Historically, one of the issues that the United States has been accused of is having a lack of cultural identity that extends beyond the hamburger. Actually, the irony in that sentence is that the hamburger is not even American, which further proves this argument. What these two sentences are attempting to say is that there is very little that the United States does have compared to nations in Europe and other parts of the world that have longer histories that the Untied States does. This is not to say that the United States will not develop this over time; however, the culture within the Untied States is lacking at times and is mirroring the heritage that many Americans have from Europe who immigrated either at American’s founding or in the hundreds of years after that American has been an independent nation. One author who highlights these issues with American culture is Peter Marin in his analysis of “America’s Melting Pot.” In order to understand how Marin exhibits his viewpoints of “life” and “culture,” it is imperative to understand how he views the connection to European culture as being a fabric of American culture, yet entirely separate.
Firstly, what do people mean when they call America a “Melting Pot?” If one were to take a look at America’s composition, the only ones who were actually native here, we put on reservations and they now own many casinos. There is always a joke that the American’s won the battle pertaining to the Native Americans, but that they won the war due to their lowered taxation and profit margins. This point is relevant to Marin’s arguments because America is one big soup of immigrants, literally! (Millet, Joyce, 2016). Thus, our nickname as a nation is not surprising in the slightest. What is surprising though is that Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa arguably have similar immigrant compositions from a wide variety of backgrounds and they still do not have the same nickname and stereotype as what America does pertaining to the “Melting Pot.”
The reason for this difference in perspective is America’s lack of culture than these other nations. Having seen a great deal of the world, one could easily see how Americans are perceived abroad and how we are also perceived as culturally ignorant as not having anything of our own. Sure, we have our traditions and values, but when one actually analyses where those came from, they can ascertain which European nation they derived from in most cases. The exception to this is those who have family that came up to the Southwestern Untied States from Latin America or those who have immigrated more recently from the Middle East, Africa or Asia. However, if one looks at the demographic of the Northeast, for example, they will surely see a strong connection to European values and traditions that have been removed for hundreds of years. This is why a perspective such as Marin’s is so ironic right now given the debates pertaining to immigration that are transpiring in the election because the Americans forget that we really all do (literally) come from elsewhere and were let into this country fair and square!
When considering an aspect of culture that is distinctly American or distinctly European, the meals come to mind. America is known for their Big Gulp portions that are sometimes double, triple, or even quadruple what exists in Europe depending upon where one eats their meal in the United States, “What Differentiates Europeans from Americans: The Cultural Gap Across the Atlantic.” The other aspect of meals that are distinctly American is the time of day and the quantity eaten. For example, Europeans eat lighter in the evening. The reason for this is that the Europeans know to balance their diet over dinners that are several hours, several courses, and less portions overall, “What Differentiates Europeans from Americans: The Cultural Gap Across the Atlantic.” The Americans, in contrast, vary this approach to being eating heavy meals at night, which does not help with their metabolism in the slightest. Additionally, when referring to the amount of coffee and beverage size that Americans consume in comparison to Europeans, Europeans are known for their smaller portions, which is reflected in their slimmer figures overall.
Pertaining to packaged foods, another aspect of culture that is distinctly American is the terrible processed food that is consumed in this country. Everything from fast food to the processed produce that is even sold now in America, “What Differentiates Europeans from Americans: The Cultural Gap Across the Atlantic.” America is known around the world as being the artificial food nation, which has also caused several detriments to health overall. All in all, America is known for having poor food, which has subsequently led to poor health and nutrition.
One aspect of culture that surely is distinctly European is the need to be aware and learn about other cultures. Pertaining to linguistics, Europeans are encouraged to learn between four and five languages on average given the close proximity of their countries in Europe, (Devlin, Kat., 2015). This gives the Europeans an enormous advantage over Americans in life lessons, job prospects, and international culture. Unfortunately, Americans are seen as ignorant compared to their European counterparts. This is a major issue for Americans as the world is turning to a more globalized economy. While it is unclear why America was so dedicated to promoting English only in schools, Americans have a very limited interest and overall effort applied to learning foreign languages, which does them a great deal of disservice as the world globalizes, (Devlin, Kat, 2015). Even though English is absolutely the business language, cultural interaction stems from not speaking English at times, which Americans are seldom aware of.
When referring to aspects of culture that are distinctly American/European influenced in comparison to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, for example, one aspect that comes to mind is how people eat and how families interact. For example, in Asia, the traditional way to eat is sitting on the floor and with chopsticks, (“China Travel Guide,” 2016). In Asia, there is a very different emphasis placed on holistic healthcare than exists in European and American health care systems. Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have truly stayed connected to the idea of the holistic world of medicine, which is clearly demonstrated in the overall health of their populations, (Neddermeyer, Dorothy, 2016).
In sum, American has a great deal of aspects to its culture that do produce a Melting Pot effect as described by Peter Marin that inhibits American’s aspects of “life” and “culture” a great deal because they do not have a solid identify of their own. Comparing the Americans to the Europeans causes the Americans to look less cultured and talented with linguistics and culinary habits. That being said, the Americans and Europeans do have a great deal to learn from the cultures in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa that stayed true to holistic medicine, which can be seen by the health of their populations. Americans need to remember the importance of their roots, develop their linguistics, and work on their portions. This way, America can become less of a Melting Pot and more of an offering of different unique Tapas plates.
Works Cited
“Chinese Food Culture.” Travel China Guide. 2016. Web. 12 April 2016.
Devlin, Kat. “Learning a Foreign Language a ‘Must’ in Europe, Not So in America.” Pew Research Center. 2015. Web. 12 April 2016.
Millet, Joyce. “Understanding American Culture: From Melting Pot to Salad Bowl.” 2016. Web. 12 April 2016.
“What Differentiates Europeans from Americans: The Cultural Gap Across the Atlantic.” Eupedia. 2015. Web. 12 April 2016.
