I remember this interesting question being posed in a couple of my classes in previous years of school.
Many people say that America is a giant melting pot, where every unique is assimilated into one, monotonous shared culture. They argue that immigrants lose their home culture and are forced to take up the blend that America offers.
Others, however, have brought up the point that America is not a land where cultures meld into one, but a land where each culture lives harmoniously with every other, to make a beautiful mosaic. They say each piece makes up a crucial part of the whole that is America.
I like to think of America as a sort of mix between the two - a kind of stew. It has chunks of different cultures in it that all contribute something to the overall taste, sure you could go through and pick out/eat just one constituent ingredient of the stew but you could also just take a big ol' helping of it and enjoy the whole thing.
I severely doubt that America is a country where every culture co-exists and yet stays the same. I rather think that it's a mix of a bit of both, more melting pot than mosaic but still a bit of a mix. I guess that the society as a whole is rather amorph in the sense that it goes less towards new people than new people go towards the society, if you know what I mean. I don't know if I could make my point clear.. and anyway it's from a non-American standpoint, but I'm sure this works for every bigger country.
I'd say it's more like a mosiac that starts with clearly defined borders (or "tiles", I suppose) that slowly lose their definition over time. The longer one is a part of the larger culture the more of their original uniqueness becomes part of a homogenized whole.
This could probably be considered both a negative for those that cherish their native cultures and a positive to those that benefit from the broadness of the resulting quilt.
Lots of mixed metaphors in there, not sure that really works but it's what I'm going with.
I'd have to agree with everyone. I believe every culture has had its major influence on American society, but overall, every culture is less defined. Not to say that there aren't areas where a single culture sticks out or households that practice strictly a certain culture, but as a whole, America seems to be a mix.
@HahiHa and ShopwornSoul
I totally understand what both of you are saying, don't worry! :P
I believe that at a base level it's a mosaic, each culture has their own clearly defined guide lines and lifestyle, however in the grand scheme of things the various cultures are beginning to effect each other in both minute and major ways. i.e. A growing lack of strict adherence to tradition by some cultures.
I figure it's a partly melted mosaic. People retain who they are, their culture and stuff, but also assimilate to society. Try to fit in and stuff, talk the same, things like that.
