America: Melting Pot or Not?

After the article 15 Years on the Bottom Rung about Mr. Peralta and Mr. Zannikos, I began to wonder about the diversity of this country and how it is accepted and/or how it is not. America is viewed as a melting pot. "America has traditionally been referred to as a "melting pot," welcoming people from many different countries, races, and religions, all hoping to find freedom, new opportunities, and a better way of life." – Joyce Millet

The key difference I see from Millet’s quote is the word welcoming. America may welcome other types of life, but do we ever really accept them? Not really. How many times have you heard someone (in America) get frustrated talking to someone who doesn’t speak English, and finally they cry out “This is AMERICA! Learn the language! We speak English!!!” This is a true testimony for how Americans really feel about the melting pot theory. We are not accepting of other’s cultures, including language. And wouldn’t a melting pot mean that we accept the traditions or cultures of others?

Also, Americans try to force traditions or ways upon immigrants or minorities, just as the example above shows. In that same sense, Americans commonly do not have much tolerance for other culture’s traditions. In my hometown of Elgin, Illinois, there is a large Mexican population. On Cinco de Mayo, there are a lot of celebrations: block parties (or fiestas, if you will), Mexicans driving around with the Mexican flag on their car honking and yelling. The non-Hispanic people of Elgin do not try and embrace Mexican culture. This is not to say that they have to embrace, but they should at least tolerate it, but they don’t. People are usually very annoyed and I have heard comments made frequently regarding their celebratory actions. “Better stay at home today [Cinco de Mayo], Mexicans are running around like buffoons,” is how an elderly neighbor once described this day to me. Not so tolerant or accepting.

And by the same token, do immigrants living here ever feel the need to divulge into American culture. In 15 Years on the Bottom Rung, Mr. Peralta attempts to learn English (being a Spanish-speaking native), but then stops because it is too difficult. It is not completely imperative that he learns English, because he lives in a Spanish neighborhood and his jobs don’t require him to speak English. So in some sense, there are just separate sections of culture and nothing really ever has to mesh together. If people don’t have to learn English or more importantly, accept the American culture, how can we say we are a melting pot?

It if far more common nowadays to claim that America is a “Salad Bowl” or a “Mosaic”. The Immigrant populations of America are not “melting” with society, they merely exist. Wikipedia says a melting pot “is an analogy for the way in which heterogeneous societies become more homogeneous…” Clearly by the way American society is as separated as it is, America is not a melting pot. We are a society that consists of many different other societies- like a puzzle, salad, or mosaic, but not a melting pot. Maybe this will change in my lifetime, but for now I can’t help but wonder: how can America be a melting pot if none of the ingredients ever melt together to become one cohesive entity?