Monday, October 27, 2014

Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?

Write a 100 word persuasive paragraph in which you argue whether America is more of a melting pot or a salad bowl.  Make sure to include examples to support your argument.

32 comments:

  1. When comparing America to a salad bowl or a melting pot, I believe that a melting pot is a more accurate description. When you think about the use of a melting pot,you know it is used to melt down one or more foods into a sauce. This one sauce though is made up of more than one distinct ingredient. With this in mind America can be considered a place for the mixing of many cultures, Chicago for instance contains many different ethnic groups and places, these places and people all make up the mix of the melting pot that is Chicago but on a smaller scale compared to America.

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  3. The Melting Pot Theory is much more relevant in today's time than anything else.
    Despite the debate over the concept of assimilation, the general population is made up of "melted" Americans. Most are well aware that people from all over the world come to America with different intentions- work, freedom, money. But along with these hopes and dreams, the people bring their culture along with them. With time, peoples' traditions and customs grow onto the people they may encounter in their lives, and that is how it has spread over years and years throughout the States. Through experience (and observation), I believe we, as a nation, are a melting pot. An obvious example is how a plethora of different cultures have different forms of restaurants, at which people of other races eat at. It is quite normal for the average family to eat out and different types of restaurants. Another example is the bindi trend, in which young people (particularly females) have found its stylish to wear bindi's to music events like Lollapalooza, North Coast, and so forth.
    Generally speaking, there are everyday things we all deal with that exemplifies my reasoning. Simple things such as the fact that (most) attend public schools, use technology in daily life, listen to the same music, and drink Coca Cola. Although minuscule details, they show how much we have in common. Thus, in line with common belief, by any reasonable measure of sharing the American culture, there is a major amount of commonality among the people who have made America their home.

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  4. The melting pot would describe America today. I believe this is true because our population is over flowing with different types of cultures and people. Not only that but people keep reproducing children, and the population is growing at a steady rate.Its also the melting pot because many various cultures have a different view in life, they come from all over the world and contribute. This is creating a new and unique sort of american life. Its actually really interesting to have all these diversities and I believe it makes america a little more exciting.

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  5. I like how Joe expanded on the melting pot metaphor, and went into comparing America to a sauce, although his supporting evidence supports the salad bowl theory. I respect what Minerva had to say about the melting pot model, although I would have to say I disagree with the melting pot model and go with the salad bowl theory. Immigrants come over to America for many different reasons, mainly for work and family. I don't think people immediately assimilate when they leave their country and enter another; they adapt. There's a difference between the too. People have misused both terms over years. To assimilate is to become similar, immigrants don't become similar to their fellow American man, they can choose too, but it's more of adapting, and getting comfortable to their surroundings and new environments. People don't lose their culture unless they assimilate to others, and blend into a single homogeneous culture. Each culture maintains its own distinctness. There is a wide range of holidays we celebrate, and continue to from around the globe! Weddings are all celebrated differently in America, where couples tie their culture in. The civil rights movement of the last half of the twentieth century awakened in people across America a new awareness of and pride in their ethnic origins. This multi-cultural awareness led some to advocate dropping the metaphor of a melting pot, and instead leaning on the salad bowl idea. There are American values society has created, but people can concur with them and still focus on own culture! The beauty of America is that its values transcend its differences.People can be Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans–any kind of Americans – and believe in the same core principles. Like those found in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Simply having similar beliefs does not mean a culture will be lost. Going back to weddings,different people can believe in marriage, and still incorporate their culture in them. Similar opinions does not affect a deterioration in culture. Hopefully, with the continuing years, the salad bowl continues to expand its circumference, and bring in more cultural variety.

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  6. The melting pot is the better of the two when describing America. Many of Americans are more of the "melting" kind of people because we have combined together to be the one and only America. We understand that people from all over the world come here for their own purposes to live a better life, better job, and better education. People from various cultures come to America and contribute what is necessary to create a new and improved culture. See when people from Italy and Ireland came to America they didn't compare their way of life instead they came together and became one. Not the Italian and the Irish but civil, equal Americans. We started as a separate variety of cultures but now we are a variety of cultures that created this one culture that is unique and one of a kind.

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  7. When comparing melting pot or salad bowl to America, I believe the melting bowl is more relevant. The melting pot concept was pushed by conservatives who wanted to turn America into a generic society where everyone is identical. That's because we all come from different backgrounds, cultures, groups, etc. , and many of us have retained certain cultural habits or traditions of where our ancestors came from. We don't all have the same ideas, ideologies, opinions, and cultural habits. Furthermore, America is a very multi-cultural society but some people choose to deny that. The melting pot theory is that all Americans are mixed together to be “one” with our unique characteristics and backrounds, but anyone with any basic understanding knows that simply is not a realistic description of what Americans are.

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  8. Contrary to what most people say, America is more of a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. A melting pot implies that all the different groups and cultures "melt" together and mix into one. But today in American, we act as one but are truly different. Different ethnicities do bring something to the table, but are still diverse. Groups mix and come together as a nation, but are proud of their backgrounds. A Hispanic person sees themselves more as Hispanic rather than American. Another example is if you go to China Town. It's a group of people from a single background. As all the different cultures come together, they do not "melt" in a melting pot, but rather mix like a salad bowl.

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  9. America is sought out to be more of a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. I say this because when I think of a salad bowl, I picture many different flavors blending together to make the perfect mix, which truly portrays America. This country is made up of so many different cultures and traditions that people every day are spreading it all over, and we are starting to see it everywhere we turn. As an example, there are blends of different restaurants we come across every day. From American, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, or Arabian, we can see how there are a plethora of cultures being represented in America. What is cool about having all these different types of restaurants is that all kinds of races appear to be eating there. This shows how our American culture is starting to blend and mix together somewhat like how a salad bowl would.

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  10. I believe that America is like a salad bowl, and always will be. Others who have also come to this conclusion believe it's because of the diversity of our cultures, and it's true. The reason I picked it is because I, for one, have mixed feelings about salads. I enjoy the crispness of the iceberg lettuce, and the coolness of the cucumbers. However, I don't like the bitter taste of brusselsprouts, or the dirt-like, strong taste of celery. This is also how i feel about America. Our country is deliciously free to do what we please, and it's refreshing, just like the lettuce and cucumbers. We can practice whatever religion we want, study in whatever field we desire, and say what we please. We have numerous fundraisers for cancer (and other causes), good hospitals for when we get sick, and have schools that offer us education. But what about the brusselsprouts and celery? Do we not see that bitterness when we pass by a homeless veteran, pleading for change? More so, do we not see it when those with loose, spare coins in their pocket ignore those people as if they weren't there? What of the people who desperately escape a country with dangerous environments, such as Mexico, pleading for help and a better life? They get deported and ignored. The terms don't have to be that drastic, either. Even those who break the mold and live different lifestyles or have a different appearance are victims of American society. Our country is definitely like a salad bowl, in my opinion. We are refreshing. We are bitter. We are America.

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  11. In describing America, the salad bowl metaphor works best. It is true that people from all over the world come to this country wanting to be Americans, but they still have a lot of their original cultural identity as well as the American identity. So, all the cultures of the U.S have not combined together into one, as in a melting pot. If that were the case, every single person in America would be doing, thinking, acting, and participating in the exact same thing. Instead people in this country stick to their roots and practice their unique cultures, as well as the American one. As in a salad bowl, it consists of many different things that have unity, but still their own separate identity. In America, the all the people still have their unique and separate identity.

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  12. When you first look it, America looks like a melting pot. But once you observe the people of America, one can see that America still has many different people with many different cultures. If America was a melting pot, then there would be little to no variation in culture. But America is very different from that. There are many examples of differing cultures in America like religion, literature, dance, music, film, and fashion. One of the most popular examples of culture is food. Today in America, one can find many different types of restaurants; Chinese, Arabic, Mexican, and many more. Just because it seems like these cultures have somewhat mixed, doesn’t mean that they are not as distinct as before.

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  13. To say America is either a melting pot or a salad bowl is much too general. In this land of the free we have many immigrants come from all over the world just to live here searching for opportunity to live a better life. In that sense we are a salad bowl, completely different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and ideas. We do all share a common goal which is to be successful but are not together. We are separated by our beliefs much like a salad bowl with different ingredients that stand alone from one another. However, as time passed and America developed as a country, we have begun to loose our strict beliefs and come together. Come together as one melting pot per say. Now, instead of standing alone as independent ingredients, we compliment each other and work together making a perfect stew. Discrimination is nearly gone and no one is seen or judged differently from anyone else. From the outside of our great states we are all seen as Americans.

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  14. My view on America would be viewed as a melting pot due to the different combinations that can be made in it. As oppose to the typical salad where it includes, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, a melting pot can mix an infinite different amount of ingredients. Just like we see in America today where there is an infinite amount of cultural backgrounds, it is all based on one’s destiny to whether or not they will end up in America. There is no idea that only Mexicans, Chinese, or Arabic only come to America. It is all based on one’s desire to search for a new beginning whether they be from Switzerland, Jamaica, or Ghana, they all add up to the unique taste that will always be America.

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  15. Many people believe America is like a melting pot, but they haven't taken a look at the bigger picture. I believe the Salad Bowl Theory is applied best. America has become a country of opportunities, freedom, and ethnicities. Multiculturalism is implemented into our daily lives. For example, a plethora of restaurants exist in today’s society that display various cultures. You can find any type food in America; Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Cuban, Asian, Chinese, Polish, etc. I believe “American culture” does not exist because American culture is made up of various beliefs, and roots from different countries. In America, people have the freedom of religion. Not everyone, but most individuals have stuck to their beliefs. For instance, I go to church every Sunday because I have adapted to my parent’s beliefs brought from Mexico. Diversity is also seen in newspapers, magazines, literature, and television. America is a salad bowl as a whole, but what makes up the salad is the different variety of fruits and vegetables. Without a variety of ingredients, there would be no salad. I believe America will continue to be a Salad Bowl because the world is changing every day with technology, and the people around us.

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  17. America is more like a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. A melting pot forces its ingredients to come together as one, while the salad bowl allows each individual ingredient to bring a special taste to the salad as a whole, just like America. A salad bowl when mixed allows the ingredients to maintain the original structure or culture in terms of the people of America. Coming together, People bring their ancestry traditions to the “salad bowl” and mix them. The ingredients make up a sense of unity. All the ingredients of a salad contribute to form a finished product like America.

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  18. I believe that a "melting pot" best describes America better than a "salad bowl". The reason I say a melting pot is that America is made up of many races and these cultures are all mixed together. These is no one culture in America, it's all made up of different people that share a little of their culture. One example is Chicago, and the reason being that it's made up of a vast amount of people and races. These people are all spread apart, and they make up the culture that Chicago shares with everyone. There is no set amount of people of one certain race that make up an entire city, state, or the whole country. That's why America is so diverse compared to other countries around the world.

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  19. I think America is a salad bowl instead of a melting pot because each American has their own individuality. We all have different nationalities, cultures and beliefs. Although, all religions, nationalities, cultures, etc., are accepted and sometimes intermixed, there's still a clear distinction to who each American is. Looking at the census, there are many options to what an American is. The idea behind what it means to be an American lies within having that American Dream, that opportunity for a better life; however, we all have our individuality and different lifestyle within the border of America, just like a salad bowl mixed with cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, croutons, chicken, and other foods.

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  20. America since declaring its Independence has been a salad. In a salad bowl, everything is together but still has its own distinct flavor, whereas in a melting pot everything blends in together. It is appropriate to label America as one big salad bowl where all different ideas, beliefs, and ways of life are all together but still keep their originality. In modern American and new America we see how people have their own opinions on certain things. If you were to ask someone what it means to be American each person would answer with a different answer. People migrate to America from all corners of the world, and when they come here, they all assimilate, but keep their culture. America has so many different vegetable and dressings that makes it the best salad bowl ever

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  21. When America is judged as a whole is it seen more as a melting pot or a salad bowl? A salad bowl has a mix of flavors and ingredients like: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and etc. Each having its own unique added ingredient. A melting pot is a plethora of materials mixed together. Everything in the pot just being merged together. Out of the two America is more of a salad bowl because of it’s variety of cultures and ethnicities. This is no where in America where a mix of cultures will not be present. People from all over the world come to America for their own reason, but just because they left their motherland does not mean they forgot about their culture. An example of this would be all the Holidays celebrated during the different times of the year. Whether it be Eid, Christmas, Cinco de Mayo, Hanukkah, or Independence day all of these could be seen celebrated in every single one of the States. All the cultures come together, but they have their own unique “flavor” just as each ingredient in a salad does.

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  22. America is a lot like a salad bowl because like a salad there are many different ingredients into making one and like America there are many cultures that make up the United States. Each ingredient in a salad are different, they each have a different taste, shape, and texture. America is the same way each having different beliefs, language, and cultures. This variety of people in the U.S. makes America “America.” Each culture has a distinct quality such as the ingredients in a salad and these distinct qualities combine into becoming one such as the people did once they declared their independence.

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  23. America is more like a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. In a salad, every individual piece of lettuce, tomato, cheese is recognized and noticed. Whereas in a melting pot, every item is unrecognizable and blended together blandly. America is unique, unlike any other country. We have a variety of different races, ethnicities, religions, and so forth just like a salad has a variety of ingredients. Also, America is like a salad bowl because just like croutons or purple lettuce, there's things that stick out about the U.S. For example, the famous people that do crazy things and get put on the news. America is definitely more like a salad bowl then a melting pot, that’s for sure.

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  24. America is definitely more of a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. The people living here in America have all come from different places around the world, along with their culture and ideology. All the different ideas and beliefs have been shared and even adapted into other cultures daily lives, but we have not and most likely will never forget our roots and the way they did things. Just like in a salad, different ingredients can be mixed together, but you can still easily see and separate them. Immigrants coming to America to start a new life will still continue to keep their unique cultural aspects, keeping America a salad bowl.

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  25. When creating a salad, many ingredients are put into the bowl; America is one big salad bowl. A salad bowl has many ingredients like tomato, lettuce, cheese, spinach, and chicken. The salad bowl is America and the ingredients is all the components that make America up. America is made of a plethora of cultures, religions, personalities, etc. No salad bowl is the same, so why should a country? When it snows, there is never two alike snowflakes, but altogether, it makes something so marvelous; snow. Just like America, alone we are nothing, but put all our diverse cultures, all our fighters, our rebels, our patriots and we got a "salad bowl".

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  26. When being compared to a salad bowl or a melting pot, I would consider America as being a salad bowl, based on all the cultures that are living throughout the 50 states. As you take a bite into your salad, you can clearly taste every single one of the ingredients as each of them have their own special taste. Being compared to all the cultures found around America, each and every culture is unique. We all have our different traditions and not all of us speak the same languages. We also do not look the same way. Some of us have one belief while others have another. So just like a salad bowl has its ingredients with different, unique flavors, we are made up of many unique characteristics that make each individual distinctive from one another.

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  27. I believe that America is more of a salad bowl than a melting pot. In the salad bowl theory, immigrants don't lose the individuality of their cultures while in the melting pot theory, immigrants do lose their cultures. In a salad there are lots of different ingredient that taste really good together, and in America there are a lot of different cultures that go well together and make America different from any other country. For example, different cultures celebrate different holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Ramadan, and so on. There are restaurants specializing in different types of food, Chinese food and Mexican food being two examples. Chicago is a huge salad bowl of people from all over the world, which is why I believe that America is more of a salad bowl than a melting pot.

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  28. I believe America is definitely more of a salad bowl than a melting pot. The term melting pot is defined as different immigrants with different cultures all living in one place, although they lose some of their ethnic backgrounds. On the other hand the term Salad bowl is different. It means different immigrants with different cultures all living in one place, but they don't lose any bit of their culture. America has many different people that come in with different ethnic backgrounds. One example would be Burbank, IL. The people that live here have ethnic backgrounds from Poland, Mexico, etc. They all speak their different languages and celebrate their different holidays, but they never lose their sight of their culture. That's what makes America salad bowl.

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  29. America is an example of a melting pot. A melting pot is used for melting and mixing metals or other substances. The people of American have been melted and mixed together like the contents in a melting pot. Everyone brings their own type of "metal". Our type of metal is based on each cultures religion, holidays, morals, food, etc. Mixing all of our cultures together is the result of interaction between each other. All ethnicities in the United States have picked up another quality of another. For example, you do not just see Mexicans eating at a Mexican restaruant. The other cultures that have grown to like the food incorporates it into their life, resulting in the mix of cultures. America is an example of the melting pot.

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  30. America is more like a melting pot than a salad bowl. There is such a variety of different backgrounds from people, and this forms a society that fuses all of these cultures together. The United States is somewhat of a stronger country because of because of all the people we welcome, allowing them to play a different role. Our diversity is allowed because of what each unique culture brings to the mix. We all have different traditions but we tend to come together as one and allow these traditions together and accept it. Each immigrant that comes to the United States has their different reason for it, all based on how they will add to the society.

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  31. America is a salad bowl, if you think about it we are full of diversity. But back then it was not like that, there was judgment on your skin color, and religion. Years ago, it was tons of different then it is now. Where if you weren't white, you weren't normal anf if you worshiped someone or something else you were outcasted. But now, we are a all accepted by eachother for our differences, maybe not a perfect salad bowl but close to it

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  32. America as a whole is more similar to a melting pot than to a salad bowl. We must remember that America is made up of Immigrants. Many, if not all of us, have ancestors from Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. Everyone has a different background, culture, and views; these are all "melted" together in our society, rather than being tossed on top of each other like a salad bowl. This is why the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.

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