I agree more with Reverend Jesse Jackson’s metaphor of the United States being both a rainbow and a family quilt. Living in America, I feel I’ve grown up in many culturally diverse places. My high school embraced every race, and even had different events throughout the year to recognize different cultures. I never felt that people “blended into one unified character.” Even after moving far from my hometown to San Jose, I still feel I live in an extremely culturally diverse place. Since I’ve been at San Jose State, I’ve met people from Ethiopia, Russia, and many other places. We’ve discussed their cultural differences and how they’ve adjusted throughout their time in San Jose. I feel America is extremely diverse. I do however believe that certain interpretations of the “melting pot” metaphor are interesting. I never saw the “melting pot” metaphor in a negative light. I always believed it was a metaphor meaning we all have come together and are united as one nation. I never thought it was about losing past cultural traditions to form one uniformed culture. I believe cultural differences are extremely valuable and are preserved within our society.
Dear domsmcdee,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is a rainbow and a quilt. In my post, I defined it as a rainbow because each color is distinctive and it's own but hey blend together perfectly. Similarly, America can be seen as a quilt where each square is stitched together and the stitches can be taken out and unraveled. However, I think America is more of a rainbow than the quilt.
I find it interesting that you've met people from Ethiopia and Russia here at SJSU. I, too, have met some people from other countries and different ethnicities. I think Silicon Valley attracts so many people and this is a perfect place to see such diversity.
Great post. Thanks for sharing!
-rompersb
Hi domsmcdee,
ReplyDeleteI liked reading your take on the melting pot metaphor and agree with you, the rainbow and quilt metaphors are good at describing the diversity that is America. You brought up a really interesting point, in that you had never thought of the melting pot metaphor as being negative. When I first heard this term in one of my classes, I actually thought it conjured up a nice image of unification and acceptance. The metaphor seemed to promote the identity of being an American, where a diverse nation like ours is a place for all as one. In thinking more about this metaphor compared to Jackson’s or others, I can certainly see why some disagree with it. There could be fear that this term promotes losing ourselves, cultures, and identities to mold into something else. Whereas a rainbow or quilt retains its original qualities, while at the same time contributing to a larger society.
-Flora
Domsmcdee!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the rainbow and quilt metaphor being great examples of unity in the United States. I think they are both perfect examples of how there are so many cultures in America and they all unite and come together to make one colorful work of art.
I do not think the melting pot is a good metaphor because it states that all cultures come together and conform to one character. I do not think melting everyone together distinguishes cultures from one another and allows you to actually see the diversity America has to offer. In a rainbow or quilt you are able to see all the colors which is like seeing all the diversity that make up this country.