The transformation of America from a melting pot into a patchwork quilt or a mixed salad once seemed to be a good thing. After all, America was a country of immigrants, and immigrants wanted to retain their national identities (language, religion, customs, attire) and avoid turning into indistinct Homo-americani, as if they were mass produced on line.
Pluralism and tolerance became the main catchwords of U.S. immigration policy. The notion of an integrated American people was gradually replaced with the notion of friendship of the peoples – just like in the Soviet Union.
By the time immigration from the USSR-CIS began en masse, the pot had already been almost completely transformed into a salad – with all the resulting consequences. And while some of us were fascinated by the abundance of colorful characters and exotic attire (saris, turbans, fezzes, streimels) on the streets and in the subway, others found the sight dispiriting: they thought they had come to the America they knew from old films – white, English-speaking and homogenous. I remember what a relative, who met our family at John F. Kennedy airport, said as we were driving to Brooklyn: “You’ll feel like you’ve ended up in Vietnam, not America, but don’t worry – that’s only a first impression.”
Now some sociologists have started to sound the alarm, bitterly noting that the mixed salad has become too exotic, spicy and indigestible. Many immigrants remain immigrants and even foreigners at heart until the end of their days. They don’t study English, know U.S. history, become acquainted with American culture or celebrate U.S. holidays, and they miss their native countries that they left – voluntarily or involuntarily – many years before.
Moreover, immigrants (including Russians) convey their nostalgic mindsets to their children, who then become Americans only in the most relative sense. And while in some cases allegiance to ethnic communities is innocent (take the mini-parades of exultant Italians after this summer’s World Cup victory), for others this allegiance is disquieting and even frightening. No one has forgotten or will probably ever forget how young people of Arab descent were allegedly dancing on the streets of New York on September 11, 2001. The demonstrations held by Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants waving Mexican flags and shouting anti-American slogans were also memorable.
New York is the main mixed salad in the country, because it is the city that most attracts immigrants from all sorts of countries. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.6 million of the 7.3 million New York residents aged five and over speak English poorly. And although the remaining 5.7 million claim that their English is near perfect, sociologists find this questionable. But even if this is true, New York still lags significantly behind the rest of the country in terms of Americanization. Only 8.6 percent of a total number of 268.1 million Americans aged five and over has a poor knowledge of English, while in New York City, the number of such experts reaches almost 25 percent of the population.
“New York is known as the city of opportunity, but people don’t study the language so these opportunities are not attainable for them,” noted David Chan, director of the Chinese-American Planning Council of New York, in an interview with the New York Post.
Spanish-speaking New Yorkers take first place in terms of “local” patriotism. And Spanish is the leading foreign language spoken with 1.8 million speakers citywide. True, 946,770 Latinos assert that they speak English well, but the remaining 862,108 make no secret of the fact that they need much more time to master it.
Immigrants from China are in second place. Out of 359,839 Chinese people in New York, 128,171 speak English fluently, while 231,668 cannot make it beyond their ABCs. But according to David Chan, the Census Bureau’s figures are not totally accurate. There are many more Chinese immigrants who do not speak English at all, and this fact hinders their progression up the social ladder.
Third place belongs to you and me, dear readers, immigrants from the great, mighty and now-dissolved Soviet Union. Russian is third on the list of foreign languages spoken in New York. According to the Census Bureau’s estimate, 198,969 residents of the capital of the world speak it. Of these (again, according to the Census Bureau), 76,212 speak English well, while 122,757 have problems with the language.
After Russian immigrants come Italian (103,109 speakers), European French (92,539 speakers), French creole (88,420 speakers), Yiddish (77,392 speakers), Korean (75,175 speakers), and Arabic (56,257 speakers).
As we have already noted, New York politicians and even its mayor take pride in the ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of our city. However, leaders of immigrant communities like David Chan are not optimistic, believing that the city government and immigrants themselves must put greater effort into Americanizing the latter more rapidly. The study of English plays a central role in this process.
Many native-born Americans share the alarm of immigrant leaders. But the former are moved not so much by concern over the future of the immigrants as they are by fear over the future of their country. After all, if things keep up like this, then over time traditional American ingredients like potatoes, yams and beans will disappear from the mixed salad to be replaced by all sorts of exotic peppers whose smell alone brings tears to the eyes.
Both sides are looking for extreme elements to hold responsible for the alarming trend. All sorts of groups and phenomena fit the role of guilty party, including populist leaders from ethnic communities who use the homesickness of their “wards” to pursue their unjust goals; ESL classes in schools that provide an easy transition to English for children rather than plunging them headfirst into the elements of their new language; a shortage of English classes for adults; an abundance of interpreters in city offices and hospitals; immigrant coalitions that demand additional benefits for new Americans; and, of course, liberal politicians who make a career out of openly flirting with immigrants.
It’s possible that there is a grain of truth to all these accusations and that all these groups and phenomena bear some responsibility for slowing down the process of immigrant Americanization. But whatever the case, the mixed salad (at least in New York and other large cities) really does threaten to become inedible. The problem is not only that traditional American ingredients simply disappear in it, but also that new exotic vegetables do not always combine harmoniously to create an appetizing dish.
In fact, they often interfere with each other, turning the salad into poison.
Unfortunately, friendship of the people is gradually turning into animosity. It cannot be ruled out that in the near future, the two traditional models of American society – the melting pot and the mixed salad – will be replaced by a third – the powder keg.
