In the 1800s and the early 1900s, some people gave the America the name, the melting pot. People imagined this because thousands and thousands of immigrants coming from around the world were coming into the United States in hope of a better life. So most people imagined that all these different cultures were being poured into a giant pot called America, heated to a low boil and molded into one kind of person.
If one steps back and thinks about this theory, it isnt entirely true. In fact, its not really true at all. If one takes a closer look at America today, one sees millions of people labeled Americans but not by how they act, what religions they practice and what kind of foods they eat but where they are born. total opposites.
Now all Americans must be able to speak English, or at least bad English, and they must also follow the laws set fourth by out four fathers, but no two Americans are alike. Take San Francisco for example. Twenty years ago, it was the center for the hippie movement, but just down the street from Haight and Ashbury there is a place called China Town. A place placed filled with Chinese Americans, shops and temples that could be easily mistaken for buildings only found in China . In Ohio, one could meet a Caucasian farmer, a African American businessman, an Amish family or even a reporter who has a strong German background all in the same day.
So many different people living together in one piece of land. Now, after taking a closer look, no one really melted together to make just one kind of person. But what did they do? One could say that the English man could be symbolized as lettuce, Africans as black olives, Germans as radishes, Italians as tomatoes and so on and so forth making a giant salad. All different kinds of fruits and vegetables tossed together in a bowl to create one dish. Everything in close quarters of each other, but still separate and individual. This is how America is structured.
In conclusion, I believe that instead of using the melting pot as Americas metaphor for the people of this nation, we as a people should use the metaphor The Salad Bowl . This word accurately describes life in the United States of America much more than the word melting pot.
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