I agree with Stephen Steinberg that the term melting pot obscures the process of assimilation. A term that might fit better, and certainly adds to Michael Walzer’s article, is the salad bowl.  Immigrants arrive from overseas and often, or at least in the beginning, retain their old ethnic or cultural identity.  As time moves on, the Irish become hyphenated Irish-Americans, as they become accustomed to living in the United States.  According to Steinberg, this would be the first step toward assimilation, because the next, or if not, the third generation will simply be American, all Irish culture lost. However, according to the salad bowl theory, and Walzer, the American does not have to cancel out the Irish part of a person’s identity because in a salad, the tomato compliments or adds flavor to the lettuce, but the tomato is still identifiable as a tomato, and the lettuce is still identifiable as lettuce. In a sense, assimilation did happen, but it was not loosing an old identity in exchange for another, but rather adding another identity to an existing one.  Together in harmony, the two create a delicious salad or a multicultural identity, which according to Steinberg is the essence of being American.

However, there are some qualifications needed with this term. It depends on the fact that being loyal and dedicated to the United States is not secondary to the culture the immigrant originated from. An Irish-American is someone who is from Ireland, probably upholds Irish traditions and cultures at home, but in the greater picture, is an “American”, whether that simply means paying taxes or voting in elections and being part of the democratic process. This is entirely different than someone who is American-Irish. This person lives in the United States, but has no allegiance to the flag, and is therefore primarily focused on fostering a previous identity. They might also live in isolation to avoid contact with “Americans.” In this case the term salad bowl would not apply because the American-Irish do not have a multicultural identity, because they are not really American.  They are Irish living in the United States. Home would refer to Ireland.

Nonetheless, according to Steinberg’s view such isolationism might benefit the identity these people are trying to retain. The numbers he showed for intermarriage are high and cannot be ignored. Assimilation is happening, and once again, the term salad bowl does not apply, as these immigrants have abandoned an old identity for a a new one instead of adding on to what already exists.  How can these numbers be justified? It is possible that immigrants might come to the United States and purposely assimilate, like some intentionally remain isolationist. Some immigrants might want to leave behind the culture they came from in order to reinvent themselves as what Walzer would call American-Americans. This would be where the term melting pot would make sense, however Steinberg does not take into account that some assimilation, while not coerced by the government, might be intentional.