A special relationship with Ireland

As we know from reading Spotlight Online, President Obama has proclaimed March to be "Irish-American Heritage Month". Certainly, with the name O'Bama, he can joke about having a connection to Ireland.

With 12 percent of Americans claiming some Irish ancestry, it's not unfair to give the Irish a whole month. African-Americans, at 13.5 percent, have all of February as Black History Month. At 17 percent, Germans are the largest group of hyphenated Americans, but they get only a week or two — and unofficially at that — for celebrating what is really only Bavarian culture (Oktoberfest).

Most other nationalities have a day to celebrate their heritage, at least in cities with a large ethnic population. New York has not only a St. Patrick's Day parade, but also a Greek Independence Day parade, a Puerto Rican Day parade, a Chinese New Year parade, and so on. If your ancestors are Polish or Serbian or Norwegian, you get a picnic instead. That's not bad either. Recipes are the most common connection to "the old country". The languages, folk dancing, rituals and rites of passage have mostly been forgotten after two, four, or ten generations.

Small groups do keep certain traditions alive; but, to be honest, most Americans see their ethnicity the same way they see their zodiac sign: as the source of some vague qualities they can't really define. Participants in Pittsburgh's Polish-American Day often celebrate Indonesian-American Day by mistake, by wearing their flag's colors upside down.

Obama gives good reasons for honoring Irish-Americans:

"Following the colonial migrations, the United States enjoyed the greatest influx of Irish during the 1840s as Ireland suffered the Great Famine. Hungry but hopeful, poor but perseverant, Irish-Americans seized the opportunity to work hard, enjoy success, and pursue the American dream. Many took on the difficult work of constructing America's infrastructure. Others assumed positions of leadership."

Of course, you could say these things about almost any nationality. Take out the words "Great Famine" and put in "religious persecution" or "political repression", and the text will be just as fitting to a different group.

Irish immigrants did bring with them a stronger sense of community and identity than most others, filling the police forces, fire departments and Catholic clergy of the biggest U.S. cities for decades. In recent years, Irish folk music groups such as The Dubliners, The Chieftains, and The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem have romanticized the image Americans have of Ireland.

The U.S. has also had a special relationship with Ireland, allowing much higher immigration quotas for the Irish than for other nationals. Americans with Irish ancestry also have an easy path to Irish citizenship. But to some, what matters about the Irish is: They speak English. They're not British. They eat familiar food (meat and potatoes). They like to have fun. Reason enough to wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

Sharp eyes will notice that Obama's proclamation is only for March 2009. Maybe next year, another group will have its turn.