One of the best discussions of American identity was written by a Frenchman named Crèvecoeur in the late 18th century in his “Letters from an American Farmer” – Crèvecoeur was the first to apply the notion of melting pot to an American identity: “Ubi panis ibi patria [where I earn my bread, that is my fatherland], is the motto of all emigrants. What then is the American, this new man? He is either a European or the descendant of an European, hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. (...) He is an American, who, leaving behind him all the ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced (…) Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world. Americans are the western pilgrims who are carrying along with them that great mass of arts, sciences, vigour, and industry which began long since in the East; they will finish the great circle.” I am not going to claim that Crèvecoeur said the last word on the topic, but he did speak, well, more or less, the first word. Merry Christmas, a bit late, to all of you. Jeff Richards Muenster, Germany