Heritage

As of late, the topic of conversation in UW's German 322 class has been cultural influence between nations- and a clever metaphor was used in one of the texts assigned this week to describe this phenomenon. The US was described as a "Salatschüssel"- a salad bowl- of cultures. I feel as though this parallel is more appropriate than the stereotypical "melting pot" term typically used to describe the makeup of the American population.

I'll continue with the corny metaphor (if you keep reading, this statement will eventually serve as a pun.)

Think of a cob salad- delicious, right? It has the proper components to be considered a salad while still having enough unhealthy elements for it to be edible. Each ingredient works together to provide a salad-tastic explosion of flavor in your mouth- yet they each stimulate your senses in a different fashion. Lettuce doesn't taste like chicken, but with a dash of corn and half-a gallon of thousand-island, you've got a super-studly salad ready for consumption.

In a similar fashion, the cultures of Americans aren't always melted down and mixed with the flavors of every other people- some groups keep strong cultural traditions, and in this sense they stand out on their own as unique elements in our society. America isn't a bowl of squished tomatoes, salt, and a bit of oregano boiled into an indistinguishable crimson paste- it's people are unique ingredients with unique traits and flavors.