I think the 2024 Election reminds us how far America has come towards integrating the many minorities that make up our diverse nation. More and more members of various minorities voted outside the suffocating conformity dictated to them by so called "leaders" among their identity group and voted in their own self-interest (a concept that is grounded in the individual rights on which American society is built).
What an achievement for a nation where one in six Americans were not born in America. 25% of American children have a foreign-born parent. When minorities vote as individuals and not as members of an identity group, it suggests they are thinking like Americans and not like members of an identity group. But with increasing immigration, the challenges of turning immigrants into Americans is harder.
There are three reasons people migrate to America: economic opportunity, individual freedom, and the rule of law.
Of the three, the first economic opportunity can be the most problematic reason people come to this country, and it is among the primary reason illegal immigrants come here. Simply said, we don't want people to come to our country "for a job" or to raise up their standard of living. We do hope that happens as a consequence of coming here. The goal of the melting pot is to integrate immigrants into "America" to the point we are "one nation indivisible". But if the only reason, someone comes to America is for economic opportunity, not because of our values and rule of law, then it will be harder to achieve the integration necessary for immigration to be the positive thing it can be.
But for America to become a "melting" pot rather than a "rainbow", we need to promote the integration of immigrants through a three-stage process. Notice, I used the word "promote", not coerce or force.
The first step towards integration is tolerance. People who migrate here as adults will be wedded to the many things that define the culture from which they came. It is silly to assume, that when they step foot in America, they will abandon those things.
But for the melting pot to work, they must be open to the fact that at some level they must try to assimilate with the first step being to learn our language and our customs and traditions. As Thanksgiving approaches, I love to talk to first generation Americans and green card immigrants whose family traditions include "American" Turkey with side dishes that come from their culture. These Americans have made the first step towards integration... they celebrate both American traditions and their past traditions all at the same time.
The second phase of integration is defined by your social circles. Poverty can be a major barrier to social integration not just ethnically, but racially. Poorer Americans and immigrants tend to live in neighborhoods defined by their skin color or ethnicity. Where I live those neighborhoods carry names like Little Saigon, Chinatown, Greek Town, and Little Italy. The more people socially interact "with their own kind", the less they are going to integrate and become fully American.
In contrast, the middle-class neighborhood where I live is marked by the fact, that people from every part of the world reside peacefully beside one another. In many cases, first generation Americans demonstrate the greatest amount of patriotism on holidays like the 4th of July. My wife is one of those people, my daughter-in-law is one, and my mother was one of those people. They know what life under other governments are like and feel grateful for the individual freedom America offers.
I heard a North Korean refugee respond to a question she was asked about what to her makes America the best country in the world... her one-word response was eye opening... "Choice". She went on to say she can't understand why some Americans are so focused on regulating our society through government mandates and attempts to impose "politically correct" thinking. She presumed they had no idea how that ended.
In essence for our society to be a "melting pot" we must promote as much social interaction as possible. School integration in the 50s was the first major step of racial integration, simply growing up in integrated schools advanced the goal of the "melting pot". When people start choosing friends based on their character rather than skin color or ethnicity, then they are well on their way to becoming "American".
The last stage of integration is biological integration. When children cannot trace their ancestry to a single country or culture, they are more likely to identify as "American". I worry when people use terms like African American, Native American, Asian American, etc. Sadly, our government promotes such terms. But unless required to identify themselves on a government form, the more people don't identify with their race, but rather simply as "American" the better. When I grew up people were Italian American, Irish American, German American, Greek American, etc. But after intermarrying over two generations, they lost the ethnic labels and simply identified as American. While I think Hollywood tries too hard to promote diversity in their movies to the point, it seems "fake", the general concept of presenting people of all ethnicities and races in social relationships and mixed-race children does contribute to the idea that these relationships are "normal" and that is a good thing.
Interestingly, among my friends who voted for Trump only one is married to someone of the same race as they are, and that person's wife is a different ethnicity. So, I see a lot of "melting" going on among conservatives where I live. But I do see a "new" divide taking shape on "ideology".
This is a real threat to America. Any ideology that focuses on group identity is inherently divisive and undermines the goals of the "melting pot". Any political movement stressing conformity based on skin color like Obama's recent attempt to shame black men into voting for Harris, should be condemned. We don't need people preaching division on skin color and ethnicity. Because we are a nation of tolerance and free speech, Obama has a right to preach division, but the rest of us should turn our backs to him when he does.
The "melting pot" is one of the most vital goals of our society if we have any hope of preserving our "identity" as a nation while promoting immigration.
