Having grown up in the New York area, I witnesses the manifestation of many different types of cultures, and it just seemed that when people migrated to the United States, they would hold on to their old way of life and pass it down. I guess I was under the impression that the United States acts as more of a salad bowl than a melting pot. My ideas resembled those of Walzer’s hyphenation theory. We define ourselves based on where we came from, and where we are now. I, for example, call myself an “American-Jew”, “American” being the adjective, and “Jew” being the noun, the core.
It is interesting to think about Steinberg’s argument about the state of assimilation of ethnicities in the United States in terms of Walzer’s hyphenated American. The United States is unique in that it is a young country, and most of its citizens trace their origins back to another part of the world. At the same time, he points out that “Italian Americans…bear little resemblance to Italians in Italy, but…. Italian Americans are nevertheless a distinct community” When Americans identify themselves as being American and something else, Steinberg would argue that they are in the process of being “melted”. Thus, unique societies are constantly being churned out as the children of immigrants assimilate. Over time, Steinberg might say, descendants of immigrants with different origins will slowly begin to resemble one another as ethnicities continue to intermarry. Someday, perhaps centuries from now, there will be a true “American” ethnicity. American citizens will be a mix of so many different cultures, that they will have no choice but to simply identify as American, and nothing else.
By that logic, assimilation in the United States does not imply conforming to a certain existing norm, but rather, evolving into a something entirely new based on a combination of both “old country” and United States influence. It seems to me that because of the nature of assimilation in the United States, this form of ethnic evolution will never stop. As long as millions of immigrants from countries all over the world continue to flood in, we will see new ethnic communities form. The individuals in these communities create for themselves unique ethnic identities that are unlike those of their parents, and unlike those of their fellow Americans. As their children continue to melt, these identities will evolve as the influence of the colorful American society seeps in. In that sense I disagree with Steinberg that someday all ethnicities will be completely intermingled, and agree more with Walzer that “…an American nation-state….is not what it is now; nor is that its destiny”. The United States will always house children of immigrants who proudly identify with their native homeland.
