Why Identity Matters

Summary

The video delves into the intricacies of identity and culture, questioning the conventional wisdom surrounding multiculturalism in Western societies. It challenges the notion that citizenship equates to cultural identity, highlighting the deep-rooted connections between people and their cultural heritage. Through a discourse filled with examples, the narrative argues that changing demographics impact the cultural and social fabric of a nation. It scrutinizes the implications of mass immigration, suggesting that multiculturalism often leads to cultural conformity rather than diversity.

Highlights

• The video questions if being born in a country inherently makes one culturally identical to natives. 🤨
• It contrasts cultural identity with legal nationality, using various countries as examples. 🗺️
• Rishi Sunak, despite being Prime Minister of the UK, sparks a discussion on cultural versus ethnic identity. 🇬🇧
• The video posits that multiculturalism may lead to the dilution of traditional cultural identities. 🎭
• Mass immigration and demographic shifts are seen as factors that can transform national cultures significantly. 🌍

Key Takeaways

• Identity transcends citizenship; it's deeply rooted in ethnicity and culture. 🌎
• Multiculturalism is often celebrated, but its impact on traditional cultures can be complex. 🤔
• Changing demographics can significantly alter a nation's cultural landscape. 📊
• The distinction between ethnicity and nationality is crucial in understanding identity. 👥
• Retaining cultural heritage is pivotal in preserving unique national identities. 🏛️

Overview

In "Why Identity Matters," the discussion kicks off with an intriguing question: does being a citizen mean you truly belong to that culture? The video explores this by examining how identity intertwines with culture, ethnicity, and heritage. Using the perspectives on notable figures like Rishi Sunak, it raises questions about how deeply one's background impacts their true identity, beyond legal documents.

The narrative challenges the perennial celebration of multiculturalism in Western countries, arguing that while diverse influences are hailed, they may lead to cultural conformity instead of diversity. Through historical and contemporary examples, it points out how demographic changes can reshape the cultural fabric of nations, bringing about unintended cultural shifts.

Highlighting the intricate connection between people and culture, "Why Identity Matters" underscores the importance of recognizing the unique identities that shape a nation. It suggests that merely advocating for a multicultural society overlooks the potential loss of distinct cultural heritage. The video encourages a thoughtful reflection on how societies can embrace diversity while maintaining their cultural integrity.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction The chapter titled 'Introduction' discusses the topic of English identity, particularly in the context of individuals like Rishi Sunak. The conversation revolves around the idea of whether being English is tied to ethnic background or if it is defined by being born and raised in England. The discussion highlights the differing opinions on what constitutes being English, challenging the notion that skin color or ethnic origins determine one's nationality. It points out that Rishi Sunak, despite being of Indian descent and a Hindu, is considered English because he was born and raised in the country. The chapter also touches on the broader debate about whether English identity inherently has an ethnic component.
• 00:30 - 05:00: Immigration and Identity This chapter explores the complexities surrounding immigration and identity, particularly in countries like Ireland. It discusses the notion that anyone, regardless of their background, can establish their identity within a new nation simply by obtaining the necessary legal documentation. The chapter challenges the belief that this legal status equates to being as integral to the nation's culture and history as those whose families have long-standing roots in the country. It also addresses the criticism faced when expressing concerns or differing views on national identity and the existence of a homogeneous culture in a nation where immigration occurs.
• 05:00 - 10:00: Cultural Changes and Multiculturalism This chapter discusses the concept of cultural changes and the idea of multiculturalism. It highlights that countries undergo transformations over time, evolving through different influences such as the Gael, the Picts, the Saxons, and the Danes. The chapter emphasizes that even cohesive and homogeneous groups with unique histories and lineages are subject to change, focusing on the notion that identity and ethnicity are secondary to culture. It argues that culture comprises a set of ideas that anyone can adopt, suggesting that America symbolizes timeless ideas rather than a fixed national identity.
• 10:00 - 15:00: Ethnicity and National Identity The chapter discusses the concept of national identity, emphasizing that citizenship transcends ethnic backgrounds. It argues that regardless of one's ancestral roots or country of origin, individuals from diverse backgrounds such as Armenia, Cambodia, Bolivia, or Nigeria are just as American as those with deep ancestral ties to the country, like the great-great-granddaughter of a Civil War veteran. This idea of shared values and history is highlighted as a unifying American identity. However, the chapter also challenges this notion by suggesting that places are influenced and shaped by the people who inhabit them, implying a more complex relationship between ethnicity, identity, and belonging.
• 15:00 - 19:30: Cultural Shifts and Consequences The chapter titled 'Cultural Shifts and Consequences' explores how changing the people within a society leads to cultural change. It posits that culture is not an arbitrary collection of elements that can be adopted by anyone, but rather a reflection of a people's identity. This identity is shaped by various factors including morals, religion, language, history, geography, customs, diet, and ethnicity. The chapter emphasizes the significance of identity in understanding cultural changes and their implications.

Why Identity Matters Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 i would say that Rishi Sunk is as English as Taiser and Writer right he is absolutely English he was born and bred here and um I wouldn't say that the color of his skin makes him any English he's a brown Hindu how is he English cuz he's born and bred here so by being born here you've become English in your opinion yeah it depends if you think English has got um an ethnic undertone no of course it does well I I disagree
• 00:30 - 01:00 you know for the longest time we've been told that any person of any background can show up on the shores of any European nation like Ireland get a piece of paper that says they can stay here and all of a sudden they're just as Irish as someone whose entire family lineage dates back to this small island and it's a mortal sin of unforgivable bigotry to suggest otherwise we are told that because we all haven't lived in total isolation for our entire history that we as an identifiable people don't exist that when the country ceases to be
• 01:00 - 01:30 visually the same as it was at some point there is a level when it ceases to be that country well but countries always change you have the gale the picked the Saxon the DNE i mean we are then told that even if you are a cohesive homogeneous group with a unique history and a traceable lineage well that doesn't matter because it's not about identity or ethnicity it's all about culture and a culture of course is just a set of ideas that can be adopted by anyone and that that's what people have to realize that America is just a placeholder for timeless ideas and if
• 01:30 - 02:00 you fall too in love with you know oh the specific place and all this that's you know that's not what it is you citizen from Armenia Cambodia Bolivia or Nigeria is considered every bit as American as the great great granddaughter of a Civil War veteran they share values and history it's hard to imagine a more unifying idea and if you disagree with this then even some right-wing voices will have you cast out of polite society but it isn't true places are shaped by people and if you
• 02:00 - 02:30 change the people you change the place so let's look at how that change happens and why identity matters [Music] a nation's culture isn't just a random set of ideas and practices randomly dropped down from on high that anyone anywhere will just pick up and adopt a nation's culture is the manifestation of all elements of that people's identity their morals their religion their language their history their geography their customs their diet their ethnicity
• 02:30 - 03:00 their race and countless other elements all forged together through thousands of years of coexistence there's no magic soil that determines what an area's culture is it's created by people a people and their culture are inseparable because that unique culture could only have come from those people so if you change the people then you will change the culture think of the United States of America the land was once totally dominated by various Native American tribes however once the British settlers
• 03:00 - 03:30 arrived in 1620 everything changed they set up their colonies founded the USA nearly wiped out the natives and totally transformed the entire continent but it was the same land they farmed the same air they breathed the same water they drank the same game they hunted but they were different people and the people changed so so did the culture nobody not even the most far-left open borders advocates disagrees with this in fact they openly lament the displacement and
• 03:30 - 04:00 loss of the status of Native Americans they understand that changing the people changes culture you also see this when they openly celebrate the browning of America and brag about how this will transform American politics because they know changing demographics brings a change in values and in culture we're really only elected based on a litmus test to stop the tide of diversity in the country the browning of America there are Republicans who are concerned about v progressive voting patterns that Democrats brag about they brag about
• 04:00 - 04:30 this Hey the the so-called browning of America which is something I've said I don't care about and I think you're afraid of 2044 in 2044 non-Hispanic whites will become a minority and you don't want that but if you have the utter timmerity to suggest that this isn't a good thing and want to resist your culture being transformed you're labeled every sort of ist or phobe they can come up with another example is imagine you could magically swap the people of Ireland and the people of Japan would the Japanese all of a sudden
• 04:30 - 05:00 start drinking Guinness becoming Catholic playing GAA speaking the Irish language reading Irish literature and listening to Irish music and would the Irish all of a sudden start sumo wrestling eating sushi speaking Japanese wearing kimonos create functional public transport and become a much quieter more mannerly and reserved people of course not because people shape culture not places and if you change the people then inevitably you are going to change the culture [Music] as I already mentioned when you say
• 05:00 - 05:30 culture is shaped by people most of polite society will tell you that's an unacceptable or at best incredibly controversial opinion to hold but even the biggest advocates of mass immigration agree with me that changing a people changes a culture they just tell you to be happy about it and call it multiculturalism they frame multiculturalism as if it's some unquestionable positive every single Western nation should not just accept but celebrate however they're never honest about what the actual impact of multiculturalism is so let's break it
• 05:30 - 06:00 down to its simplest form if you have a country like the Republic of Ireland that for the last century has been essentially a monocultural country so it's 100% Irish culture if all of a sudden you become multicultural then by definition you are no longer 100% Irish because multiple other cultures have come in and replaced the traditional one by definition the more multicultural you become the less Irish you become on top of this mainstream voices in media politics and academia are constantly
• 06:00 - 06:30 waxing lyrical about the joys of multicultural modern Ireland when they ask you to celebrate diversity and multiculturalism they're asking you to actively celebrate the delilution of your own identity and replacement of your ancient culture ireland is right now 20% foreignb born and that number is only set to increase at what point will we be diverse enough at what point will we be allowed to say we want our country to remain the place our ancestors built through generations of hardship suffering and oppression at 30% foreign
• 06:30 - 07:00 50% foreign when we are a minority and our capital city becomes some unidentifiable identityless copypaste multicultural economic zone and all sense of social cohesion is gone will we then be diverse enough and be permitted to speak multiculturalism is being promoted all over the Western world and it's causing the slow death of countless unique and valuable cultures it's just another word for conformity it's the new way of saying conformity diversity you don't see anything diverse anywhere it's all conformity it's having the opposite
• 07:00 - 07:30 effect in fact is it it is because when people talk about diversity they don't think about the great things that we don't have in common mhm and those things are ignored and they always made countries very interesting because you could travel to Germany you could see the most incredible culture you go to Italy you see the most incredible culture now they just want everything to be the same the same the same so diversity means conformity it doesn't mean let's it doesn't mean guard or let's make really interesting strange
• 07:30 - 08:00 art it means box everybody yeah diversity I think is a dreadful word pin it to anything and that situation is finished multiculturalism was sold to us on the fantasy that people could just show up on your shores from all four corners of the world and within one generation they'd be just like you and any difference would be literally skin deep however people in the West are realizing that groups don't just abandon their historic identities the moment
• 08:00 - 08:30 they touch down they hold on to them because they're part of who they are so they mold your country to be more like theirs but nobody ever asked me or anyone for that matter if they wanted their nations transformed to suit the wishes of whatever Johnny come lately shows up on the border today this is why ever growing majorities of people in every western country want it stopped and nobody should be ashamed to resist it for years the talking point pushed by all sides of the mainstream political
• 08:30 - 09:00 spectrum is that once someone becomes a citizen or if someone is born in a country to immigrant parents then they are just as Irish English German whatever as someone whose entire ancestry dates back to that country but are they really in the interview featured at the start of this video Conservative MP Fraser Nelson said that Rishi Sunnak is as English as anyone else and implied it was racist to think otherwise because he was born and raised in England even if he is a Hindu born to two Indian parents who immigrated to the UK as adults well if this is true and Sunnak is 100% English then why were
• 09:00 - 09:30 masses of Indians in India celebrating him becoming prime minister maybe it's because despite the fact he's a British citizen he is 100% ethnically Indian and religiously he's a Hindu and thus he is still one of their people whom they have a blood connection to that they see as being far deeper and more substantial than any citizenship document i mean while writing this very piece former Home Secretary Suela Braverman who was also born to two immigrant parents came
• 09:30 - 10:00 out and agreed with me saying she will never be truly English because of her ancestry which is of course true here's an example person one is an Irish person whose ancestry is Irish as far back as they can date and person two is born in Ireland to two Nigerian parents who moved as adults now they are both Irish citizens so modern society tells us it's unacceptable to even suggest that person two is any less Irish than person one but we all know that's not true person one is 100% ethnically and culturally
• 10:00 - 10:30 Irish person two is ethnically Nigerian will be raised in Nigerian house by Nigerian people taught Nigerian culture eating Nigerian food and visiting Nigerian relatives that is a massive part of their identity as it should be and it's why we classify them as Nigerian Irish because they are obviously a combination of both to suggest that they are just as Irish as person one who is 100% Irish while also having this huge other element to their identity is absurd and borders on suggesting that immigrants are superior
• 10:30 - 11:00 because they are of course just as Irish as us but they also have this extra part of them too which we non-diverse people sadly lack i mean if I moved to Japan with an Irish wife and had a child there and raised him in an Irish style household with Irish values I would consider it a vile insult to suggest that that child with no blood connections to that people raised in an Irish manner is just as Japanese as someone who has a family lineage dating back millennia to that country and culture because he has a piece of paper saying that he's a Japanese citizen
• 11:00 - 11:30 anyone with a brain would see it as wiping away his culture his history and the unique identity of his people but when it happens in a white western country it's a-okay and you should be expelled from polite society as an irredeemable bigot if you suggest otherwise but just look at how these white western liberals treat indigenous peoples if they aren't white look at how they speak about Native Americans Canadian First Nations or Australian Aboriginals white liberals in these countries have literally made it common practice that every single public event should begin with a land acknowledgement that declares the indigenous people are
• 11:30 - 12:00 the true owners of the land with a spiritual connection that no foreigner could possibly understand if you try to do this in a European country they would call you a blood and soil nationalist and make direct links to the Third Reich but when it comes to a group of people they like identity matters there are spiritual and blood connections to places and the replacement of peoples and cultures is a historic tragedy to be mourned [Music] the realities of the mass movement of people are starting to become evident all over the western world almost every
• 12:00 - 12:30 single western country is experiencing a demographic shift caused by immigration and every single population wants it stopped more and more people are waking up to the fact that this idea of the integrated multiculture utopia they've been selling us is a myth people shake places and if you change people you change places how else can you explain that all over major western cities you have Chinatowns little Indas Polish quarters Jewish regions or Arabic sectors every country now has a growing ethnic enclave of whatever group travels to your country in significant numbers
• 12:30 - 13:00 these people may come to your country but they maintain their identity their culture and they set up near their own people this may be desirable for them but no population of any western nation was ever asked if this is what they wanted we were never asked if we wanted our cities the crown jewels of our historic nations transformed to suit the identity and culture of whomever happens to show up in large numbers that day we see our own people our cultures be transformed into something alien before our very eyes and not only are we told
• 13:00 - 13:30 we're bad people if we oppose it we're told to celebrate our diversity and multiculturalism people often throw the charge of bigotry at anyone who opposes mass migration but that's just not the case for example if 1 million Finnish people moved to Ireland by most metrics they would improve the country they would earn more money pay more tax and probably commit less crime than the native population but I still wouldn't want that not because I have an irrational hatred of the Fins but because they would transform the culture of my country into something different not superior or inferior just different
• 13:30 - 14:00 if I want to experience a different culture like Indian culture I can go to India if I want to experience Chinese culture I can go to China for Saudi culture I can go there prepare for Nigerian culture i can visit Nigeria if I or anyone else wants to experience a genuine Irish culture because of mass immigration the places you can do that is an evershrinking geography and it will soon vanish if things don't change the same goes for the culture of England Scotland Germany France America Belgium Sweden and pretty much every western country the culture of elation isn't
• 14:00 - 14:30 just a random set of practices that occurred by chance it's the summation of centuries sometimes millennia of a shared history shared language shared faith shared geography and the shared experience of a shared people and if those people are replaced then the culture and identity of your country will be replaced too