Remember that guy Crevecoeur who we studied during our Dreams and Realities Unit? He was French and moved to America in pursuit of a better life. He wrote about his observations about his new life in "Letters from an American Farmer." He reported: "They are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race now called Americans has arisen...The American ought therefore to love this country much better than that wherein either he or his forefathers were born. Here the rewards of his industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labour."
Isn't it interesting that while Crevecoeur writes: "Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men," he's only describing those from European roots? American society today includes various African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern populations. And since America prides itself on being a "melting pot", and because we elected an African American President, modern America is no longer racist or discriminatory, and thus includes all within its borders as a true "American", right?
WRONG!!!
An Article I found discusses the difficulty individuals of Arab, Muslim, Sikh, Middle Eastern, and South Asian groups had getting hired post 911. For example, some employers failed to hire those who wore turbans, because they judged there was a connection between the individual seeking employment and Osama bin Laden. Ziad Asali of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee reported: "I came to this country believing it to be the beacon for democracy, equality, and justice for all...however their (those of Middle Eastern, Muslim, or Arab decent) American dream has turned into a nightmare, as a result of the criminal acts of others, they are labeled as criminals."
While America appears to be making progress in considering Blacks and Whites as equal, what about all of the other racial and ethnic groups out there? White's justified discriminatory attitudes against Blacks because they believed Blacks were simply intellectually inferior. And in our modern society today, people justify these similar prejudice judgments of Middle Eastern, Arab, and Islamic's because they're from the same side of the globe as terrorists and thus could be a potential security threat.
America is not a melting pot, it's a toss salad, with all the pieces distinguishable from their appearance. America can not possibly be a melting pot until we stop waiving our prejudices with falsified justifications, and start treating everyone like a true "American."
1 comment:
Great post Jacqueline!
The title of your post caught my eye; in fact, I believe it was in middle school when one of my teachers referred to the Unites States as a "Tossed Salad" rather than a melting pot. However, I believe when I first heard the phrase, it was used to describe a positive aspect of America; the concept that while we do all behave it citizens of one country, people do not entirely lose our original customs and identities. It never occurred to me that this metaphor could be used to describe the inequality that still remains in our country.
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