Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl

Should America be a Melting Pot or a Salad Bowl? This is a very controversial issue, not only in America but also in other countries all over the world. The melting Pot is a metaphor for the principle of assimilation, meaning that immigrants completely discard their own culture and adapt the new one. In America, this would lead to one big ‘melted’ culture without diversity. The salad bowl on the other hand represents the principle of integration, meaning that immigrants can still keep the culture of their home country, but they also belong to a big society and have to accept the new system. E.g. regarding language, immigrants could still speak their mother tongue at home, but at work they would have to speak English. Both principles have their advantages and disadvantages and in this blogpost I will take a look at them.

Some of the more patriotic Americans might claim that immigrants should show appreciation for being incorporated in society by assimilating to the American culture.  But what defines the culture of the US? Is not diversity the most special feature of America? In a country that was founded by immigrants it seems very hypocritical to deny ‘new’ immigrants the right to live out the culture of their home country.

On the one hand assimilation might seem like a perfect principle to grant equality for all the citizens in the USA, but upon closer inspection it becomes very clear that this is not the case. Equality can only be reached when all people are judged by the same laws and the most important ones are human rights, including self-fulfillment.  So immigrants should always have the right to live out their culture. This also means that they should be able to practice their religion and their traditions and they should be allowed to talk in their mother tongue in private life.

While it is often said that a lack of assimilation can cause problems for economy, this could not be further from the truth. Many studies have already shown ’that there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or country level.’ (cf. http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/immigration-reform-and-job-growth, ll. 16 f.). Most immigrants are highly motivated to learn the English language and it is a myth that they do not want to work. It is not necessary to stop them from living out their native culture.

The loss of the American culture due to mass immigration is probably one of the most frightening thoughts to a person that was born in the USA. Of course it cannot be denied that immigrants and foreign cultures might influence the American culture. But this does not mean that it gets lost. In fact it can be a huge enrichment to give immigrants the opportunity to show us everything that belongs to their culture.

All in all integration is a great compromise between multiculturalism and assimilation. Immigrants do not have to discard the culture of their home country but anyway there are no obstacles to a working social system. Just like in a salad bowl - The different ingredients are not perfectly blended, but they still belong together to make the salad taste delicious.