Melting Pot or Salad Bowl

When I first decided to write this article, I talked about the melting pot making the United States the great place it is to live but soon realized that what makes us great is not all of us looking and thinking alike, like clones, but our great diversity. I grew up in an era where neighborhoods were segregated by ethnicity, color, and religious beliefs. Intermarriage between groups was unheard of, but there were young people who began to cross those lines.

Today, the lines in most of those neighborhoods have been erased; intermarriage between groups is normal, and ethnicity is embraced for most groups. It is accepted for most to identify as Italian American, Irish American, Native American, and much less so as African American. Immigrants came to America for many reasons and sought to become an American, but not forgetting their origins. They embraced their new country, its traditions, and celebrations, while not forgetting the traditions and celebrations of their home countries.

If we melt together into one homogeneous group, we lose our identities, the things that make us unique, that make us offer new and different perspectives to the challenges that face us today.

We live in a country that is made stronger by our diversity – our varying perspectives that give us different ways of solving problems. Each person, with their unique backgrounds, beliefs, and ambitions, helps to build a stronger, better nation. Each person has their specific jobs and offerings to this country, which make it better.

Saying we are a melting pot where each item added to it loses its identity does a disservice to our country and individuals in our country. Instead, we are salad bowl, filled with various ingredients that give the salad its wonderful, marinated flavors, each adding to the delicious overall taste of the salad. Our differences make us stronger, not weaker. Embrace who you are and not what others want you to be. That is what makes the Democratic Party the big umbrella party – we accept you for who you are!

Keep America Great, by keeping who you are!