it’s kind of like accents. no one thinks they have one. everyone else is a bit odd. I, however, am neutral.
we swim in the water of our culture and our upbringing; we do not even see it.
it’s not even a particularly extreme example. just a clarifying example. once you are embedded in their lives, and see the love they have for each other, their children, for G-d, for country, they are no different than American families and their pride in their own G-d, country and armed forces.
jean paul Sartre was wrong; being does not precede essence. I suspect that your reticence to attribute any credit to your community or family unit to make you who you are is rooted in unresolved childhood issues of independence and separation from the parents. 😉
