defining my identity

In my recent reading (Exlusion & Embrace, Race Matters) I have come across an interesting theme: the evil of seeking to define identity, either as an individual or as a group.

First, seeking to define identity is based on a false premise; there is no absolute identity for us, as we form our identity in relationship with the people around us and the situations we find ourselves in. Groups are the same as individuals for this; as West says "there is no essential blackness", there also is no "essential whiteness" or "essential Americanness", etc., etc., ad inifitum. Identity is something always in flux between the give and take of relationships, and the constant action and reaction of life.

Second, seeking to define an essential identity is an act of violence. Usually, this violence is done to the other, as we scorn committing violence against ourselves. When we seek to define our own identity, we do so by excluding the other. For our identity to be pure and absolute, we must exclude the other from ourselves. Hence, selfish people push others out of their lives, and communities seeking absolute identity (like Arians), push others into concentration camps.

This is a very brief and simplistic outline of the argument. I hope to come back and give it a more thorough treatment soon.