My mother was Jewish, my father Welsh and Irish. No surprise, then, that I enjoyed your essay, Ms DiLiberto, for I've often thought myself about this question of ethnic identification. At a certain point I decided that my thinking on this theme was part of a a more general process of articulating my own identity, an aspect of self that, I believe, derives from many elements in addition to ethnicity, including gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, class, schooling, profession, and politics. Human identity is so various, we are thus all of a "mixed background." For this reason, I disagree with those who would say I am Jewish because my mother was Jewish. No, I'm half-Jewish, half Celtic-- and ultimately, as DNA testing would reveal for many others, other ethnicities as yet unknown. I say, embrace it all because it's all about being a human being. Those who insist that we be one thing or another would limit our humanity. Those who insist that we be one thing or another are themselves in danger of embracing some form of absolutism.