Map Critique: Ancestry in the U.S.

 

        The map above takes an interesting look at ancestry in the U.S.  It is a choropleth map of every county in the country, showing the most people who claimed a common ancestry.  But just because a map is interesting doesn’t mean it is faultless.  For instance, the title “Largest Ancestry: 2000” doesn’t specify the region the map is representing.  The cartographer should have included the country we are seeing and the dimension of the borders, going something like this: “Largest Ancestry in the U.S. by County: 2000”.  Also, the title can easily be confused for the legend title because there are two other maps in the banner, making it seem like it is describing those instead of the main one.

            Otherwise, the cartographer did a great job communicating the data with text.  There is a suitable legend with a high amount of detail; subtitles are included by map type (state vs. county); and source information is written in two locations.  State names and major cities could have been added to help readers less familiar with U.S. geography.  The font size is good, though it appears small and crammed in places because there is so much information in the legend.  I would have removed the “other” categories since we see them only once on the map and it would help reduce clutter.

Data on the map comes from the U.S. census, where ancestry claims were quantitively calculated by county.  What we see on the map is the greatest number of people in each county claiming a common ancestry (Jerreat, 2013).  Just to be clear, the choropleth only reflects the primary ancestry of the population of each county; ancestry that ranked second, third, and fourth had nothing to do with what is shown on the map.

While data from the U.S. Census is highly reliable, there a couple issues at hand.  This article was published by the Daily Mail U.K., which has a low credibility rating according to Media Bias/Fact Check (2016).  This by itself doesn’t render the data inaccurate, but it is more likely to make the reader question what they are seeing.  Secondly, since the data is taken from the 2000 census, it poses a problem because there have been two others since then (2010, 2020); and after 2000, the census did not poll for ethnicity.  Since the map cannot be updated to reflect the current census, some counties are likely showing the wrong color in today’s world.  The third and biggest problem is that both links for the data source on the map are broken.  Readers cannot trace data to broken links; they are left having to look up the information themselves, and wondering if it is the same as the cartographer’s.  The article was written in 2013 and either needs to be removed, updated after a new survey, or rewritten from an historical perspective.

            A flaw in the map that may lead to an ecological fallacy is that it doesn’t show other high ranked ancestries in each county, which often may have several that are close to being the primary one.  For instance, in King County, WA, German was the top reported ethnicity at 292,504 (U.S. Census), but there were three others with over 100,000: English (209,263), Irish (192,778), and Norwegian (105,042).  The map gives the illusion that counties like these are dominated by one ancestry when only about 15% of the population is being represented.  To fix the problem, I would take the data a step further and include the percentage of the highest ancestry on each color spectrum.  If one county has a dominant ethnicity (over 50%), the represented color will be much darker than one where the leading figure is only 15%.  This would help to reduce the impression that Germans appear to be the leading ancestry by a wide margin in our country.

            The map is so versatile with color that few would notice any patterns in the cartographer’s choice of using them.  However, a closer look reveals something that is almost scandalous: the colors that stand out the most represent the most discriminated racial groups in our country.  Perhaps coincidentally, African Americans own the darkest color on the choropleth, a loud purple.  Mexican and Native Americans are pink and orange respectively, which isn’t so suggestive.  But most of the colors representing white or European ancestry are in the range of blue to green to light purple, falling in line with the light blue of neighboring countries on the map, which allows them to blend in more than the others.  To be more conscious of race, I would have altered the color scheme to look more random when making a map like this.

            The main message of the map is that America’s reputation of being a melting pot holds firm geographically, but there are many other possible conclusions to be drawn.  Though German appears to dominate the map, most of the counties where it is leading are rural areas with low population levels.  Complementary data that would help illustrate this point is population density.  One can also surmise that Germans were more likely to continue migrating west after they entered the country, along with the Dutch, Irish, and Norwegian immigrants.  Southern European immigrants, including the French and Italians, appear to have been more likely to stay in their regions.  Urban areas on the map tend to have surprises that add a unique flavor of ethnicity to the map, such as Miami (Cuban) and San Francisco (Chinese).  Complementary data that would help to analyze this might involve migration patterns; are certain ethnicities represented more because they migrate more?  Finally, it is fascinating how there is a belt of people in the south who identify as American but not anywhere else in the country.  Perhaps these areas have people who feel more patriotic since they don’t identify as much with their ancestor culture.

            All these messages make the map a fun one to digest.  Anyone in the U.S. who knows where their county is can look it up and ponder how accurate it is.  In my county it says German is the leader, which may have changed in the last 20 years as there are more Asian and Indian Americans now.  Not only would complementary data showing migration patterns demonstrate how populations on the map developed historically, but it would predict their trajectory for the future as well.  That way the result for counties like mine would make more sense.

 

Sources:

Jerreat, Jessica.  (2013, September 1).  The Map That Shows Where America Came From.  Daily Mail U.K.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2408591/American-ethnicity-map-shows-melting-pot-ethnicities-make-USA-today.html

Media Bias/Fact Check.  (2016, July 9).  Daily Mail- Bias and Credibility.  https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/daily-mail/

U.S. Census.  (2010).  King County.  https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/legacy/pop/census2000/dp58/co/033.pdf

Charity

    To give is our most divine privilege. To give without saying it's from you is divinity tenfold. To give to someone who is hungry when you are just as hungry yourself is divinity thousand fold. To give when you are sacrificed; bruised and bloodied; stretched to the limits of pain by the one who needs you; that is an infinite divinity. Give freely without expecting something back, you will experience the purest joy.        Seldom does something we receive bring more joy than something we have given, unless we are still children mired in our possessions. Yet when you receive, act as if it is the greatest joy, and always except what is coming your way, even if it is too much. Those who want to give you something are finding charity in themselves, with you as the benefactor; do not reject their appeal to divinity.
    Discretion must also be taken when giving. If you give something useless, that is only seen as an obligation, you do more harm to the receiver than you realize, for your relationship will seem less important to them. You wouldn't give a bone to your cat, or a guitar to a piano player. Just because you like something doesn't mean they will. Why make a steak for a vegetarian? Always have their needs in mind when you give, what you think they'll want. And if you are too ignorant about someone to know what they need, either get to know them better or give nothing but your attention.
    When you think you have nothing to give, get creative. Never wait until you have a lot of money to give a lot, or the opportunity may never come, you may just be making excuses to yourself. Give something immaterial instead, like your smile, your energy, your muscles, your labor, your cooking- there are a great number of things to give that are not material. A similar excuse is being too busy. The things you truly value are what you spend the most time on, so if it is not charity then don't pretend you are a saint.

Libra's Heaven

 Love is the ageless wisdom

 That medicates all grief,

 Laminating fragments of you that

 Gyrate on the spirals of creation.

 To love another, to take them all in,

 To see the good, acccept the bad,

 To feel for them an array of sparks

 Lost to most, perceived by the chosen,

 To understand in them what others cannot,

 To forgive their gravest transgressions,

 Speckle their charming quirks

 On a map of your soul

 Whose destination is happiness,

 Completion, the holiest of states,

 To love, my dearest, is to see them

 In perfect harmony with something you lost,

 The answer, the missing piece

 To witness their being as God intended.

 In faint hollow light the pendulum swings,

 Gadgets of clockwork to split the scene,

 Oscillating glimpses of smiles that sing,

 Reaching the choir uplifted by strings,

 Into oblivion the fulcrum retrieves

 Remembrance of bliss, a body so clean

 To rinse you of folly once thought obscene,

 Creamy skies by delight, your love alight

 On the other side, revolving through night,

 Returning after each flight, momentary fright

 Bedazzled by billowy azurite.

 Balance we must master, to receive the peace,

 We must adapt to their soul like a new land,

 Adapt their differences, slide into the gears,

 Not force their hand in mechanical blunder,

 But naturally through the odysseys of Venus,

 A lone star in that paradise of togetherness,

 Where beams sway to the ticking of hearts,

 Expiring only by the malfunctions of pride, or death.

14 Keys to Happiness

Behold!  In which these are the ingredients needed to live a happy life. I have been miserable before, but a soothing calm has overtaken me the older I grow. First, realize that the happiness of others is often exaggerated in your mind. Do not compare yourself to others. Usually they aren't as happy as you imagine, while some of the people you imagine being miserable are truly content. Second, you must not expect too much from the world and others around you, for it does not revolve around you. You would be more content to serve the others around you, in myriad forms, as being helpful saturates the spirit with wholeness. Third, forgive the ones who have wronged you, no matter how hard it is. You don't know what life is like living in their shoes, and seldom do you know the situation they're in. Sustain judgment for the crass and idiotic. Not until you've lived their life can you fully understand the million little pieces of them. Fourth, find love by marrying well and having children. You are a social being, and nothing will make you feel more connected than family.  Fifth, find God, even if you can't see it. Knowing God will give you purpose. It doesn't have to be a literal being; the rhythm of the universe will suffice. Sixth, make your home well. Nothing reflects inner feeling like the environment around you, so keep it clean and welcoming. Decorate your life with the things that bring you peace and balance. Seventh, moderate your pleasures and passions. Too much of anything will squeeze the succulent juice out. Eighth, be thankful, for often we are unaware how bad our life could be, even on the worst days. Ninth, be a minimalist. You don't need a lot of things to make you happy. The appearance of being happy is not the same as being at it. Tenth, work hard at what gives you a feeling of completeness, at something that you feel no one can do quite like you can. Your contributions are needed; your uniqueness is a soft note on the web of humanity, no matter how many others you touch. Eleventh, be authentic, your true self. Pretending to be someone you're not will drown the soul. Twelfth, find acceptance in the faults of others and especially yourself. Though striving for it may make us happy, perfection can never be achieved. Bad things will happen in this life or the next one. It's how we react to them that makes the difference. Be accountable, assertive, resilient-your self pity won't slow you down and you'll have few regrets. Thirteenth, have respect for all life, human or animal or plant. Treat the person next to you the way you would want them to treat you. Fourteenth, after mastering this list, throw it away. "Very little is actually needed to make us happy", said Marcus Aurelius. Live like this list was second nature, don't think about it too much. Fret not for things out of your reach.