The American way is a melting pot or at least a mixing bowl, not a sieve.

The American way is a melting pot or at least a mixing bowl, not a sieve.

We may preserve elements rather than fusing into a homogeneous mass, but we mix. It's how we come up with our best, by exchanging ideas and forging something new.

This isn't the first time folks have fought against the melting pot. But those who fight it are just as wrong now as they were before. We gain much from being a harmonious mixture of different ingredients that stand together. Baking soda is great in a cookie; not so good on its own.

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See also Paul Brandeis Raushenbush's "'Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs' and the Fraying of America" regarding "discriminatory and deeply un-American" legislation in Arizona.