Your comparison between “European vs Dutch” and “American vs Irish-American” is fundamentally flawed.
Nationality vs ancestry are different concepts. Dutch is my current nationality, defined by citizenship, language, culture, and shared social experience. Being “Dutch-Norwegian” would mean I hold dual citizenship or were raised in both cultural contexts simultaneously. Most Americans claiming to be “Irish-American” have no citizenship, language fluency, or authentic cultural immersion in Ireland.
The cultural disconnect is stark. What Americans call “Italian-American culture” has diverged dramatically from actual Italian culture over generations. It’s become a distinctly American phenomenon with superficial cultural markers rather than authentic representation. When Irish-Americans visit Ireland, locals often view them as simply American tourists because the cultural gap is so evident.
With each generation, the cultural connection weakens substantially. By the third or fourth generation, what remains is often reduced to stereotypical elements like celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or eating pasta on Sundays. This selective cultural picking isn’t equivalent to genuine cultural identity.
European identity framework differs fundamentally. In Europe, identity is primarily based on where you were born and raised, your language, and your lived experience – not distant ancestry.
Many Americans who claim hyphenated identities have minimal knowledge of their ancestral country’s modern culture, politics, or social realities. They cling to outdated or stereotypical notions that no longer reflect the actual country.
Comparing a continental identity (European) to a national one (Dutch) is not the same as comparing a national identity (American) to a hyphenated ancestral one (Irish-American). The Netherlands exists within Europe; “Irish-American” does not represent a legitimate political or cultural subset of America in the same way.
Speaking a heritage language or celebrating occasional holidays doesn’t justify claiming a nationality you don’t possess.
Most “hyphenated Americans” cherry-pick pleasant cultural elements while remaining disconnected from the contemporary realities of those countries. The vast majority don’t speak their ancestral languages or meaningfully participate in authentic cultural practices.
There’s a significant difference between recent immigrants maintaining strong cultural ties and 4th/5th generation Americans with minimal connection claiming the same identity. Americans also inconsistently apply this logic, often identifying with only one ancestral line while ignoring others.
When “Irish-Americans” visit Ireland, locals don’t recognize them as Irish in any meaningful sense—revealing the fundamental disconnect between claiming an identity and being accepted as authentic by actual members of that culture.
These hyphenated identities ultimately function as American cultural constructs rather than genuine connections to the nations they reference.