Most people say, "I am American/English/Taiwanese... because I act and feel like one."

Many mixed babies say, "I am both X and Y, because my father is from X country and my mother from Y."

Some N-nd generation immigrant say, "My family comes from X but I was born and raised here and so I am American/English/Taiwanese..."

Some say, "I am a(n) American/British/Taiwanese citizen because I hold a passport from that country."

In some countries, to become a new citizen (through a process called "naturalization"), one has to swear on the Constitution of the new country.

However, some immigrants are criticized because they don't behave American/English/Taiwanese enough or even refuse to follow laws and/or customs of their new country.  This happens in every country and often creates serious conflicts between ethnicities.

Some people say, "I am a(n) American/British/Taiwanese citizen, but I don't like being called that way because I don't agree with many things that my government has done.  I'd like to call myself a citizen of the EU/UN."

An American and French classmate once told me, if the US and France go to war against each other, he will receive 2 drafts and will have to choose to be EITHER an American OR a French soldier.

In conclusion, we may have multiple cultural identities, multiple ethical identities and so on, but in most cases, we can only have 1 national identity.  Which one should we choose?

When not in time of war, I would suggest this question to ask yourself:

Which country's law and constitutional ideal do I agree with (not necessarily to my advantage)?

Read more about identities on:

Identity in question from OpenLearn, Open University, UK

copyright (c) 2012 E.V.L International Consultings Ltd.

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