The pushback to the melting pot in the history of the human race


You really don't hear the term "melting pot" all that much anymore. I remember hearing it a lot when I was a kid, and I understood that it represented how different people from all over the world would just "melt" together, and historical differences would become just that: historical.

Of course the pushback to the idea of a melting pot isn't anything new. From the first time someone said, "Mama, he's (or she's) makin' eyes at me!" about someone from another tribe, the melting pot had begun, along with the pushback. And it's quite an epic struggle, with the elders standing for the purity of their tribe, and the young people being guided by, ahem, more primitive instincts (stop that giggling back there, but yes, that's what I mean!).

There is, of course, only one kind of human, the concept of race is a nonsensical one. There are different-looking people, the way that there are different-looking dogs, but as long as a species can produce viable offspring, they're essentially all the same. And that's what people are: a single species.

Nowadays I see a lot of the promotion of some type of racial purity. You can call it the "New Klux Klan" if you want to, but it's all the same, just a resistance to a melting pot. I've seen it all of my life, and while I have hopes for the future, I can't imagine that it will all be resolved in my lifetime, even if I live to get really old.

It all becomes a struggle, with some people cheering for "their side!" Speaking for myself, I get a big kick out of looking at history, which began when I started doing my family genealogy, but it's just for fun. I have a sign that says "Parking for Scottish Only" in my garage, but it's just a bit of silliness to me, like the old Mike Meyers skits on Saturday Night Live. Of course anyone can park there, as long as they have my permission (and maybe are bringing some beer!).

There really is no such thing as "reverse discrimination" - there's just inequality. And I know that it surprises people who start cheering for "their side" (as if there was one!) when it comes to race. Some people will say things such as someone being "not black enough" for them, and it's an indication of their interest in the kind of "racial purity" that the "Melting Pot" melts.

If you're wondering why I'm so optimistic for the future of the human race blending together, it's because I believe in the power of love. And I do mean that from the standpoint of the heart, and also the body. It's only natural.

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
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