Who am I?

Being a practicing political scientist I constantly look for solutions to the world's many many problems. Very often I find them in the subtleties of everyday life. We hear so much about the problem of IDENTITY in today's world - especially in the case of minorities. Seldom do we think deeply about our own.

When I made the decision to come to America I knew it will be a great opportunity to, amongst other things, "discover my identity". Now I don't mean it in a i-want-a-year-off-to-find-myself kind of thing. I wasn't that lost!
Most of the time we are too engrossed in our lives and it's appurtenances to ask ourselves simple questions - and even when we do, we often give ourselves the readymade answers.

So, tell me, my Friend - what is your identity?
Is it your religion? Your country? Your family? Your economic status? Your caste? Your profession? Your age-group? Your skin/hair color? Your sexual orientation? Your hobby? Your love?

I believe that you can not - and I repeat - YOU CAN NOT have a single identity. Wasn't it the great Alanis Morrisette who sang, "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint..." I rarely come accross a song with more truth in it than this one.

So the question is - why do we have to limit ourselves to one identity? Why do we choose to have rigid definitions about ourselves? Why do we form divisions between people? Why do we always need an "us" against a "them"?

If each individual considers themselves to have multiple identities, she will be able to reach out and connect to so many other individuals irrespective of their religions. I focus here on religion because therein lies the epicenter of the problems of today's world. We can't deny how crucial our religious identities have become after early 1990's in India and after 9/11 in the rest of the world. Instead of pushing it under the covers and feel it's constant erie presence, why can't we work towards erasing the stigma attached to our Gods and defeat the fundamentalists?

I believe THIS to be the key to the solution of the world's problems - the changing of what is almost human nature now.
What is required here is no less than an evolutionary change in humankind.

The truth is that a world completely destroyed by a nuclear war seems more probable in my imagination than a world full of people who respect each other's beliefs and boundaries. Is it just me or are we all headed for Apocalypse?