Today’s College Students too Narcissistic? Moralistic questioning from the previous generation Two poems about what America (or Minnesota) has become Our sense of sanity dissolves in catastrophe and unjust policies The Angry White Man If he will decide the 2008 election, who is he? Detroit Chauvinism One man’s recollection of a city rich in reality and lost importance Everywhere a Stranger Transplanted Detroiter finds lack of community in Minneapolis Perspectives on Community Life in America Glimpses into a lonelier future Sacred Harp music An old American tradition with the power to revive our culture Tecumseh’s Brother, the Shawnee Prophet A Religious Attempt to Stem the Tide of White Encroachment upon Indian Lands Our National Identity and Globalization The importance of having one’s own culture in a manipulative world Rush to War: How the American government and American identity were hijacked A pro-Israeli group supported by Dick Cheney took over the U.S. Department of Defense The Largely Untold Story of George W. Bush Wanting to be tougher than his father, he ran the Ship of State into the ground. Steve Meldahl, Don Samuels, Northside Blogs, and the Lost Generation How to salvage personal dignity in a world of declining job opportunities for college graduates America approaching the stage of decay Local identity-based communities emerge to fill the void Emmer Jane Vintage An inner-city boutique catering to young African American women Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address at Stanford University Be yourself, in theory and in practice - pursue identity independence The problem with tolerance A commentary on the conviction of Dharun Ravi for a hate crime Young Minneapolis Women (and Men) Feeling Uncomfortable in their own Skins Statements of microaggression The Lumbersexual, a contemporary American identity He's all woodsman except for how he actually lives Crossing paths with Prince, the rock star Our occasionally intersecting lives in Minneapolis and Chanhassen * * * *** * *** * *** * *** * How this Biblical quotation applies to political correctness A new spirit of intolerance, professing to advance tolerance, stalks the land What is Political Correctness and What’s Wrong with It? A dissent from the dominant opinion about minority rights Silencing free speech The preferred mode of response to another view is not to respond A Neighborhood Workshop on ending Racism Whites need to be trained to recognize their oppression Racial groveling Computer software engineer riddled with guilt about his privileged position Shelby Steele on White Racial Guilt Whites cringe at being called “racist” A Discussion of Race at Lucille’s Kitchen Man questions the racial prescription of black ministers and a Roman Catholic archbishop Black and White Identity Three perspectives on race Speech on Forced Identity Wins First Place in State Contest Young man rebels against definitions of “blackness” that had put him on the defensive Senator Barack Obama and Racial Identity Mixed-race people may not fit the existing political paradigms Identity Politics and the “Super Tuesday” Primary Results Obama leads the way out of this politics, but Romney is bushwacked. A New Politics in the Making? The 2008 presidential primaries elevate unorthodox candidates. Making History, or Imprisoned by it? How the Democratic primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pits one identity group against another. Letter to a Biographer (of Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., the Yale chaplain) Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, Jews, and the Fight to Define American Identity Attempts to defame two historical figures in order to impose an alien identity on Americans Is there such a Thing as a “Jewish Conspiracy”? Maybe not if it’s in the open Is there a Jewish conspiracy, part 2 The furor over Rep. Keith Ellison’s comparison of President Bush’s use of the 9/11 attacks to the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany Neo-Con Intellectuals Seduce Bush with Leadership Talk Slouching toward Armaggedon with prospective U.S. attack on Iran A Priority Put on Gender-Neutral Language Writing expert taken to the wood shed for using masculine pronoun Another Group to be Offended “Retard” as bad as the “N-word” Boy Crisis / Man Crisis Feminized society disregards male-identity needs The Discrimination Casino Legal Aid agency, which sued over racial discrimination in 1997, is itself sued in 2007. Unconscious Discrimination Lawsuits by federal government force employers to avoid unintentional decisions against “protected class” members Questioning Creative Diversity College conference tells how to play tricks on the white guys Diversity may lead to isolation Surprising results of a study by Robert Putnam Speaking out against Anti-Racism Enough lies are enough Russia, a white people’s heartland in the 21st century A new source of hope for people of the white race Aggressive Identities (humorous) Company memos about Christmas party sabotaged by special interest demands A Disclaimer This discussion reflects the situation of the author; others may have a different view. The Moderate White Man's Manifesto Racial identity without reference to someone else The Maple Grove Minnesota high school hockey team did WHAT? Can’t say because of privacy concerns I make an issue of race in the 2016 New Hampshire Democratic primary and win only 17 votes statewide. Can a white man achieve identity heaven? The line starts here. * * * *** * *** * *** * *** * My Family Tree Ancestors of William McGaughey, Jr. back four or more generations The Family of William and Joanna McGaughey The parents and birth family of the creator of this web site Recollections of my childhood and of my father’s amazing career in Indiana, New York, Michigan, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania My Siblings Andrew, David, and Margaret McGaughey The Birth Family of William McGaughey Sr. Birth family of the father of the creator of this web site The Birth Family of Joan Durham McGaughey Birth family of the mother of the creator of this web site William H. McGaughey (father) and Joan D. McGaughey (mother) resumes Joan D. McGaughey: Reports from Europe (1948 and 1950) How I met Winston Churchill (and Renato Ricci, Mussolini's minister of public works) My parents' role in promoting Disneyland It started when American Motors became the television show's original sponsor. Written memories of William McGaughey's relatives Information about family history compiled by sister, Mary Jane, and cousin Ruth Adams About the original McGaughey ancestor (David) who came to America from Northern Ireland - Sally Henson begins a genealogical discussion seeking further information about our common ancestor Information about David McGaughey’s descendants in history of Franklin Township, Indiana - A community book of history (Indianapolis) published in 1978 Epistles from Pap Excerpts from a book by Pap’s son, Frank Durham (Joan D. McGaughey's brother) Pap's Great Escapade He helped lead Democratic Senators in the Indiana legislature to flee the state Some of Pap's letters written at the time of my parents' wedding He had a good old time in New York City In Search of My Own Identity A Story of Irrational Choices Made in Life for the Sake of more Authentic Experience Four Adventures Some of William McGaughey’s varied life experiences William McGaughey's Resume List of lifetime activities of the creator of this web site What I did in my years as an accountant As if allocation of indirect costs were not enough * * * *** * *** * *** * *** * My American Identity book manuscript (table of contents) Chapter 1 - Am I still an American? Chapter 2 - Some types of American identity Chapter 3 - Finding the best model Chapter 4 - Like a twin brother who went the other way Chapter 5 - How black Americans won over white society Chapter 6 - Falling into a racial hell-hole Chapter 7 - Echoes of Communism in Hollywood Chapter 8 - Race and ethnicity Chapter 9 - Middle-class identity and Revolution Chapter 10 - Authentic Identity Chapter 11 - Education and Identity Chapter 12 - Jewish Religion Chapter 13 - Defining our identities Chapter 14 - Building a stronger personal identity * * * *** * *** * *** * *** * Some Principles of Personal Identity - Summary Page Political Correctness as a Threat to Authentic Identity - Summary Page Thoughts on American Identity - Summary Page A Case of Identity: William McGaughey, creator of this web site - Summary Page My American Heroes - Summary Page My American Identity - Summary Page * * * *** * *** * *** * *** * How this web site evolved to: Bill McGaughey's other web sites Contact us Links page ThistleroseTreasurechest "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. " - Steve Jobs
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