America: Melting Pot or Sizzling Cauldron?

“America is not a melting pot. It is a sizzling cauldron.” This quote was part of a speech given by Barbara Ann Mikulski in 1970 at a conference at a Catholic University regarding Ethnic Americans. It was this speech that gave the future Senator her first thrust of national attention. She is currently the senior Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. While it was geared specifically towards Ethnic Americans in the context of her speech, there are several fields in America today in which this quote hold true.

In the current world of politics, the sizzling cauldron analogy holds very true. With the recent rise of the Tea Party, one can see a clear division amongst the populace. Unlike anytime in recent history, politics cannot be discussed openly without it turning into a savage argument. The mainstream media has done nothing but fan the flames of this fire. With Fox News on one side, and MSNBC on the other, the battle for the mind of the simple voter through propaganda is in full swing. This is especially true with the hotbed issue of illegal immigration. Threats and rhetoric have replaced debate and common sense.

Differences in religious beliefs are another example of the sizzling cauldron. Whereas it used to be that the separation of Church and State was one of the cornerstones of America, the Christian majority seems to seek a merging of the two. This can be seen with the recent tirade raised when NBC decided to omit the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance during its airing of the US Open this year. The “Bible Thumpers” came down on NBC like one of the plagues of Moses over this, when in fact, these two words have no place in the Pledge in the first place. The addition of these two simple words implies that the United States serves the Christian God, and is not a place of true religious freedom. Add to this the underlying unspoken dislike and distrust of any and all Middle Easterners and their religion, Islam, and you have just cranked up the heat on the cauldron another 100 degrees.

Another area that throws even more heat under the cauldron is race and gender relations. Racial tensions in this country go all the way back to the original settlers. The white European settlers considered themselves to be superior to everyone else. This included the Native Americans that they would eventually take the land from. The relations between white and black Americans has never been a good one considering how blacks got to this country in the first place. Add to this mix the influx of Latinos in the last half century, many of whom have arrived and settled here illegally, and you have a powder keg ready to explode. The same can be said for the Feminist Movement. Once considered second class citizens and inferior to men, women have come a long way, but still have farther to go to reach total equality with their male counterparts. The most recent addition to this foray is the Gay Rights Movement. While all they are asking for are equal rights, there are a staggering amount of Americans who would like to see them shoved back into the closet and denied the same rights that those who would deny them enjoy. The sentiment is that while this country was founded on the rights of the individual, in cases where said rights conflict with the majority, then they should be denied those rights.

In conclusion, while during the prime of Ellis Island this country was considered a melting pot of many peoples, it has since become a steaming, sizzling cauldron. It seems that with each passing day we inch closer and closer to implosion. To use another famous quote, “United we stand, divided we fall.” We are becoming extremely divided and it seems that a fall is inevitable.

America: Melting Pot or Sizzling Cauldron OR SEPTIC TANK?




en.wikipedia.org...

You are so far off the mark it's funny.

Politics has never been able to be discussed without getting heated. In fact Hamilton died from dueling someone over politics so how's that for getting heated and certainly not everyone hates all Muslims. Where did you get that racist remark from?

Immigration has always been a hot topic and you should know that there are different classes of immigrants. Old immigrants were very much welcome because they brought skills while New immigrants were not liked because it was felt they were a drain on society.

Point is that this is nothing new. In Political Science classes the melting pot theory has given way to the analogy of a salad. You have all your ingredients mixed together yet they each remain seperate and identifiable from the total combination.

reply to post by kro32


You apparently lack the perspective of time. The divisiveness of the current political landscape far exceeds that of only 20 years ago, let alone farther back. The political climate has not been this heated since the McCarthy era...

which Americans aren't "ethnic"?

reply to post by ignant


Those who live on Reservations!

I caught all kinds of grief when I wrote a thread stating that everyone who wasn't a Native American was an Anchor Baby!

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


That is just an utterly ridicuouls statement. Go read up on the political climate during the Civil Rights era or the Civil War period, or WW2. Today's climate is like a stroll through Disneyland.

in that case, we massacred 95% shortly after we 'dropped anchor' in these parts, and took over.

so the answer to the OP question is obviously the latter.

and, history tends to repeat itself

reply to post by kro32


I REMEMBER the Civil Rights Era... Do you? And that was more social than political...

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


Well when you have Governors of States openly defying the President of the United States forcing him to call in troops i'd say that's a little more volatile than Obama bickering with the republicans don't ya think?

reply to post by kro32


This is quite different than the childish grandstanding that the political parties are engaging in currently. This has spilled right down to the bases of both parties, especially those on the right side of the aisle.

Excellent thread. I agree entirely, especially having written a thread recently covering the same sub-text from a differant angle. While I do agree with Kro to an extent that politics has always been dirty and stupid; the current level of mindless rhetoric is untenable. We are, I think, at a place where the populace has no footing of its own.

I am reminded of the quote from Men in Black

A person is smart; people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.

We are too busy being manipulated as a mob these days that too many of us throw away our identity and take on the label and beliefs of some amorphous mob of people. Once that happens, we are easily controlled and manipulated by those who would spout the right vitriol at the right time.

so lets get this straight a democratic congressman says we arent a meliting pot?

yeah that comming from the originators of the hypenated american titles and who constantly go around saying your oppressed no no your oppressed no no your oppressed.

and the same party that thinks illegals have a civil right to be here and they have a civil right to speak any language other than english in a country that was founded on the basis of english.

the democratic congressmen out to know the great melting pot in itself is assimliation into a larger ethnic diversity as in being an american.

except being just an american aint good enough we need to continue the labels.

meh if we have become a sizzling caulron its what they have made instead of pushing polticies that tout the line of equality when every potlicy since their creating have maintained and increased the divides in this country.

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


I'd like to make reference to a line in your blog

"This can be seen with the recent tirade raised when NBC decided to omit the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance during its airing of the US Open this year."

Is there a chance that it's not the fact that they omitted the words that caused the tirade but rather the reasons behind it have caused it. The theme these days is to try to not "offend" other religious groups and if it's anythings like Australia there's a real chance it was omitted for that reason and nothing to do with church and state and it might be for that reason that church groups are getting their back up.

I'm not a practising Christian and I believe that church and state should be seperate. But I don't agree with changing tradition and right to speech in an effort to appease minority groups who obviously have their own religious agenda. It had been accepted by the governing powers of every country in the western world that the multi culture experiment has failed. All western countries eccept Australia which has laws that stop people from arguing against it, it's against the law to get on a soap box and argue the point. So that way when the Government crunches it's numbers it can say that Australian opposition is small and then make the untrue claim that it has worked in Australia. Also the reason I say western world is that a multi culture society was and never will be attempted in those other countries bogged down in their religion and we know who I'm talking about.

The point I'm trying to make is that today it's removing the word God to make other religious groups happy and tomorrow it's blacking out the windows of pubs so as to not offend them to see you drink alcohol and then it's the banning of alcohol when those minortiy groups get people in position of Government power. it all starts with the small things then before you know it your grand daughter has to cover her head in public. So perhaps people putting up a fight to keep the traditons of that particular western country alive isn't such a bad thing.

reply to post by steveknows


The words "under God" did not appear in the pledge until 1954, so it's NOT traditional... it was added to differential us from 'them Godless Commies'... The Godless Commies are gone...

Originally posted by JaxonRoberts
reply to post by steveknows

 

The words "under God" did not appear in the pledge until 1954, so it's NOT traditional... it was added to differential us from 'them Godless Commies'... The Godless Commies are gone...

What I'm saying is that through out the western world it has been TRADITIONAL TO MAKE A REFERENCE TO GOD in alot of Government or national statements and they're being removed and all I said was is it a chance that church groups, and not always just church groups, are taking offence not because the word is being removed but because of the reason behind it being to satisfy minority groups. Regardless of when it was put in.

Originally posted by neo96
so lets get this straight a democratic congressman says we arent a meliting pot?

yeah that comming from the originators of the hypenated american titles and who constantly go around saying your oppressed no no your oppressed no no your oppressed.

I know that you don't get out much, Neo, but, uh... people are being oppressed. See, unlike you and the other white male middle-class conservatives prancing about like a bunch of sugarplum fairies, whining about how deeply, terribly you are oppressed because you pay property taxes, there are people who actually are getting deeply screwed by this country and its systems. Since their exploitation demonstrably benefits you (how's the cheap oil you buy on the way to the mall to get those nice sneakers, chief?) I can understand that you want to pretend it's not there, as if that absolves you.

Get out more. Learn about the world around you.

and the same party that thinks illegals have a civil right to be here and they have a civil right to speak any language other than english in a country that was founded on the basis of english.

Migration is in fact a human right, according to the United Nations - which remember, we founded (in fact the Human rights charter was our idea.) And freedom of speech is a protected right under the US constitution - regardless of hte language it's conducted in. I know the idea that people who are different from you in any way might be afforded the same rights and privileges as you is a #ing shocking notion, but it IS in fact true.

the democratic congressmen out to know the great melting pot in itself is assimliation into a larger ethnic diversity as in being an american.

The very idea of a melting pot requires two-way assimilation. The immigrant adapts to the natives and the natives adapt to the immigrant. People like you don't understand this concept and rather than a melting pot, you want a bleach bucket.

except being just an american aint good enough we need to continue the labels.

Well, it's not as if "Americans" like you are exactly welcoming to anyone who isn't willing to allow you to determine how they should live their lives in minute detail.

meh if we have become a sizzling caulron its what they have made instead of pushing polticies that tout the line of equality when every potlicy since their creating have maintained and increased the divides in this country.

With English like this, you no longer get to bitch and whine and butthurt about someone else speaking Spanish fluently. I revoke your sniveling rights here and forthwith.

The only "division" comes from people like you, I'm afraid. people whose paradigms are utterly and completely set around the notion that they are superior to others by dint of race, gender, language, and religion, who feel that "equality" threatens that superiority.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox


The UN also says that every country has a right to protect its borders and sometimes those borders are attacked from within.

USA is neither ..its a powder keg about to explode wait for 2012-13

reply to post by JaxonRoberts

America: Melting Pot or Sizzling Cauldron?

Unfortunately, you approach a very valid subject that really involves the entire nation, but from a very pointed political and anti-religious platform. Regrettably, this guts the better part of your message mechanism because it wasn't presented to the whole, from the middle.

Yeah, I know that we all have a right to our own political slants. But in this case, all you're likely to get is agreement from those who share your political/religious views and arguments from those who don't. Honest debate has been set aside for the partisan standard.

*sigh*