5 wedges that crack the 'melting pot' meme

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http://www.nationofchange.org/five-wedges-crack-melting-pot-meme-1375455320


What enduring image bespeaks hallowed American exceptionalism – greatness fortified by immigrant labor – than Melting Pot? “Come, you poor, tired, huddled masses: acclimate, pitch in, and enjoy your share of Yankee treasure.” And scattered voyagers en masse exploited New World opportunities, by choice (fabled settlers, immigrants), indenture (poor whites), slavery (black, Native American, others) or conquest (southwest Hispanics).

Who said functional melting pots need volition or equivalence in transport or starting gates? Drafted armies coalesce just like musicians at a jam session. Prosperity did (and does) bless scores of immigrants, some fat cats commanding wealth beyond dreams of avarice (a president, celebrities, predatory banksters, or high-tech innovators). For the struggling 80% today, the results mirror the cracked Liberty Bell.

In fact, the fabled melting pot no longer serves its own citizen offspring. Immigrants aside, today’s bewildered youth not only search hard for decent work, but indentured graduates shoulder more debt than prospects. Domestic masses yearning to be freely hired got sucker punched, along with outdated come-ons: America the equal playing field, where wealth is the reward for hard work; any child can gain citizenship, even the presidency; and parents struggle so children will live better.

Comatose American Dream

George Carlin cracks this bellwether: "The owners of this country know the truth: It's called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it." A century of propaganda did lure foreign millions with steady work, plus “melting pots” of diseased, congested housing within company towns. Someone had to populate factories and plantations, build infrastructure (canals, bridges, roads and tunnels), fight the wars, and survive the twin blessings of boom and bust.