America was supposed to be a melting pot, right? “A place where a variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole.” (Merriam-Webster)
The settlers fought a hard-won revolution to separate this land, and the onerous regulation of its settlers, from the tyranny of British rule. To form a more perfect union. To be free to live and die as one might please. To kneel to the Lord – or not – as one saw fit. Because all men were created equal, with certain unalienable rights.
Men. Not people. Not men and women. Men. Specific men. White men. Not black men, or brown men, yellow men, or red men. White men.
The indigenous peoples of this beautiful and untamed wilderness were outnumbered and outgunned by the white man, and ultimately forced to relocate to smaller and smaller parcels of land they could call home. Reservations. A republic was built on the strong and able backs of black men and women and children who did the labor the white refined hands were apparently too fragile to do. A land of people once proud and strong were senselessly brutalized and murdered until they could be controlled, and a race of people equally proud and strong from across the ocean, transported here against their will, forced to work tirelessly for free. A nation was born.
A civil war ensured when enough people, white people, realized just how inhumane the concept of slavery was. It took quite a long time for them to get there, but they did. A war ensued, won by those who fought on behalf of basic human rights, and slaves were freed. But not equal. They could work, maybe earn a few cents, but their right to own land, vote, school their children…well, that was for the white folk.
Of course, over time that changed too. Many lives were lost, but rights were gained. For men of color, and even women, eventually, of all colors. But we still hadn’t created a melting pot.
Immigrants come from all over the world to live here. Black, brown, white, yellow, red. You name it. Their religions are as varied as their skin colors. But they don’t melt into each other’s worlds and lives. They remain separate and apart, usually living in ethnic enclaves, where they are with those most like them. Where they feel safe. Protected.
We are not a melting pot. We are more like the paper plate with dividers keeping one food from merging with another. We don’t want our baked beans to get our hot dog roll soggy.
In light of the recent racial unrest we hear the trigger words diversity and inclusion a lot. Honestly, diversity is easy. We’re already there for the most part. This country has a population about as diverse as they come. Many – if not most – companies claim a diverse workforce. But we are not necessarily inclusive. We are not that as long as the dividers in the plate keep one from interacting with another on the same level. Granted the same opportunities, equality’s, and certain unalienable rights.
On this day, our Nation’s birthday, we celebrate the hard-won freedom a revolution provided for us. But one is not really free if all are not free. The fetters which continue to bind so many to past hatreds must be removed. That’s up to all of us who see the injustices and the inequalities for exactly what they are – biases that provide the basis for one race to claim superiority over another. We must be willing to add our voices to those of the oppressed and maligned. This can be a great nation if we’re finally willing to melt.
Happy Independence Day!
🙏 Namaste
~jwb~