Culture is a very fluid concept and evolves uncannily like an organism. Those that work flourish while others go extinct. Cultural diversity allows the best parts of each to rise to the surface, the greatest result of the "American Experiment".

The darker side of this is the tribalism that emerges, trying to suppress ideas and groups who make some uncomfortable. A very real issue for us today.

...thank u for bringing this very deep subject
up : I don't understand the reluctantz of citizens
to piriodicly review the culture- is it just here in(America) ?. Since it affects the global communication of people it should be a (known)
variable in interpersonal communication.
I grew up in the 60's- the Beatles;sex;race;jeans;
and war. : These aspects of trends traveled
between cultures ; some of the best current
aspects seem to be subplanted in transition.
Hopefull the best of humanity shines through.

Being a jewish atheist, i have to attribute my affinity for the religion of my people to something; indeed, how can i say "my people" otherwise? although there are aspects of the religion itself i like (it's humanistic, especially compared to, say, christianity) my affinity is mostly for the culture. so if there is no culture, what am i attracted to? it can't JUST be the food (don't take away my lox, though!) oh, and i manage at the same time to be a citizen of the world. having and identifying with a culture doesn't have to be exclusionary; indeed, one can identify with more than one culture at once! circles can connect without being concentric or identical.

g

Race, cultural identity, and ethnicity begin to dissolve the more we examine them. They appear solid concepts but are not. They are nebulous, and easy ways simplify complex factors. If you are a traveler (not a tourist) these categories dissolve.

I have lived on the east and west US coasts—now just slightly longer in the east. My cultural identity is definitely north western. I feel fully myself there, I love the geography, the air, the people.

I have only ever lived in the u.s. so my experience is limited geographically but to me culture extends far beyond whose philosophy you prefer to foods, music, customs, sayings, and even dress to a lesser extent.

I came to states in 1995 , speaking very few English ( songs ) and not having a clue . Landed to San Antonio Texas , I can assure u , nothing to do w Europe and Greece or Italy particularly . I will never forget as long as a live , the endless car lots on the way from airport to apartment . Where is the " city ", I asked . No humans walking , no cats no dogs , where is the city . For many weeks I was sad for not able to see a sea . For few more weeks also sad bcz at restaurants , waitress gave me the check b4 I asked for . Y ? U need me to leave ? The women around me all looked nice and clean and such , but nobody wore heels than me .. at a neibhood gathering , they offered me wine in a plastic cup .. I went home crying , thinking they don't want me here .. in less than 4 months a realized , I have two choices . Learn the American ways / culture , or go back home . I taught self English watching Sesame Street . And Riki lake . And anything else I could . I was accepted at college at 1997. Looking back , inside me , always my culture alive . But truth is , where u come from , some importance . Where u heading and how u get there , very important . I kept the good from my culture . And made mine the good from America . Some x I teach folks how people of my culture by birth do things , some x not a word . It doesn't matter and who cares . Lately I realized , home and it's culture is what u love , visit or re visit often , and where u r loved . My dogs are very happy to see me . My few friends too . No matter what accent , beliefs , foods , silly dances or weird things to some .

I think cultures watch each other and appropriate from each other. A lot of this has do the expansion of knowledge, and our social medias.
A you tube video has over a billion views, it boggles my mind.
There are differences, niches , especially when considering Arabic or Easter cultures, where social structures drive life styles in their various countries.

Agree completely

There’s an interesting Wikipedia article that ties in with this subject.

[en.m.wikipedia.org]

What I get from all this is that yes, there is such a thing as cultural identity, but it is fluid, subjective, and exists only in a relative sense.

For example, The French speakers in Quebec consider themselves to be ethnic French, and many of them strive to maintain their separate identity. Yet it seems that most people in France consider France to be a nation, not an ethnicity. After all, there are various languages that are spoken in France. So you had people of various ethnicities coming to the New World, and they CREATED a new ethnicity—that of Frenchness.

IMO it is not rational to glorify ones ethnic identity because ethnicity is an artificial construct. Struggling to preserve the cultural traits of your ancestors is a losing battle. When people are seen as “others”, and are attacked and persecuted, they tend to circle the wagons, and out of necessity they forge a common identity. Left alone, we become just people.

One's"cultural identity is entirely one's own identification with his or her own conception of a specific culture.