« We Belong »
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 6:32PM 
What can you know for sure from a group portrait that has no names, date or place? Nothing for certain. You can, however, be reasonably sure it is from c. 1910 and you can know from visual clues in the photo and from statistics that this is four generations of a family, the two older couples may have come here from europe, at least some the younger ones are first generation Americans and their children have known no other place. You can know that whether they work on the land or are wage laborers or craftsmen, they have worked hard and have made a better place for themselves. They would also likely tell you, with or without an accent, that they belong here and are Americans. Some of the adults on the back row may have higher education degrees. The body language of the young women (wives or sisters) tells you that they feel themselves every bit equals even if they cannot yet vote. The affection these people feel for one another is evident.
Those are the realistic probabilities. The actual facts may be somewhat, but not a great deal, different. The expressions are confident and genial, especially the little girl on the far right.
Less than one percent of us can claim that our ancestors have inhabited this land or this continent for from 10–30 thousand years; the rest of us are newcomers.
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