Union of a Diverse America

A major theme in politics nowadays is the issue of immigration laws and what our policies should be on accepting foreigners into our country. One viewpoint is to restrict immigration entirely to “protect” America from being tainted by outsiders. However, this view is completely contrary to the ideas this country was built on, what made it great, and what can restore it to greatness once again. In Michael Walzer’s “What does it mean to be an American?” he analyzes this idea and points out that to be an American means to be part of a national community composed of various races and ethnicities. He points out that the name itself, United States of America, is not one that we have a monopoly on. The name America is shared by countries in the continents of America, like Canada and Mexico. Similarly, to be an American means to not have a monopoly on the race of the country. In fact, he emphasizes how Americans cant even pretend to know who lives here and what roots make up this country. While immigrants are, in a sense, Americanized when they immigrate her, they are in no way forced to abandon their origins and roots. To the contrary it is these roots that gives America its diversity and greatness. This is the melting pot that Steinberg refers to in his piece, “The Melting Pot and the Color Line”. Steinberg uses intermarriage to analyze whether or not the various races and ethnicities living in America are interacting and fulfilling the original goal of America; to establish a country where nationality doesn’t matter and the diversity that it brings will culminate in the emergence of a great nation. He points out how almost every group of European immigrants have an intermarriage rate of over 50%, signifying a truly diverse culture that places no emphasis on race or nationality. Even Jews, who have historically had extremely low intermarriage rates, are said to have an intermarriage rate reaching 50% as well. All of these aspects are what make America a union of not just states, but also a union of ethnicities. It makes the E Pluribus Unum, “from many, one”, a fitting motto, for it represents the incorporation of different races, religions, and ethnicities into one singular unit.