Quote:
Originally Posted by sigmadiva
Okay, so then let us clarify for those who may not know the difference. 
Melting pot - when everything gets mixed together and each element looses its unique quality. You really can not differentiate one component from the other.
Stew / salad / mosaic - when each component comes together, but they each retain their own unique quality.
So where does that leave people like Madonna - an Italian-American Catholic from Detroit, who during her early music career incorporated a lot of Soul and R&B sounds into her music, but then moves to England, tries to fake an English accent, and converts to Kabalah (?sp). Now is she a melting pot or a stew?  |
Madonna would still fit in the stew category, IMO. I view the "melting pot" idea as everyone's cultures become one culture - you wouldn't be able to pick out different parts someone has incorporated, etc. At its most extreme, in a melting pot America, everyone would speak General American English no accents, no one would identify with any cultural heritage other than just "American", everyone would have the same basic value system.