Sharing a Bit of Homework I’ve Done

I’ve definitely taken an unanticipated hiatus from writing. The last couple of months have been an endless barrage of terrifying governmental changes for those of us who aren’t cis white men, and battening down the proverbial (and literal) hatches for the next four years.

Not going to lie, I’ve been dealing with it by digging into my studies - a groanworthy pun when you realize one of my classes is archaeology. Sorry not sorry. Apparently I do dad jokes now.

In my anthropology class, one of my homework assignments was to write an article about China. For those of you who may not know, China is an incredibly diverse place with people varying greatly in ethnicities, belief systems and cultures, yet they are all united under one flag. Sound familiar?

The assignment asked the question, how do these peopl unite under one flag? Is this working? Here’s part of what I turned in as a response to the homework questions:

“As for the question of nationalism in a country with various ethnic groups. A country that perhaps has a history of a dominant population moving into spaces that had belonged to smaller, less powerful, ethnic groups, a population that has asserted itself in power, aligned itself with its own self-appointed philosophies, how does a country like that survive under one flag? In China, understandably, there is unrest – desire for independence, and a voice to be heard amongst the powers that exist in the People’s Republic of China. It’s a struggle that we see currently in the United States – we like to believe it is problem solved here with platitudes like, “One nation under god with liberty and justice for all” even though there are clear and ever-present structures that are built on both patriarchy and white supremacy. The dominant group keeps power as best it can by aligining itself with the largest ethnic population so that control can be maintained. In the United States, we can see this in our government by the number of straight white cis men who are elected to office. There is little to no representation to be found for the many, many, ethnic and cultural groups that exist outside of that one narrow category.

              “How can a country with so many different people coexist under one flag? In an ideal world, through representation from all parties and groups, so that all can concerns can be heard and addressed and decided (ideally, again) by the people themselves. But in reality, this isn’t how people exist under one flag. People who are vastly different exist under one flag because we have to, even when we’re not represented. Even when we have no voice in what happens in our government – we were born where we were born, and it is not so easy to pick up and move one’s life to an entirely new country. In the US, the illusion of power is granted to the individual states, while overall control is still held by the federal government and the people who think like the dominant ethnic population – in the US – White people. In China, I imagine this is largely the same – the dominant party holds the power, and everyone else has to exist because…we have to. We have to keep going for our families, for our loved ones, and for the lives we are trying to make for ourselves and our descendents.

               “As to the question of whether this is working? I think really the best people who can answer that question are going to be the least represented people in the PRC – the ethnic groups that are not dominant. I would imagine there will be groups who say that it is, and others – like those living in Tibet, for example – who would say otherwise. If someone were to ask me personally if it is working here in the US, I’d have to say it is not working. We are far from United here in the States, especially in an age where, in this last election, one of my closest friends had to gently let their daughter know that it isn’t safe to ask someone who they’d be voting for – since for some people the answer can result in violence. I don’t know if China is different, but I do think that in the US, we should be paying attention to whether it is (myself included), because their diversities and ethnic power structures are not dissimilar from us, and therefore, may hold knowledge we need to be a successful, more united country.”

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got for now.

Thank you for reading.