Growing up in this country, we all learn about the concept of the American Melting Pot. In the strict sense, in which the term was originally meant, what this theory tells us is that immigrants from all over the world come to this country and “melt” together to form one homogeneous cultural identity: American. All aspects of their original culture and life in their home country is washed away, and everyone shares the same new nationality.
However, this is not necessarily the case.
Not many people identify with this uniform American identity. Many first, second, and even third generation immigrants don’t solely consider themselves to be American, but also identify with the country their family is from. For example, one may say they’re Italian, or Italian-American, but not strictly American. We hold on to customs from our old countries, and practice those while living in America. The way most of us live today disproves the Melting Pot idea that we grew up idealizing.
But here’s why this is a good thing:
We may not have a homogeneous culture, but rather, we share our own cultures with each other. We spread our traditions around America, and this enriches us and makes us more culturally aware. We have the opportunity to experience other countries’ traditions, values, and learn something we would not be able to if we all gave up our original identities. We grow to understand and respect ways of living other than our own, and even integrate those other traditions into our way of life. Most obviously, the food. After all, who hasn’t had pizza one night, sesame chicken the next, and a burrito the night after that? With our new interpretation of the Melting Pot, we learn more about other cultures—as well as our own—that we wouldn’t have otherwise, and that is something truly valuable.