At some point relatively late in my schooling—senior year of high school or early on in undergrad, I can't remember exactly when—a dour-faced young woman informed me that "the melting pot" was an outdated concept. The phrase that for time immemorial had proudly been used to describe America's ability to assimilate broad swathes of the world's people—taking on their best characteristics and cultural products while discarding the elements better suited for their less-free, less-prosperous homeland—was offensive. America is not be a melting pot. No no.
America is a salad.
Not some fancy Chop't salad,* either, where the ingredients are all diced up and mixed together and you get a bite of all the flavors at once. No, America is one of those old-timey salads with tomato slices next to cucumber slices next to giant croutons and huge pieces of lettuce. Your dressing, I presume, comes on the side. Everything is separate. Everything is to be appreciated for its own specialness. The idea that every thing should mix together and taste the same—that everyone would mix together and share the same values and culture—literally disgusted this sad little woman.
I was reminded of that horribly cramped notion of American life recently while reading Salon. Specifically, Randa Jarrar's piece on the no good very bad white women who have taken up belly dancing. You see, to Jarrar, it is offensive that white Americans would enjoy and partake in—in her terms, "appropriate"—this eastern phenomenon. Because ... well, just because. "Appropriation" itself is the sin. Writes Jarrar:
This dance form is originally ours, and does not exist so that white women can have a better sense of community; can gain a deeper sense of sisterhood with each other; can reclaim their bodies; can celebrate their sexualities; can perform for the female gaze. Just because a white woman doesn’t profit from her performance doesn’t mean she’s not appropriating a culture.
There's something deeply sad and, frankly, deeply un-American about this notion. Jarrar—and others who argue that white people have no place in hip hop or no business "twerking" or no right to utilize musical or cinematic innovations from other cultures in their own work—are arguing in favor of the ghettoization of culture. They dream of a world in which each culture is equal, but most definitely separate. This culture over here, that culture over there, and never the twain shall meet. Sure, you may look at another culture, but you can never touch. It is verboten.
We are a salad, not a soup.
*Note: This person would not have known what a Chop't salad is because Chop't didn't exist back then. I'm just using Chop't for illustrative purposes.