The Melting Pot Essay, Research Paper
The Melting Pot.
In our society today America consists of a lot of different people. All of these people are of different cultures, race, and religions. Even though they have many differences they all live and work together. Bringing together these people from diverse nationalities and making them conform to an idea or a group of ideas and still remaining an individual is my understanding of what a melting pot is. This takes place all over the United States. Based on my high school and different family observations I feel that America is a melting pot.
I feel that my hometown, which is Powder Springs Georgia, is a good example of what I consider the melting pot to be. I attended a very culturally diverse high school. Many different people of many different cultures and beliefs attended this school. There were whites at the school that separated themselves because they did not like blacks. They even had there own bench and tree. In another section of the school the Trench Coat Mafia would gather together. Hispanics also had a place to communicate amongst themselves. That then left the black and the whites. Most blacks and whites hung out together, but we had different parts of the campus where we would stay. We all were from different nationalities and had different beliefs but we all attended the same school. Even though we all were separated at school, the event that brought everybody together took place on Friday nights. Everybody from the school would come out together and watch these football games. No matter how everybody separated at school, everybody came together to cheer for their high school. Having all these beliefs and being the individuals that the people were, everybody still worked together. My football team consisted of players from all these different groups. While at school people had all of these different beliefs, but when it was time to practice or play a game, everybody set their differences aside. It did not matter what each individual believed in, everybody came together and we played as a team. We lived together, worked together, and played together and with all the differences we had we were still like a family. So actually we ?melted together?. Another example of the melting pot took place in a couple of my classes. There was this boy who was associated with the Trench Coat Mafia. We had projects and group assignments, and he was my partner on many different occasions. Even though we had different beliefs and cultures, we put our differences aside to work together. There was never any animosity among us. We had an assignment and we knew we had to work together to get it done. After we communicated and worked together on this project peacefully, things went back to the way there were. He very seldom talked and never really had anything to say to me outside of the class. This is a good example of the melting pot because we came together regardless of our background and worked together while remaining individuals. This is how my hometown is. Of course since our school was culturally diverse so were our neighborhoods. So while living in this neighborhood I observed families and they act under the definition of a melting pot also.
My neighborhood consisted of many families with different cultures and beliefs. Our street consisted of a lot of people with different nationalities. At the end of the street there lived a family that was of Mexican decent. Inside their house they only spoke Spanish. Even though they are not living in Mexico, they still spoke their language. At the same time while outside or talking to any neighbors they would speak in English. This is an example of a family that is maintaining its cultural identity, but are living together with the majority of the people, who are from an English background. My street also consisted of a family that was Jewish. This family had different practices and different beliefs about many things. All throughout the year they would put up different flags and celebrate their own cultural belief and holidays. But at the same time they were nice people and always helped out in the neighborhood to make it better. Every time you walked by the house they would gladly greet you. So they set aside their differences to interact in the community. Their neighbors next to them were from Africa. They also put up different flags and celebrated different holidays and there was never any conflict between the two families. They have learned to accept that everybody is not going to believe in the same thing and that it does not make you any less of a person if you have a different belief.
Next door to me lived another family that had a different belief. They did not like blacks. I have lived there for about six years and the family has never spoken to my family. They tend to stare and give mean looks but they never speak. I guess this is something they believe in. Even though my neighborhood consists of all these different people with these different understanding and beliefs it is still a good neighborhood. I feel safe living there even though everybody is different. It?s just an example that people with different backgrounds, race, cultures, and religion can live in the same community and work together while still maintaining their individualism.
This new immigration wave will have an effect on the school and neighborhood in my hometown. I feel like the effect will not be a negative one. It is a positive effect because everyone is accepted and looked at as individuals. With this new immigration wave there will probably be more Spanish people living in the town. Gradually as time pass the majority of the school and town will be minorities. As it has been for a number of years in my school and neighborhood this will be accepted and everyone will still work together while maintaining their individualism.
In conclusion, I believe that America is a melting pot. Over the years things have gradually changed and now many different cultures are living together. Whether it is in the school system or in the neighborhood, everybody has come together in our society and found a way to live and work with each other. Every now and then there is a dispute between neighbors or students at my school about an issue, but it is calmly resolved. We as individuals have learned that our neighbors are not going anywhere. They have the right to be there just like the next person. So over the years people have learned to accept this and go on. A community would not be safe if a melting pot did not occur. So therefore many different types of people must be willing to work and live together. These are examples of how America has