What Kind of People Are We?

A caustic friend of mine gave me pause for thought. I would begin to relate a problem of mine, but before I got far into it he would say, "Tell someone who cares."  Am I writing to someone who cares about what kind of people we have become?

At other times I would begin a sentence with "We" and before I got much further he would say "Do you have a mouse in your pocket?" Might we be a "we?" What kind of 'we' might we be?

How does a "we" come about? How is a "we" created.

To be a 'we' we'd probably have to have something in common. That which we had in common would probably determine the kind of 'we' we are.

Many years ago I sat at a cafe table with several young men from various Latin American republics. Because they were better educated and possibly more courteous than I, we were speaking English. We each began telling the others where we were from. I was among the first to respond. I said, "I'm an American." I was taken a bit aback by the responses: "Me too." "So am I." "We all are." "Aren't we all?" Of course they were right. The New World is The Americas.
If we had been Speaking Spanish or even Portuguese I might have avoided further mix-up. Trying to correct myself I said, "I'm from the United States." Now they were ready to have some fun with me. "Oh" one said, "The United States of Brazil or the United States of Mexico?" One of my companions said, "He's a North American." Going along with their play, I  asked, "Which do you think I am Mexican or Canadian."

Saying who one is, is not always easy. Just naming ones group or category can be difficult. How much more difficult might it be to name a new "we?"