Other day my son asked me if we are in the melting pot or the salad bowl. I am not very sure if he even understood the metaphoric meaning behind it. His question, nevertheless, started my thinking process. As an old expression puts it, You never know what's cooking in the other guy's pot. But you should know what’s cooking in your own pot, especially when you are inside that pot being cooked, right? So, are we simmering in the melting pot or lazing around in the salad bowl or somewhere in between?
No matter how we are being cooked, each of us adds a distinct flavor to the final product. Our flavor might be liked or disliked or shown indifference by the connoisseurs. Does it mean that you are going to change to please these critics? But, let me remind you, this innate flavor of yours is what makes you standout amongst others.
Take water for instance. It is a very fundamental ingredient that goes unnoticeable, even though majority acknowledges that it is a very crucial factor to hold up as a whole. It does not matter whether it is violently bubbling in the melting pot or delicately sprayed in a salad bowl? A good old friend of mine, who has this incredible talent of identifying each element in a recipe to its sub-molecular components just by grinding a tad bit of it between her molars, never once said, “… umm there’s water in it…”.
On a different note, who can possibly ignore a conspicuously sharp ingredient of hot pepper, whether it is all mashed up in the melting pot or julienned into the salad bowl? For the purpose of argument, let us assume that the pepper, by some unknown magical powers, could alter its temperament to appease to the group who finds its taste intolerably irritating. What would happen to those who find the unaltered flavor of this pepper refreshingly invigorating?
I can go on and on and on and cover the characteristic of each and every element that constitutes this society. But the bottom line is… it does not matter whether we are all simmering in a melting pot or tossed around in a salad bowl. There are zillions of people who can pulverize a small piece of us between their molars and identify our entire gene tree. No matter how hard we try, we are not going to lose our identity. So, why even try? Be a Roman when in Rome, be an American when in US, but always be true to yourself, no matter where you are.
Writing this article made me hungry for a big salad bowl and a piping hot soup. Bon Appetite!
Wish you all a very happy and fun filled holidays.