The word identity is problematic, for it is possible to distort it’s meaning in several ways, to the harm of people and values.

As a Romanic word that always remained a foreign word in the Germanic languages English and German, it has several variants and is not directly understandable out of our natural language-feeling. - That this foreign word is being used here at all, is therefore rather based on the fact that we find it in both languages and that it can also be understood in a positive way in both languages: as a description of something, that connects people, that causes fidelity and care.

The worst way how the word “identity“ can be abused, is the equalization to the adjective “identical“. Here it becomes a contradiction to the value of freedom and thereby the human rights. Being used this way, it also corresponds to the logic of genocide, when it’s transferred on nations or groups. The single one gets equalized to the image of a group. If this image is negative, he gets judged or characterized as an enemy with it.

At the same time the word “identical“ itself also reveals the absurdity of itself being used, as people are never identical. Even clones would be different to each other as a result of their experiences, and even the most stupid one recognizes out of his own life experience that it takes more - more to do justice to people, more to face racism usefully and more to deal appropriately with the “identity” that’s meant here.

However the previous paragraph easily leads to the character of the term „foreign word“ itself: It has a recognized origin.

The origin of “identical“ as well as “identity“ is the Latin word “identitas“, which simply means „(Wesens)einheit = unity of a being“.

The things that unify a “being“, define it. - Differences define boundaries. - Turning oneself off from that, means turning off from the philosophy of enlightenment, which is based on the intellectual work with definitions, just like our values of human rights and an individual dignity are based on this philosophy.

If someone can’t live with the fact that definitions also mean delimitation (not later expelling/ostracism!!!), like our students already learn it in their math lessons, will not feel fine here. This person would face nationality “internationalistically“ and thereby ideologically, and would accordingly expect a way of dealing with the topic, which contradicted the below listed rules for the contents of the Germerika Project.

That this unfortunately needs to be written down, has a European and an American reason - a current and a historic one: Once Germans were purported that their culture, their mentality, their identity would have been the cause for the genocide against the European Jews. Sometimes this still happens today.

That this insults all people (including the German Jews), who became victims, because they confided in the values and the mentality of the German Culture-Nation, is one aspect of many, that uncovers this claim as nothing else than a version of the “logic of genocide“ of it’s own.

Showing the German people as evil, is by the way already usual since the late 19th century. At the same time, when nationalism strengthened the old antisemitism again.

Today European debates about immigration are marked by the implication of ”Ostracism“ and are getting increasingly aggressive - yes, even filled by hatred.

Both is not welcome here, no matter from which direction it comes!

Germerika wears a heart around her neck, because she stands for something, that’s connected to love. This heartiness can be found in the emotions people have while they experience their own culture and it can be found in the value of family, in which everyone is aware of deep feelings being connected to ancestry – also if children are adopted and the bonds of family-love tied around this aspect a different way.

On another level we find these feelings, if it is about more distanced relatives - also historically more distanced relatives.

This makes different normal human feelings come together in the contact to history. The stronger these feelings are and the more they connect themselves to other Perceptions (symbols, architecture, politeness, taste and so on … ) the stronger gets the feeling of attachment.

Once again like in maths, there are „factors“ in language as well. Science even proves us that maths can be used as a “language” too. This shows that bonds of logic, of common sense, of intelligence exist here as well, which reveals that it’s stupid, to treat a nation with hostility, because of ancestry and culture being the factors that define it for historic reasons. And it is extremist to demand of people to deny such a feeling of community - or like it was expressed at the beginning: to deny something that connects people, that causes fidelity and care!

The German people exists for a long time in history and as a subject of the science of history, without having had a common state, while other nations were defined via a state. Elevating their definition chauvinistically, (pseudo)morally is just as reprehensible as the racism, which once/ for a short time was mixed up with our identity (to the eternal shame of the German people). - Apart from that it’s equally dishonorable, because this logic lead to a giant number of nationalistic crimes too, for example the genocides against tribes of Native Americans/ American Indians, who could not give up their way of life, because this would have meant giving up their “identity“ and thereby their existence as a community, as a people. Rather every “state-nation” causes the problem of making a difference between people only because they do or do not have a citizenship - a document …

This does (of course) not deny the value that such nationalities have for people too, but it should be considered in a time, in which (powerful) extremists (mostly in Europe) proclaim a fight against racism, while they defame the definition of the German people by descent and cultural ethos, claiming that this would already be racism - a truly horrific logic, since it inevitably means the denial of the right to exist for any people, defined this way!

Respect for different national definitions is therefore not only a necessary part of real respect for the diversity of mankind (or of the American people), but it’s also a necessary part of real respect for single individuals and their natural feelings, values as well as their intelligence.

Defining oneself as a Cherokee, Japanese or German for factors like descent, mentality, language or customs, is therefore no contradiction to being a US-American. It contradicts to being an ideologist, who denies nations the right to have their characteristics, their mentality, their freedom, their dignity.

In the case of the Germans this is of a special importance, as the German word for German: “Deutsch” (originally “theudisk”/ also still alive in „dutch“), means „of the kind of the (Germanic) people“. So the nation is neither named for it’s geographical comefrom nor for a State, but for the way it is - for it’s culture.

So the “Germans” are originally such Germanic people, who did not Romanise themselves. This is the oldest scientific proof for the being of the German “culture-nation“ in contrast to “state-nations“, long before such words were used to make contexts understandable with the help of definitions.

Being a German has nothing to do with any citizenship(!), but that many Americans (without any bad will!) relate their “being German“ only to descent, is therefore a mistake too and somehow this is even “morally questionable”, as their ancestors mostly had an American Dream, that was connected to a life in German culture. The Germerika Project is the invitation to umpteen millions of German-Americans to move forward on the way, that led to themselves being Americans today, because having an awareness of history does not mean, that you’re a backwards-thinking person, it rather means that you’re looking forward with experience and recognize historical chances – in our case, discovering a tremendous importance in one’s own existence.

In every case the FACTORS culture and descent also mean, that people can be more or less German. Germerika wants to help to cause a „more“ among German-descending Americans, especially because this strengthens bonds between people, which are based on the will for good and which help to find happiness, instead of “only” having the right to pursue happiness …

At this point it gets necessary to approach to what „typically German“ actually is ...

A complete/ absolute answer on that will never exist ! First because the German culture is much to diverse (because of the multitude of German tribes), but second also because it has reached a much to high level in each of many very different eras - and hopefully will also continue to reach!

Accordingly this question always only makes sense, if it’s asked precisely enough. - Stupid people often fail already at this point ...

However it stays a fact, that one has always and everywhere attested the Germans a special will for order. This can be recognized in the report of the Roman historian Tacitus („Germania“!!!) about the cleanliness of the Germans (of whom the Romans got to know the soap) as well as in the classical image of the Prussian, disciplined German. But also the Austrians enjoyed this “fame” on the Balkans, as well as the first settlers in the Louisiana of 1722, who had come from the Alsace, the Palatinate and Swabia.

It’s a matter of fact, that many images about „the Prussians“ are nevertheless inconsistent with the huge number of German regions, tribes and partial-mentalities, but they’re also not doing justice to reality, because especially Prussia has been an historic supporter of different kinds of Freedoms: Suum Quique – Jedem Das Seine - To Each His Own.

Already the Germans under Hermann/Arminius fought against the Roman Empire because of their love for freedom, while they respected the Roman civilisation very much. Germans started the American anti-slavery movement and even during the Nazi-time in Europe the flag with the swastika was not called the “symbol of fascism“, but the “Flag of Freedom“ - the Freedom of the entire people in it’s relationship to the other nations. - A distortion of the value of freedom? - Well: How free was the “land of the free and the home of the brave”, while it ignored women’s rights?! ...

The freedom of the German(ic) women was only reached again after more than a thousand years, by enlightenment, human rights and a long, long way.

Also the social conscience of the Germans is a recognizable part of German mentality. Germans built up unions in America, established Kindergartens, created welfare institutions that helped Germans and the suffering Afro-American population. Communism was invented in Germany, and the German Fascism was named „Nationalsocialism“ to be successful. Already Martin Luther’s ideas and the German reaction (for example Peasant Wars) are marked by a social thinking, that can’t be found everywhere on earth ...

Scientific thinking makes a difference between us and those, who challenge the free world with violence today. At the same time one has to emphasize that all great scientists, engineers, philosophers or artists where always single people. But it where single personalities, who appear in the German people especially often - and in all times.

With a twinkling eye, we can now finally mention, that Tacitus didn’t only describe the Germans as skilled craftsman and successful traders, but most of all also as playful friends of beer. It’s unavoidable to recognize this people in those descriptions, people wrote down in the America of the 19th century, when self-named “nativists“ usually accused the Germans of using Sunday to play games with their friends and families, to sing, to drink, to eat, and laugh, instead of only praying in silence ...

May many readers recognize themselves in the contents of germerika.net, as individuals, who thereby also recognize their own tremendous value for their people - a people that helped to make America great and that needs it’s Americans!