S605-e2

Sense of Belonging

"Cultures"-2

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“Becoming” French (or Italian, American...)

One can "become" French in culture without the aid of blood or land.

One can join the French people, truly belong to them, without biological ties to the slightest lineage.

Conversely, it is possible to carry within oneself French biological ancestry and yet distance oneself, consciously or not, from French culture and people, to the point of ceasing to be a legitimate heir.

A personal testimony

I was born in Casablanca. Although not French, I was lucky enough to study at Lycée Lyautey, a French high school. I remember. I recited without hesitation: " my ancestors the Gauls... " Yet, I had neither French blood nor French soil beneath my feet. But that didn't bother me; I was thinking of "symbolic" ancestors rather than flesh-and-blood ancestors.

Through this intimate recognition, the Gauls became my “cultural” ancestors.

French culture reached me through a thousand channels: the channel of language, the reading of its authors, the very flavor of this word that one breathes in its books.

I loved her, adopted her. She seemed to demand nothing from me other than the loyalty of my heart.

She didn't even seem to be asking for exclusivity of my attachment.

She had already placed her invisible roots in me.

Having come to continue my studies in France, wishing to obtain French nationality, I was asked " why do you want to become French? " I simply replied: "What else could I be? I think in French, I dream in French . "

This admission threw the official, who seemed to forget all the other planned questions.

I felt I belonged to the French people, to France, to its history, even before the administration decided.

The feeling of belonging

A people does not demand identity cards or blood certificates from its children.

Rather, he watches attentively for the signs of sincere love, for that feeling of belonging that does not deceive.

Certainly, the natural transmission of a culture often occurs through the biological line. But this path is neither sufficient nor guaranteed for a person to truly become a member of the people and its culture.

Sometimes a "break" occurs, when a member moves away from his or her original culture, from the people from which he or she comes, and even knowingly or unknowingly rejects his or her own roots.

It is a fundamental human right.

But then should he still enjoy the same rights over his culture of origin as members who are sincerely attached to that culture?

The right of blood is not enough to guarantee the survival of a culture, and the right of the soil even less so.

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