Melting Pot or Salad Bowl Multiculturalism or Assimilation Which is more beneficial in your mind and why?
America should stay homogeneity but of course there will always be a mixture, you cant force people to assimilate but you can indeed force people to stop discriminating against other races and cultures, or at least try. I just cant see how heterogeneity would work without discrimination of other peoples, you would have to refuse to sell homes to particular people in order to keep your neighborhood how you want it and those kinds of things which is very bad, when white people did it in the 60's it left the black community in shambles as it is still largely in shambles as a direct result of heterogeneity, people not wanting to assimilate with others causes problems all throughout history.
Multiculturalism. I live in a very multicultural city and I enjoy the culinary and architectural diversity, as well as having the local culture strengthened by people from all over the world so we aren't just "England Jr." like we were when we had an official policy of assimilation (I live in Sydney).
Salad bowl and melting pot do not refer to ethnicity. They refer to culture which is an entirely different thing. I am part German.....I don't speak German except for pretend German when my gf and I are playing "interrogate the spy" and even then she is usually Natasha and speaks fake Russian. Assuming that culture is what was actually meant then of course you want a salad bowl as Mills says societies can become stagnant and thus no longer continue to improve. However, if a culture has a negative effect or practice it should be thoroughly eliminated and anyone practicing such a negative aspect of their culture should be deported immediately. The most obvious and extreme examples of these are female genital mutilation and "honor" killings that have come from people in the MENA region. Not all cultures are equal and some cultures are just awful cultures and should be stomped out of existence as quickly as possible.
I love diversity. It is what makes America a strong country. I have only one tiny complaint: People from other nationalities should speak English when in public. When you are at home, you can speak your native tongue.
Both concepts can very well apply to ethnicity, as is the case in Latin America where many national identities are built around the idea of ethnic melding; African+Native American+Spaniard=Cuban etc. I disagree with your statement about cultural or ethnic homogeneity leading to social stagnation. Countries like Japan, South Korea, Denmark, and Iceland are amongst the most homogenous countries in the world and are also some of the most advanced.
There is no negative or positive connotation to ethnic melding though. I am German, Irish, Scottish and a crapload of other countries all rolled up into one mut. Most people are a mix of different countries and no one gives a second thought about it. I couldn't tell if someone was French, German or Spanish just by looking or talking to them as we act and sound like typical Americans. I know Indians who don't speak any Hindi at all even if their parents did. Eventually they might marry some white or black girl and have kids and they will be mixed but they wouldn't act any different than if they married another Indian girl and had a 100% Indian kid. Cultural diversity is where the true differences lie. This is where the impact of languages, food, music, customs, moral and religious beliefs all collide together and each country has to decide which parts to keep and which parts to get rid of. In my view the only thing that really needs to be kept out are the languages at least as far as government or business forms are concerned. Everyone should learn to read and speak English otherwise you end up with a bureacratic mess like in Europe where some countries have literally dozens of the same form in different languages. There is absolutely no reason for that whatsoever. I am extremely grateful for the new foods that our assimilate into our culture as technically we wouldn't be eating lasagna or enchiladas if we were just homogenius and prevented any form of cultural diversity whatsoever. Its not all upsides with having diversity though and we saw this at the beginning of the 20th century and today with all the Mexicans. They come here still thinking they are Mexican or at the turn of the century Irish and Italian instead of being American first. The kids that are born to these parents will eventually come to think of themselves as Americans first and their kids will have no connection to Mexico at all. Most second and third gen children of immigrants don't even speak their native language anymore. Fortunetely this temporary turmoil eventually goes away it just takes couple generations for full assimilation.
I would argue that the reason those turn of the century immigrants and their descendants were able to assimilate quickly was because they were Europeans. Though culturally they were distinct to the native population, physically they were very similar, and so within a generation they were virtually indistinguishable from mainstream American society. The problem with this new wave of immigrants is that they are from countries like Mexico and India, whose populations are both culturally AND physically different from the native population, which further complicates the problem. A third generation Indian-American, though culturally American, is still physically distinguishable from the rest of the population, and so leaves a certain degree of foreignness to their identity. The prime example of this are African-Americans. Blacks have lived in America since the beginning, yet they are still marginalized and seen as an 'other' within mainstream American society, a minority group separate and distinct to the majority. Why is this? Its not because of their numbers since African-Americans make up roughly 15% of the population while Italian-Americans make up around 5%, otherwise we would view Italian-Americans as a minority too(and its my understanding that we don't). How was it possible that Irish and Italian immigrants were able to arrive and incorporate themselves to mainstream society within the last century while blacks, having been here much longer, were not allowed to do the same?. Its because they look different, their foreignness is inheritable in the form of their physical appearance, continually setting them apart from the majority. The complexion of the immigrant is a lot more important than people would like to admit. The reality is that if you look different, you will be treated differently. If you look like an outsider you'll be treated like one, regardless of whether you are one or not. Also the benefits you listed that diversity brings are not exclusive to diverse societies. I'm quite sure you can find Irish pubs, Italian restaurants, Salsa bands, and Yoga classes in Tokyo, which is more than 95% Japanese, while at the same time enjoying the benefits homogeneity brings; i.e. lower crime rates, greater investment in social welfare, low income inequality etc.
Cant say that multiculturalism works properly now. Anyway, it seems that multiculturalism has come and there is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in travelling in a stage-coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place. ( c ).
Indian Americans do assimilate just fine though. As do people from the Middle East and Asia within a generation. Also, for at least three generations they outperform native born whites in education, income etc. It normalizes after three generations though because by then the old family traditions of consntantly studying and working hard are somewhat mitigated. It is kind of sad because those are qualities that USED to be part of America. It has nothing to do with skin color. Blacks have failed to assimilate for two reasons. One is that the Democrats pushed a welfare system on them which became a way of life for them. The second is that many in the black community will not assume any responsibility for their actions whatsoever. They continue to blame other people for their predicament. Meanwhile Asians and people from India and the Middle East earn higher wages and go to college and become successful beyond what even whites do and as you said you can still tell someones Indian or Asian heritage even some generations later. Blacks are in the position they are because they sold their vote to a political party that takes them for granted and because they will not make the effort to improve themselves.
Because it took many different races and nationalities to make America what it is today. The business, sports, entertainment and financial segments of this country are all richer due to our diversity.
And of course racism has nothing to do with it. The history of slavery, oppresion and Jim Crow laws don't matter. Those Blacks should have been able to overcome all that and jump right in there. Go assimilate, Black people.
The countries you mentioned also have an aging population and some of the lowest birth rates in the world. A real problem for Japan.
I agree. I never said they were perfect, merely that they seem to have less problems than more diverse countries
