Who are we-- and should it matter in the 21st century? / Gary Younge.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [232]-235) and index.

Me, myself, I: a political indentity in ten parts -- A wise latina: the question is not whether we all have identities, but whether we are all prepared to recognize them -- The chronicles of cablinasia: identities do not emerge out of common sense but communities -- Blessed are the gatekeepers: there is no such thing as authenticity, but there are plenty of people trying to enforce it -- The truth in her eyes: the only certain thing about any identity is that it will keep on changing -- The many in one: we each have several identities that can be compared but not ranked -- The enemy within: identities make no sense unless understood withing context of power -- Lost in translation: so long as the global means the erosion of democracy, the local will mean the elevation of identity.

"As borders vanish, more people travel, cultures mingle, and communications across continents become easier, aren't relations between people supposed to be getting less fraught? Why then are people retreating into the refuges of religion, nationality, race, and region? In France the Roma are deported en masse, in Italy Prime Minister Berlusconi has called undocumented workers an 'army of evil' and in Oklahoma, where Muslims are only 0.2 percent of the population, 70 percent of Oklahomans voted to ban the introduction of Sharia Law...Younge demonstrates that how we define ourselves deeply matters: identity often determines whom we elect to public office; informs the choices we make for safety and often figures prominently in the decision to go to war...'Who Are We?' shows how identity shapes our personal and political worlds...Brilliantly observed, witty, and deeply impassioned, "Who Are We' urges us to halt this retreat, to search for common higher ground, or to be prepared to see a society more dangerously divided than ever..."--Dust jacket flap.