Should the teaching of American history give more emphasis to our unity as a nation or to our diversity? There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that America has the most diverse and culturally rich heritage of any country in the world. From the Irish coming over because of the potato famines to the Germans coming over to escape the state of their nation and all the other nationalities in between, it is obvious that the sheer volume of separate cultures flooding into the USA is unmatched. All of these nations did not simply melt together during their initial integration into society, nor have they since. It can be quite obvious while walking around any large metro the cultural differences that can be seen. Things such as Muslim women in full veil, Hispanics speaking Mexican on the street corner, or African-Americans with braided hair and colorful cultural clothes show diversity everywhere. It’s almost impossible in a city to find the “average” American, there are the gangsters with their loose pants or the Jocks with their Nike Air shoes and headbands, but where can one find the Blue Jeaned hard working American so typically visualized? Quite simply, it is impossible to take a look at America today and find a perfectly blended society inside. In reality America has become one large painting. A place where up close the different strokes and colors are obvious, yet from afar, they join together to form a beautiful image without any sign of the individual strokes. This is exactly why American history should give more emphasis to our unity as a nation than our diversity. Now before the reader goes ahead and explodes with confusion about the last statement of my opening paragraph, let me try and explain why I believe the “salad bowl” or “mosaic” should not be emphasized in American history.

The United States would not be the country it is today if the nation simply grew out of English colonists. It essentially would have become a second version of England or any other generic European country. It was through the immigration from Europe, Asia, Africa, and even from North America itself. It is impossible for anyone to argue that these immigrants or original colonists were not drastically affected by each other. Their languages, foods, holidays and walks of life all came together into one drastic new culture: The American. This new “American” could easily eat pizza (Italy), hamburgers (germany), danish (denmark) and egg rolls (china) in one day without trying to be diverse. If America was a salad bowl or a distinct mosaic, it is discounting the fact that there is an amazing amount of blending and melting involved. While there are a small percentage of Americans who feel it is necessary to hold on to their original culture rather than embrace their new American life, the vast majority of Americans have been blended in the melting pot in some way, whether they believe it or not.

When it comes specifically to teaching diversity in schools, many might believe that by use of the "melting pot" or "mosaic" method they are helping kids to understand how their differences are special. However, upon closer inspection, this theory begins to wreak, even while it's only on paper. First, in America the attitude has always