Collinsworth: Are we becoming a salad bowl ?

Comment by Robert M. Collinsworth on September 3, 2010 at 8:21am

Is America becoming the great salad bowl?

America has been known as "the great melting pot" for as long as I can remember. People from every corner of the globe combined as Americans to make our country great. They took advantage of opportunities that existed here that did not exist in their native lands.
Opportunities to reap the benefits of their own hard work, opportunities to worship God in their own way, opportunities to speak their minds freely, and opportunities to raise their families in peace and safety. People from many countries became a homogeneous mass that loved our country enough to honor her, to respect her, and to fight and die for her.
My maternal grandfather, who came from Italy, insisted that English was the language his children spoke at home. "After all," he said, "English is the language of America and we are Americans."
He never failed to remove his hat and place his hand over his heart when the flag passed by and insisted that his children and grandchildren do the same. He loved his native land and never forgot her, but he loved the land he adopted and that adopted him even more.
Why does it appear that so many of the more recent immigrants refuse to be assimilated into American culture? No one is insisting that immigrants forget their native lands or cultures. All that is asked is that they pledge allegiance to the country they chose to immigrate to and become Americans first. They should love our country, honor our country, and respect her laws.
The fact that we were a "great melting pot" gave us the strength to endure because, first and foremost, we were all Americans ... each adding their own flavor to the blend in the pot.
Are we certain that changing from the "great melting pot" to the "great salad bowl" will result in the same magical and delicious blend of flavors or might that change result in flavors that insist on maintaining their uniqueness to the point of spoiling the taste of the whole? The important thing is that we understand that our neighbor may have come from a different background, religion, culture or country but he or she is an American... a brother or sister in arms when we are set upon, a friend and supporter in times of need, and someone you tell "Don't worry, I've got your back" and mean it with all of your heart.