The sometimes somber, sometimes joyful reality of human civilization is that there have been monumental changes in the status quo from its inception to the present. There are, of course, basic needs and aspirations that remain the same , or that ought to remain the same – the need for food, clothing, shelter, sexual and other bodily functioning, and the higher-level need to be the best one can be in the journey of life.

However, if one looks at the concept of “race,” one surely can see that there have been changes in identity as groups moved, voluntarily or involuntarily, from one land mass or region to another. Groups often conquered others, or were themselves conquered. Often, movements occurred as a result of natural or man-made factors.

I look at countries like the USA and the land in which I was born – both countries comprising diverse racial groups. And I see so often, various individuals and organizations promoting links to “ancestral homelands” that go back centuries and several generations.

There’s nothing wrong, I believe, in recognizing that each of us is partially defined by a multitude of influences – race, religion, tribe, ethnicity, region, nationality, family, education, and ancestry, etc.

The thing to be ware of, though, is that each person uses those associations differently, and many emerge as human beings first and foremost, while others are largely defined by one or more of those influences specifically.

However one chooses to view oneself and life, one must understand that as man has continued to move around, he adapts to new environments. It is a matter of survival. Thus, a descendant of a race in one country with links going back centuries in another, will find that he or she will necessarily hold both similarities and dissimilarities with people from so-called “mother countries.”

If we are aware of this, it would perhaps make efforts to maintain some links more realistic and meaningful . Knowing that wherever we happen to be. wherever we find ourselves living and sweating, playing and sleeping, that is our home. We share commonalities with our neighbors regardless of their ancestral links. We pay taxes to the same authorities, share the same land, enjoy protection and services of the same governments, and work collectively to make the same nation a better and more beneficial one for all.

By recognizing this, and by realizing the over-arching role we all play as human beings first and foremost in a diverse world where we must share with others, the fostering of links to “race” and other “ancestral homelands” can be more rewarding and less divisive.