Life as a Serbian-American

Serbia was once the center of a much larger country known as Yugoslavia. Coming into existence after World War I, it was comprised by the nations of Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is said that the cultures of each of these countries were of Serbian origin. The language of Serbian was spoken by all, and is still the primary language in Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia, but they are modified versions of the language. The beliefs were the same, with the exception of Croatians, who were Christians. Bosnians are themselves essentially Serbs who gave up their religion and fell under Turkish rule during the dynasty of the Ottoman Empire. They were converted to Islam. Yugoslavia was a united nation, but eventually, cultural differences and beliefs separated the once mighty country. Each wanted to be an ethnic group of their own, with Slovenia and Croatia being the first to do so in 1991. Not even a year later, in January of 1992, Macedonia declared independence; followed by Bosnia-Herzegovina a few months later in April. And finally, the center of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, split in May of 2006 when Montenegro's referendum on independence passed. In June, both the EU and the United States recognized Montenegro as a part of the UN. And then it was over. What started with essentially one ethnic group has branched off into many, each now recognized as unique. .
             Racial inequality is running amuck on a global level, and the history of separation of the Serbs has always made me think; why does race matter so much? Should it matter at all? The biological school of thought on race is that racial groups as genetically discrete population groups are subpopulations of the human race, and they may be separated by genetic traits. Why allow for that separation? This just progresses the notion that there can be a superior group (social construction). This school of thought directly applies to Serbian history.