In our modern world, not much thought is given to family ancestry or origin. With so many other diversions to amuse us, including sports, technology, education, and entertainment, little time is left for family and learning about family history. At most we learn about how mom and dad met, or what our first names mean.
The significance of ancestry has been lost over the past few generations, due to our culture's changes in way of life and childrearing. No more do grandma and grandpa live in the house when they grow old; no more do siblings continue to live under the same roof when they get married and have children. We would like to imagine that we care for what our grandparents and parents have to say about family history and why certain family traditions exist, but there seems to be precious little time in which to do so. If the ancestry and culture of individual families are continually being lost, where then is the identity of the general population? If we as Americans,, already a melting pot of diverse backgrounds and cultural struggles, do not take measures to preserve and learn about our immediate family history, our identity as a country will be lost.
To a point, our identity is our family: its traditions, lineage, history, and stories. Our parents, grandparents, and ancestors have written tomes of history before our time; our duty as the new generation is to begin writing our own stories where they left off. To continue a new and unique path in life, one of our own choosing, is just as important as recognizing the weight and importance of the chapters that have been written and lived before us.
Works Cited
Keita: Heritage of the Griot. Dir. Dani Kouyate. Perf. Seydou Boro, Hamed Dicko, Abdoulaye Komboudri. Afix Productions, 1996. DVD. Canvas. California Newsreel. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
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