I don't believe it so much is a lack of interest in being American, as it is being proud of your ethnic heritage. I am Korean-American - half Korean/half American - a lot of Americans make the mistake of thinking everyone who is American is 'caucasian.' I don't think you realize how annoying it is to meet someone for the first time, for say a job interview or whatnot, and have them sit and look at you, until you finally mention your ethnic upbringing and they go 'Oh! That's it! I was wondering what you were! I could tell you were something!' I mean, what does that mean? 'I could tell you were something'? um, I'm just a human. We do write it that way ('Other ethinicity'-American) b/c people ask. If you could accept the fact that I was American, no questions asked, that'd be fine, but most people can't. Oh and American-Korean just doesn't have that nice ring to it!
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Name : Missy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Korean-American, Age : 22, City : Honolulu, State : HI Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, I don't think labels are the cause of these 'issues' you speak of. What's in a name, after all? It does seem a little divisive to categorize people so, but some people would simply rather not integrate into a mainstream society that would have them abandon some of the values, traditions, and customs that they grew up with. When mainstream society becomes more accepting of differences, I think African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and so on will, metaphorically speaking, be more willing to place 'American' in front of their own designations.
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Name : Betty, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Asian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 17, City : Medford, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, Addressing only your question about the order of hyphenated identities, the answer is basic grammar. As an educator, you should have some familiarity with nouns and modifying adjectives. 'American' in these identity labels is the operative noun, and 'African', 'Asian', et cetera, are modifying adjectives. Guh.
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Name : J., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Mixed, Age : 32, City : Oakland, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Loss Mitigator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, I cannot agree more about the devisiveness of the hyphenated-american concept. A major part of this issue is large blocks of society holding on to, and trying to identify a foriegn culture that they have lost all ties to. Blacks in America have no idea as to the social morees and culture of the countries in 'the Motherland,' and indeed would be horrified if they were to suddenly find themselves 'back home' and living in countries that did not even exist when 'they came over here.' The black americans that live in this country could easily have been here since the 1600's, so they are more american than many other groups. Five generations back, my grandmother was 'Experience O'brien' from Ireland. Her husband William was from England. I am AMERICAN. I was born here, as was my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather. I am NOT Irish-British_American; British Isles-American; or any such rot I do not feel the need to change my name to 'Shamus,' 'Collen,' or change my last name to 'O'Hurlihugh' to try and identify myself to a land, and a culture that I do not belong to or was raised in. I wish that hyphenated Americans would realize that they too, are AMERICANS first and foremost, and put their allegience where it belongs.
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Name : Michael Richards, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 46, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, Occupation : Printer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, You are not alone with this question. I just don't understand this hyphenated mania that is too common now. Minorities complain about not being treated equally and then they make it so obvious they want to be seen as different. Not just with the WhoCares-Americans, but pick up a newspaper and read the name of a person and you automatically know their race. If white people were to start using their race as White-American there would be an uproar for sure. And a few of us are mixed: White-Asian-African-American!!! We better call Bill Cosby on this one.
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Name : Celi W, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 62, City : Galax, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I think that the reason many people of color use their ethnicity followed by the -American suffix is to show pride for their racial heritage and also as a way of stating clearly that their cultural background is not strictly based in the predominantly white/Caucasian ideals identified as 'American culture.'
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Name : Olivia P., Gender : F, Disability : PTSD/anxiety disorder, Race : Caucasian/American Indian/Roma, Religion : Jewish/earth-based/American Indian tribal beliefs, Age : 22, City : Oakland, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : barista, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, The hyphenation phenomenon is just a sign of how divided we are. You have a lot of people who are 10th generation and have never been to their ancestors homeland still adhering to a national classification. Yet you ask these same people about that country and they have no clue. We are all American. Only aboriginal people here are the Native Americans, everyone else's ancestry is frome somewhere else. Regardless, we all live together, speak the same language and have more in common with a fellow American then someone off the plane from another country. This word/verbal segregation is ridicuolous. When Bin-Laden bombed the twin towers he didn't give a shit. He just thought kill them all. When you go to another country, we get catagorized as American. So just let go and get on with life.
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Name : Chad-Ward, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Atheist, Age : 28, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
TKParticipant
It's probably because the ethnicity was present prior to being an American. Irish-American families were Irish before they were American, African-Americans were African before they were American, etc.
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Name : TK, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Disability : ADHD/Dyslexia, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 31, City : Albany, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Small Business Owner, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, Good question Andrew. Maybe these people think that being a plain old American is not good enough. Perhaps they suffer from some kind of psychological 'identity crisis.' Or maybe they feel that these additional identifiers might give them some kind of advantage on a hiring list, or promotion list, or a college entrance exam. Who knows? Maybe some hypenated-Americans will write in and give you the straight scoop.
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Name : ron-s29627, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 60, City : stockton, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, Why we don't list 'American' first is an issue of grammar not of preference. In the hyphenated phrase 'Italian-American' Italian is an adjective describing the noun American. What kind of an american? An Italian As to why bring it up at all, America is a history of journey, every one came from some where. It used to be fashionable to think of America as a melting pot each sacrificing it's identity to be come part of the whole. But that's not realistic. The Salad Bowl theory is more appropriate. 'each retains it's own unique flavor while accenting and complimenting the other ingredients. When someone identifyes themselves as a 'hyphenated-American' I focus on what is different, so i can leartn, since i already know what is the same, we're both americans. hope that helps.
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Name : Bart, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : asexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 40, City : Milford, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class, Putting 'American' second actually makes it the primary nationality. Think about it in terms of colors. If you have two crayons and one is labeled redish-orange and the other orangeish-red, which one is redder? The one with red second! It's one of the quirks of the English language. Just like how we put the noun after the adjective (the blue chair) instead of vice-versa as many languages do.
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Name : Kade-S, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 18, City : Jersy City, State : NJ Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, NO, you're not the only one who feels this way, Andrew, there are MANY who do, including me. I think it started as a pride thing for those in a certain minority, and just grew from there. Now everyone seems vehemently bent on proving their 'otherness', rather than trying to be part of a whole. I believe that this is keeping the seams of our country frayed just enough that there will never be real cohesion...we're now more like a patchwork quilt, rather than a 'melting pot' where every ingredient blends well with another. Personally, I call myself an American 'mutt' because it would be too much to call myself an 'Irish-German-Dutch-Bohemian-American.'
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Name : Kelli M., City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, I count myself as an american, and if I tried to hyphenate it it would go something like this: Scottish-Irish-German-Native-English-..... you get it? I too believe that hypens need to go. I understand someone who moved here from their native country to become an american being called say asian-american. But If you are born here, then you are simply american.
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Name : Jessica G., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Greenville, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, The label is formed that way because its meant to be used among other Americans. The first part is to differentiate amonst their fellow Americans and the last part is to affirm the fact that they are also American. It would sound redundant and awkward to say 'American-Guamese' when a person living in America is obviousely American. But it seems you're talking about something larger than semantics. You are framing this question as if to say that because people recognize their ethnicity as originating somewhere outside America and prefering to be recognized as that that they see themselves as removed from the American identity (whatever that is). Naw dude, societies 'issues' aren't caused by people recognizing their ethnicities (from Ireland to the Pacific Islands to Toronto.) As a mixed heritage American I believe what's special about this country is that we value collaboration over assimilation. That that idea holds true is what makes me proud to call myself an American. And lastly, I would be wary over anyone who would expect all people to fall into a supposed image of true 'Americaness.'
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Name : Vince, City : Chicago area, State : IL Country : United States, I have thought this very same thing for 10 years now. It seems only resently has there been a need to follow the 'polliticaly correct' rout the point of not offending ANYONE. If you have dual citizenship, or were born in the other country and were naturalized here, then maybe the hyphen. The vast, vast majority of 'African-Americans' have never been to Africa, and wouldn't move there if given the chance. Otherwise, If you want to be a Mexican, go to Mexico, but if you want to be an American, get a job. I believe in Racial Pride as much as anyone, but I'll never teach the kids to call them selves 'German-Dutch-Irish-Scotch-Americans.'
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Name : Christopher Schroeder, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : Jackson, State : WY Country : United States, Occupation : Surgical Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
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