<facepalm>
Are there any records of St. Paul praying to Roman gods? Taking part in Roman state celebrations? Attending circuses, gladiators' fights, charriot races?
Why would being a Roman citizen mean he would automatically pray to their gods, celebrate in pagan festivals and such?
Why does being an American citizen have to mean that you would be (going off stereotypes) overweight, a Protestant fundamentalist, watch Nascar & American football, eat at McDonalds daily and sit in front of a TV all day?
I know a man, a Greek man, who was born in Greece, but is an American citizen and is very proud of the fact that he is an American and calls himself an American. He celebrates both Greek independence and American independence. He embraces fully his Greek heritage (even beginning a Greek society in his city) but also completely embraces being an American and loves the fact that he can be an American of Greek descent and be considered the same as everyone else and enjoy his own culture while he also can freely enjoy the culture of others around him. He rejects the materialism and consumerism of our culture, but embraces our ideals. You can speak with him and understand that he believes that America owes a lot to Greece because of our ideals and concepts. When he and his society decided to celebrate oxi day, he invited everyone whether Greek or not, especially other Orthodox Christians.
I have two American friends, one from a Anglo/Celtic ancestry and the other of Russian ancestry (I think she is a new citizen, or is trying to become one). They also have a child together who was born here (and therefore is an American citizen). At their wedding they played both Russian music and Irish music. Yet both of them are Americans and don't separate themselves from each other or from others.
America is a melting pot, we are the largest experiment in diversity and equality ever attempted in a secular manner.
As a good explanation, here is the wikipedia entry for "Americans":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans"Americans, or American people, are the citizens of the United States of America. The country is home to people of different national origins. As a result,
Americans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship. With the exception of the Native American population, nearly all Americans or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries."