Identity Huh...?

When I read both of these stories, the first thing that came to my mind was HISTORY. I hate living in the past, I like the present so much more. I found Grossberg's essay boring and drawn out. I never liked to follow those times because it was always so complicated to undestand. He just talked about youth as an american identity and that the U.S. has always been a nation without a center. Whats that? I thought thats Gordon's essay was better because it talked about real life stuff that I never knew and it was pretty interesting. I liked how she describes Ellis Island and what took place there and teh type of meaning that it held.