In my Monday night class at USF, a student offered that America was not and should not be a "melting pot." She preferred to think of America as a "salad bowl." I like that metaphor tremendously--the idea that we can have cucumbers, celery, carrots, onions, iceberg lettuce, fresh spinach, and whatever else our cornucopia of diversity offers; each happily retaining a distinct character and flavor of their own. My one caveat would be that a good salad also needs a good dressing--something to give the salad itself an identity. I like to think of the American salad dressing as a light, sweet vinaigrette. It is composed of informality, a fresh dash of honesty, plain speaking, respect for individual rights, a generous portion of kindness, mutual respect, and regard. With this as the dressing, I have little anxiety regarding the felicitous consummation of the salad.
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