Every national or racial group possesses both good and bad traits manifested not only in the group's individual members but as a quality common to the group as a whole. This has been noted by both scholars and ordinary people as they come into daily contact with neighbors of a particular nationality or race. These observations, somewhat elaborated upon and exaggerated, form the basis of anecdotes about one nation's foolishness, another's stinginess, a third's drunkenness and so forth. Alongside negative anecdotes, opinions are formed about the diligence, neatness, honesty and dignity of certain nationalities. Regardless of whether we like or dislike being Lithuanian, we cannot change our national origin for it has been shaped over thousands of years by the nation's way of life, environment, customs and traditions. This remains ingrained in our souls even when we intentionally or unintentionally separate ourselves from our national group.
We have all inherited our nation's character. It cannot be wiped out either by the culture of the country where we reside, by our way of life or by our surroundings. Americans appear to understand this already and it is thus very common here to seek "one's roots," researching the nationality, origins, customs and traditions one's parents, grandparents and great-grandparents brought to this country so many years ago. Nearly every American can identify the nationality of his father, mother, grandfather and grandmother. This helps to explain why a particular person has a tendency toward thrift, anger, gossip, business, revenge and the like. Psychologists maintain that such knowledge of one's "roots" enables an individual to understand himself better, accept mood swings and deal more successfully with life's hardships.
This can be illustrated by the experience Europeans (and by extention Lithuanians) encountered in North America. Several decades ago North America was known as a huge melting pot in which individual persons and groups blended together, losing their national traits, and became only American: no different than the in habitants of any other country residing in the United States. If anyone dared or insisted on preserving the customs and language brought from another country, he was upbraided or simply told, "This is America. Speak English, think and act as an American should." However, this view has faded or is near fading particularly in large cities where the number of peoplefrom other countries increased following World War II.