It seems that mentioning how much I agree with the tossed salad statement would be redundant at this point. Oh well.
Though in response to Elizabeth; I hope this doesn’t sound unprofessional and childish, but maybe we’re a bowl of tossed salad with dressing sizzled on top of us? We do maintain our homeland traditions to a great extent, but upon living in the states, we’ve got American culture sizzled on top of us, and after a while, it soaks in and dries into our veins? We’re still a tossed salad, but each of us now shares a key similar ingredient, some of us more than others?
That’s my cheesy, poorly thought out way of seeing it.
Though this does bring me to Kasinitz’s article. At the very end of it, it is stated that “many respondents sidestepped [the] ambivalent understand of the term “American” by describing themselves as “New Yorkers” (16). I identified with this statement so well. For my art class, we recently had to do a project that had us focus on what had culturally and ethnically shaped us, and no matter what, I could not associate myself with the American flag. I couldn’t even associate myself with the New York flag. I’ve always considered myself a “New Yorker.” I was born and raised in Queens, the most diverse location in the United States, and arguably the world. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this tossed salad?
Walzer’s “What does it mean to be an American?” delves further into the question of being American. In fact, I think he hits the nail on the head when he says “Similarly, the United States isn’t a homeland (where a national family might dwell)… it is a country of immigrants who, however grateful they are for this new place, still remember the old places” (634). I think this may just go back to that horrible analogy I made earlier with the salad dressing being on top of the salad. There’s still groups out there that stick together in a group like a nice round tomato, and there are smaller groups that bunch together like little croutons. However, we all have salad dressi- I mean this “American” culture slowing pulling us together, so that although we hold on to our old, unique traditions, we still are more than just random assortments in a salad bowl.
I’m sorry that this entire response was based off such an analogy. It was hardly intended!
