Comments on: The Melting Pot

By: JA Benson

JA Benson — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:58:28 +0000

For what is worth Lamonte; my parents took the DNA Test. My Dad showed to be very Polish, Russian, and Laplander. My mother is Northern African, Middle Eastern, and Irish. Both of them are Italian. So the test is not bogus.

By: lamonte

lamonte — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:38:37 +0000

And Don - I wasn’t suggesting that Sali be denied the right to make his comments. They just simply disgusted me and made me ashamed to say I was a native of Idaho.

And despite what you said, I don’t consider you a bigot. I’ve read your other stuff and you seem like a good guy.

By: lamonte

lamonte — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:36:35 +0000

Joanna - I remember your post and I was overwhelmed by it. I have vowed to get mey own DNA tested but just haven’t done it yet. Thanks for reminding me.

Don - you said, “Islam’s God is not our God.” Of course not the way we interpret God but isn’t the case that Islam’s God IS the God of Abraham. I mean isn’t that where Islam’s God started?

I didn’t know Sali was a Mormon. I noticed he declined to state his religion on his Congressional profile. Interesting fact about a man so vocal about Christianity.

By: JA Benson

JA Benson — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:15:31 +0000

Thanks Lamonte great post.

I have always loved the whole melting pot mentality in the U.S. even before I found out that I was my own melting pot (see:http://www.bycommonconsent.com/2007/04/dna-mormons/). My friends have always been diverse.

It has been interesting how we are perceived by our fellow Mormons now that we have an adopted Chinese toddler. We are now a “family of color”. One LDS-Chinese friend and fellow ward member remarked one day, “It is so nice to have another Asian in the ward.”

I was flabbergasted and quite flattered. “Is that what I am now?”

She said, “You certainly are, haven’t you noticed?”

I thought about it and she is right.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:02:12 +0000

Holy crap, that is bigoted! I learned quickly after I got married that just because you feel something (or have a “right” to say something) doesn’t mean it’s okay to say it. It makes you sound like a southern Evangelical!

By: Don Clifton

Don Clifton — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:42:32 +0000

I guess I have to say I understand where Sali is coming from. He is Mormon and represents a mormon majority in his state. The Book of Mormon certainly tells us that we live in a promised land and that we must worship God to prosper, if we don’t we’ll end up with the same fate as the Lamanites.

The Hindu God is not our God. Islam’s God is not our God. The U.S. WAS founded on Christian principles, on the 10 commandments and Judo-Christian principles. The 10 commandments, nor anything like them is not found in the Koran nor as far as I know in the Hindu teachings.

I think the diversity is great. I think these immigrants have a right to practice their religion as long as it doesn’t violate the laws. I do think it’s important and almost necessary for these people to accept and embrace the principles and culture and language of this country if they want to live here.

I think Sali said what he felt, and what a lot of those he represtents felt. Right or wrong, first he has the right to say it and second I think there is some truth to.

Just my bigoted opinion!

By: Bret

Bret — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:09:25 +0000

Of course there is an American culture. It’s just harder to see nowadays because 1) it’s been proliferated throughout the world because of our hegemony and 2) it is diminishing as more people move here without embracing it. That’s my beef with many immigrants nowadays. I think it is most certianly important to hold to your ancestral culture whether you be British, German, Mexican or Korean (that’s a whole other topic about the necessity of learning history) but at the same time you must learn to embrace the culture you are becoming a part of.

I found it peculiar and very sad that the mass immigration demonstrations a couple years ago had mostly Mexican flags waving rather than American ones. If these people want so badly to become members of this nation, shouldn’t they be eager to show it?

And yeah, America’s hegemony will only last so long. Most people forget we’ve only been on top since WWII in the first place.

By: Susan M

Susan M — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:07:12 +0000

My ancestors came to America so early, I have no identity other than American. (A few of my direct lines were French Huguenots, but I know nothing about French culture of that time.)

I also grew up in a state without much long-term history (WA), so I didn’t have the baggage (culture, whatever you want to call it) you have growing up in the South or Northeast, or even Utah.

Not to say WA isn’t diverse–it is, and much more so now than it was when I was growing up (which is awesome). It’s just not steeped in any deep history, really.

By: lamonte

lamonte — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:35:24 +0000

John - That’s very interesting about Argentina. I sat next to a college professor on a flight from San Francisco to Washington DC last year and he told me about the “colony” of Welsh immigrants that live in central Argentina. He said they maintain the old Welsh language, which I thought was facinating since not even the folks who live in Wales do that. He was of Italian lineage himself and we have a close friend who is an Italian from Argentina. My recollection is that while they develop a strong Agrentine identity, they still maintain at least some of the culture of their native land. For instance the professor told me that he speaks with a slight accent which is different than a Spanish Argentine. Thanks for writing, John.

By: John Mansfield

John Mansfield — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:09:32 +0000

Interesting post, Lamonte. Consider Argentina. Even more than the United States, it is a nation formed out of diverse immigrant communities; as a missionary there I met immigrants or children of immigrants from Spain, Italy, Wales, Scotland, France, Russia, Belgium, Germany, Yugoslavia, and Vietnam. With all that, there is a distinct Argentine identity and culture.

I think, or maybe just hope, that a United States culture is inevitable. As is the case for many, my ancestry includes 19th Century immigrants from several countries, as well as other branches that have been nowhere but America for three centuries or so. If there is no common American identity, then I really have no national identity. That’s possible for me alone, but my case is a common one for those in the United States.