Is the United States a melting pot or pluralist society? Essay

The melting pot is usually referred to homogenous groups living together in a way that their cultures and religions are mixed together as ingredients in a pot and lose their dinstict identities to a certain degree giving a final product that has a unique flavor and consistency completely different from its original ingredients. Pluralism does not create a different final product. It is more like a salad bowl where the different ingredients i. e. cultures and ethinicties retain their uniqueness and flavor. Pluralism accepts and affirm diversity of faiths, ideas, opinions of people. Factors such as Globalization, the internet, television, politics and schools have turned US into a melting pot with ethnicities and differences dying out and giving birth to a new breed of Americans. High levels of Immigration by Asians, Non-white Hispanics and Blacks have transformed United Stated from being a majority of European descendent English speaking Americans. California, Texas, Florida and New York have the most immigrants. The melting pot phenomenon also includes an intermarriage of ethnicities. The children of racial and ethnic intermarriages acquire different languages and attain different social, religious and economic backgrounds. These marriages are most common in European descendent groups. The most common are between Whites and Asians, Whites and Hispanics and Whites and African Americans. This is the important sign of assimilation. It is advantageous for the United States to maintain its â€Å"melting pot† status. There is nothing wrong with giving opportunities and a better way of life to life to people belonging to different countries, races and religions. This will lead to a more patriotic and nationalist society. References: Melting pot. (2007, May 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:31, May 4, 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Melting_pot&oldid=128132858.