"melting pot". This analogy refers to the opinion that to make America strong, its citizens need to let go of their individual identities and surrender to the uniformity of the nation. Thus, it suggests that "nationality" represents the idea that every citizen is the same. This, of course, is completely irrational. One look around shows just how diverse the population is. It is unreasonable to expect everyone to communicate in the same way. At times language can serve as a barrier to communication, but that does not mean that everyone must conform to the same rigid ideals of expression. America is better described in terms of a puzzle. Every citizen has his or her unique shape, color, and identity. When they are allowed to maintain that unique identity and then come together, the result is a multicolored and vivid picture of something completely different. Dickstein comments on this idea by stating, " the need to impose uniformity ..leads to the infringements on freedom and cultural openness." The differences amongst citizens in our country should be embraced, not shunned. The attempt to label something as diverse as America is next to impossible. Categorizing an entire population of people under on official language is a falsehood. American citizens speak over 300 different languages so it is not accurate to say the official language is English. To do so would be similar to saying that every American is a white male, middle-aged, white collared worker, with a wife, 2.2 kids, and a Golden Retriever dog; it simply is not true. Among the many faces of Americans, there are several that are overlooked. As explained by English professor Doug Gross, when the founders of this country attempted to settle the colonies, it was agreed upon that a common language was necessary. They being of English decent, obviously assumed that language should be English, as opposed to the German farmers of Pennsylvania, Polish butchers, or Irish laborers for exa...
