Topic for May. 22. ( Thur )

[Alex !]

Melting Pot, Salad Bowl, Chocolate Fondue, Tomato Soup 

Only about one-third of Americans say the country has a basic culture and values that immigrants take on. Nearly twice as many say our culture and values change as new people arrive.

But two-thirds of non-immigrants say America should have a single culture. Is America a melting pot, a salad bowl -- or, tomato soup, chocolate fondue?

The “melting pot” metaphor is used to describe how immigrants who come to America eventually become assimilated into American culture, thus creating multiple cultures that have blended into one.

The “salad bowl” metaphor is a different view describing that immigrants who come to America combine their cultures with others, but still retain their own cultural identity. Basically, America is one big integration of unique, distinct cultures.

Americans take pride in their "melting pot" society (a term coined by an immigrant that encourages newcomers to assimilate into the American culture.

But the melting pot imagery has been contested by the idea of multiculturalism, the "salad bowl theory", the immigrants retain their own national characteristics while integrating into a new society.

Some go further. Large-scale Latino immigration poses a threat to American identity.

The reality of American history is best described as tomato soup: the blending of new ingredients adds spice without compromising the essential character of tomato.

"Contributions from immigrant cultures modified and enriched Anglo-Protestant culture of founding settlers.

The metaphor of chocolate fondue is that

Our different cultural and ethnic backgrounds are the strawberries, pineapple, and cherries, the graham crackers and cookies, the pound cake and brownies, the rice crispy treats and marshmallows, the popcorn and the peppermint sticks.

Then we are dipped in America. We swim in America. We are coated in America. Because Americans can and do come from all ethnicities and races, we all look like Americans.