The Complexity of Identity
Our little German community, nestled in the rural countryside of the Garden State of New Jersey, was a haven of community and faith. The German culture was alive and well as we enjoyed German food (meat and potatoes were a staple!), weekly German church gatherings, conversations of adults regarding “the good old days” in Germany, and of course, an upfront view of my parents adapting to the U.S. culture, learning the English language, and working to become successful in business. My father’s extended family was Brazilian. As I grew up, we slowly brought each of his brothers and sister and their families over from Brazil to have a better life here in America. The struggle to assimilate and yet hold true to one’s ethnic culture was an ongoing tension along with the desire to attain a sense of success.
Growing up in an immigrant community with immigrant parents seemed normal to me and gave me a deep love for cultures within a culture. However, there is a sense of “who really am I?” as one grows up in an immigrant home. Throughout the years, America has often been termed a “melting pot” of identities. This theory assumes that the many immigrant groups represented here should “melt together” and eventually become one into the predominant society. “In a sense, the melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous…with a common culture, or vice versa, for a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous through the influx of foreign elements with different cultural backgrounds, possessing the potential to create disharmony within the previous culture.”[1] There has been much debate around the melting pot theory, but in some ways it seems to deem true, perhaps not for the first generation, but definitely for the second and third generations of immigrants. My own personal experience shows a shifting of my German identity to one that melts into what is around me. However, at the core, there is a greater need to be fully accepted and deemed worthy by others no matter where you have come from or what your story has been.
With this complexity as my backdrop, I approached Francis Fukuyama’s book Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment with expectation and curiosity since, to be honest, I had never heard of identity politics. According to Fukuyama, the very psychological center of identity is the thought of “thymos”. Thymos bein “the part of the soul that craves recognition of dignity”[2]. There is also isothymia – the demand to be respected on an equal basis with other people; while megalothymia is the desire to be recognized as superior.[3] Fukayana asserts that “modern liberal democracies promise and largely deliver a minimal degree of equal respect, embodied in individual rights, the rule of law, and the franchise.”[4]
The book’s goal is to seemingly forge an understanding of how crucial human dignity is, whether at the innate psychological level or on a broader scale in the working out of societal political landscapes. Identity can divide and it can integrate.[5] Fukuyama makes an interesting statement that “while the United States has benefited from diversity, it cannot build its national identity around diversity as such.”[6] Instead it needs to be built on “belief in the common political principles of constitutionalism, the rule of law, democratic accountability, and the principle that “all men (and women) are created equal.”[7] The book seems to be a call for action since we are so far from the thought of identity that is supported by a recognition of dignity for all. Fukuyama claims that “unless we can work our way back to more universal understandings of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict.”[8]
To be honest, as we see the continuing conflict of inequality on many levels, I wonder if a culture of recognition of dignity is even possible without the understanding of the cross and a self-emptying of the need to be greater than someone else. If the survival of the fittest seems to play itself out repeatedly within the nature of humanity, it seems that only an understanding beyond human nature could help change the tide. Ephesians 4:2 stresses the call to “not think that you are better than other people. Always be kind and patient with each other. Love one another, so that you do not quickly become angry with each other.” Richard Foster states in “Treasury of Christian Discipline” that the church needs a “rigorous Christian witness” that “stands in contradiction to the dominant culture, which has given its soul to the vows of greed, permissiveness, and selfishness.”[9]
Thinking of how crucial the church is in setting the stage for change, I am brought back to Simon P. Walker’s thoughts on undefended leadership which displays itself in a “kind of generous hospitality: a giving of ourselves to the world that transforms it, an opening-up of space in our lives in which the ‘other’ is welcomed and, indeed, utterly changed.”[10] For the immigrant among us, for the underprivileged and marginalized, we have such an opportunity as the church to set the example. Holy Spirit help us.
[1] “Melting Pot – ECPS,” accessed October 9, 2023, https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/melting-pot/.
[2] Francis Fukuyama, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment (New York, New York: Picador, 2018). Xiii.
[3] Francis Fukuyama. Xiii.
[4] Francis Fukuyama. Xiii.
[5] Francis Fukuyama. 183.
[6] Francis Fukuyama. 171.
[7] Francis Fukuyama. 158.
[8] Francis Fukuyama. Xvi.
[9] Richard Foster, Treasury of Christian Disciplines (San Fransisco, CA: Harper Collins Publishers, 1981). 247.
[10] Simon P. Walker, Leading with Nothing to Lose: Training in the Exercise of Power (Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions Ltd., n.d.). p. 154.
About the Author
Esther Edwards
Esther has served in ministry leadership for over 35 years. She is an ordained minister, an ICF and CCLC certified coach, and licensed coach trainer. Her and her husband have launched their own coaching practice, Enjoy the Journey Leadership Coaching and seek to train ministry leaders in the powerful skill of coaching. Esther loves hiking, reading, and experiencing new coffee shops with friends and family. She enjoys the journey with her husband, Keith, their four daughters, sons-in-law, and their four, soon to be five, beautiful grandchildren.8 responses to “The Complexity of Identity”
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Hi Esther,
Identity is complex and multi-faceted as you pointed out. There are so many layers to uncover about ourselves and others. I love that you brought in Simon Walker’s point about “generous hospitality” and welcome. You have talked about the many nations represented in your church. How do you honor the cultural and national identity of your congregants while supporting them in their new American identity? Is that even an applicable question in your context?
We honor cultural identity by often having food events where we encourage everyone to bring food from their cultural context. At times we also highlight a variety of languages in the reading of scripture and the music we sing. The greatest way, though, is through the telling of congregants’ stories. This helps validate that they have great purpose and have uniquely become a part of our story.
National identity is supported by the shared values regarding freedom and equality but actually not so much through patriotic events or songs. Most of our people are recent immigrants so they have little understanding of patriotic elements.
Even as I write this, I am challenged to do more. Hospitality welcomes people in. However, it takes even greater intentionality to have those that are welcomed to genuinely feel central to the family.
Esther, you wrote, “I wonder if a culture of recognition of dignity is even possible without the understanding of the cross and a self-emptying of the need to be greater than someone else.” This is in line with some of what Kim S. was pondering concerning Fukayama’s “minimal common culture.” Like, is it really possible for disparate people to land the plane on a set of shared values, especially if there isn’t a foundation that begins with God, centered on Christ? Is it possible to develop a common baseline of values apart from the recognition that people are made in the image of God (and all that comes with that)? I couldn’t agree more that Simon Walker’s material is super instructive here (you referenced what he said about hospitality). As I read Fukuyama, I kept going back to Walker’s Undefended Leader series in thinking about how our connection to the “Other” is really the only way to not locate our identity in the applause of others, or in how we compare to others, or in how we find our identity in not being like others, etc.
You are so right. We truly need the “other” to help us. As Henri Nouwen states “We are God’s beloved ones, bearers of the divine image and human beings capable of glory and goodness as well as harm and alienation.” (Discernment by Henri Houwen, p. 141) Nouwen asserts that through Christ we are being formed into our “true self,” an identity that really can’t form without Christ at the center.
I love the connections you made between your upbringing and hospitality as a posture to convey dignity on others. I love the image of the church welcoming and making space for the marginalized. That’s so much better than becoming a homogeneous « melting pot. » Thanks for a thought-provoking post.
Hi Esther,
You quoted Simon Walker…a “kind of generous hospitality: a giving of ourselves to the world that transforms it, an opening-up of space in our lives in which the ‘other’ is welcomed and, indeed, utterly changed.”[10] For the immigrant among us, for the underprivileged and marginalized, we have such an opportunity as the church to set the example. Holy Spirit help us.
On my Father’s side I am fourth generation Chinese in Hawaii. On my Mother’s side, I am third generation Filipino. With that being said, when I asked the congregation if anyone had immigrated from somewhere else, there were no hands. They apparently had always been Texan!
It is clear that identity changes. Over time, due to circumstances and sometimes by manipulation.
I listened to Fukuyama on Youtube and he said that government elites can manipulate the identity of their constituents. Clever elites can do it without being caught at it!
Certainly, I am seeing this manipulation in Hungary and Slovakia (where our NGO works). Now many of the people we work with are Anti-Ukrainian and pro Putin (sigh). How did that happen? As an authoritarian information autocrat, Prime Minister Victor Orban has successfully brained washed his country. Anti EU? Check. Anti Nato? Check, Anti Ukraine? Check, Pro Putin? Check.
I am amazed on the shift of identity. (double sigh).
Still I am heartened by your words…For the immigrant among us, for the underprivileged and marginalized, we have such an opportunity as the church to set the example.
Amen.
Shalom
Hi Esther! Your post is captivating. I am truly impressed with how you confronted and overcame moments of struggle regarding your hybrid identity. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the existence of individuals who profess to be followers of Christ yet engage in acts of racism.
“Thinking of how crucial the church is in setting the stage for change…” Yes.
In this weeks’ reading, I was also struck by this intense opportunity we have as a body of believers. Do you agree that our successful application of our Imago Dei worldview could move the needle on the need of others to be seen? It seems like it needs to start with consistent application within the church before we can spread it further?