Is American Culture a Melting Pot or Mosaic - Essay Example

In the early years, immigrants shared a common ethnic and religious profile: white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant (McDonald & Balgopal, 1998). The first wave of European immigrants ‘melted’ into the mainstream American culture easily due to this similarity of ethnic background.

Israel Zangwill’s concept of America as a ‘melting pot,’ in which immigrants of diverse ethnicities assimilated into one homogenous cultural identity, pertains to this age. The present, second wave of immigrants is largely from the developing nations of Asia and Latin America. They bring with them a diversity of languages, customs, distinct physical traits, religions, and ethnicity, which does not submit to easy assimilation. Today, “there is more emphasis on preserving one's ethnic identity, of finding ways to highlight and defend one's cultural roots” (Booth, 1998).

America is now a multicultural ‘Mosaic,’ in which various groups preserve their ethnic identities and yet remain a part of the larger American way of life. The Chinese exemplify this ‘mosaic’. This group retains its ethnic identity and also makes significant contributions to the American culture. Steven Chu, Samuel C. C. Ting, and others are Nobel Prize winners. (“Chinese American Culture”, 2010). Amy Tan is one of today’s most popular American writers. Chinese takeaway is as much a part of American cuisine as apple pie.

The teachings of Confucius are part of the curriculum of many American universities. The benefits of Chinese meditation, green tea, and acupuncture are a part of American life. Chinese calligraphy, character tattoos, and martial arts have permeated American culture. In this age of immense diversity, American culture is no longer a ‘melting pot’ which blends all its composite groups into a homogenous whole. There is no single American identity. “Ethnicity remains an important factor in shaping people’s self-definition” (Zogby, 2001).

This is clearly demonstrated in the hyphenated terms used to define groups such as African-Americans, Irish-Americans, and Asian-Americans. American culture is a rich ‘mosaic’ of various ethnic identities, which fit together to form an infinitely rich culture, with common values and pride in being ‘American.’