There are millions of people in the world that have termed America as this melting pot and various others who have unquestionably adopted the coined term without pondering on its fine meanings. As I sat through the farce that goes on T.V. and the parodies that flood Youtube, my mind is turned to analyzing the rooted meanings to some things we passively accept - and - this erroneous 'melting pot' imagery is one of them. Read on and cogitate for yourself.

So America is known as the ‘melting pot’ of cultures, diversities, and races. That means when different people come together in this pot called ‘America’ they become unified in the viscosity of this nation. They lose a sense of themselves because they have become part of a bigger, greater world that manifests itself as a nation. But how true is this? Are we really a ‘melting pot?’

America is incorrectly termed as the melting pot. It is not. Something like a Trail mix sounds more appropriate. America has allowed for distinctive groups to stay and assimilate themselves without causing them racial or cultural loss. It has not ‘melted’ away their particular identities. Are you wondering why? Well again, it is like comparing chocolate milk to Trail Mix. The milk, cocoa, sugar and cream are all distinct entities coming together for a sweeter, better end result. Trail Mix, on the other hand, is the amalgam of separate tastes, crunch, and colors that still retain their individuality post the mix. This mix cannot exist without its idiosyncratic counterparts –AND- that is what makes it unique. How can Trail Mix be itself without the quintessential ‘mix?’

Constitutionally, we are Trail mix. We are supposed to be Trail mix. But why do people keep vacillating on this idea? Maybe some like chocolate milk better than Trail mix, but is it constitutional? Maybe we cannot decide. Maybe we must contemplate and introspect – what type of America do we envision? A melting pot (which is not ‘American’ in principle) or Trail Mix (which is)? Don’t go with popular sentiment, go with what is right before it is too late.

I shall leave you with this quote from a very famous philosopher. If you can acknowledge this, you can begin to acknowledge many other things in life. Decide for yourself:

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of wisdom." - Aristotle.