When Dana Hourani and I first interviewed one another, I asked her what nationality she was and she said she was Egyptian. She had been born in Kuwait and emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-one. She told me her nationality was American but did not have an accent and did not think about wearing an “American accent” when speaking English with her partners. I asked her why she did not consider wearing an American accent and she responded that she had a British passport and did not identify with the Americans. We discussed briefly the differences between being American and just being an American and she then stated, “Well, you know, maybe I am not American but I am not British either.”
Height is also an interesting distinction for those who consider themselves both. Height is not necessarily associated with nationality or culture. If I am writing a paper and need someone to proofread it because I’m not native, I will often request that my spelling is corrected. In many countries spelling is a major problem and it can prevent you from completing a document correctly. If I were asked my height I could simply state that I’m six feet tall or in another country I would need to provide documentation proving my height.
Height does not seem like an important part of ‘being American’ to many of us. Height is something that is not measured by the government in most countries so if you do not have it documented than you could find yourself discriminated against in the workplace. The same could happen if you do not have documentation proving your date of birth. Many employers insist on showing proof of a person’s date of birth even though it may be completely irrelevant to their business and their particular situation. Most of us can relate to situations where we felt that people were judging us based on things we didn’t have. Being “American” doesn’t have to mean being impervious to discrimination and it certainly shouldn’t.