Multiculturalism is fine. This country is based on it; Europeans, Asians, Arabs, Africans, Latin Americans all contributed to our culture as it is.
The BIG difference is that those people came here for freedom and to build a better life, as opposed to those fundie Muslims who come to build an oppressive theocracy.
Very odd for an American to be against multiculturalism as the US is the most multicultural nation! Perhaps he really means multireligional? Are the 5.2 million muslims in the US causing problems?
This country is based on multiculturalism? Since when? Do we celebrate Hindu holidays? Do our courts operate using any other language than english? Read Ted Roosevelt's hyphenated American essay; that's the truly American point of view. It is time to lose the hyphen.
Melting pot is fine. Multiculturalism is deadly.
Err, no. This country isn't based on the idea that all cultures are equal. This country is based on the idea that there are innate rights human beings have as human beings simply. That isn't "multi-cultural" in the least.
I would disagree. Perhaps it is the way I see Multiculturalism.
From what I can tell, there are two distinct methods to introduce immigrants into an existing society: The Melting Pot Method, and the Multicultural Method.
The melting pot method requires immigrants to assimilate themselves to the society they are entering. They learn the language, customs and rules of the society they are entering. This, historically, is how any arrival has been integrated into a new environment, from a guest into a home to a person into a country. There is no requirement in most cases (but not all) to disown or denounce previous customs, languages or cultures, but they are generally not given the primal importance they had in the previous environment.
The Multicultural Method states that you do not need to assimilate. You can live exactly as you did from whatever environment you sprang from, you can keep your language, your customs, and even in some cases (most dangerously) your rules. Society is expected to value your uniqueness or "differentness" and bend over backwards to accomodate your characteristics.
I believe that the multicultural approach, with bilingual education, driver's license applications in 40 languages, required intepreters on demand in any language in every hospital, and so on.
Multiculturalism and melting pot are not the same thing.
"Multiculturalism" is a FORCED effort to bring different "parts" together without those "parts" ever melding or blending or assimilating even slightly. Also, "multiculturalism" thrives on pointing out those differences.
"Melting pot" is when those different parts come together naturally, and each different part takes on a little of the other parts it's come together with while still retaining at least the essence of that part's origins.
It's like the difference between a couple getting married, each individual giving up their 750 sq foot apartments, and the two people trying to jam all their goods and furniture into a single 750 sq foot apartment....2 TVs next to each other; 2 refrigerators in the kitchen, 2 dining tables in the dining room, 2 stoves in the kitchen, rather than doing a natural give and take and "MELDING" their households together.
It is not fine when, like everything else, it is taken to the extreme. Those who came here to be part of our unique culture and become a part of it, learn the language helped the country. When you bring in large numbers of sewer rats who have no desire to become part of our culture but to kill or convert then NONE of them should be allowed to stay. NONE. Period.
More and more we, thanks in great part to Ted "the swimmer" Kennedy, are allowing uncivilized people into this country and excluding or certainly not giving preference to those who can advance this country. We cannot all be Doctors but we also cannot all be sucking on the public tit.
Multiculturalism is tyranny imposed on monoculturalism by traitors.