MELTING POTS

The most common usage of this term is I suppose where you are talking about a place where various people from different backgrounds melt together. They become a pot of life all working, living and whatever together.

Now in theory this has a certain merit I imagine. You can celebrate the diversity and all the unique forms of thinking that arise.

That all sounds wonderful. However, the one little detail that is often absent of that fact too me is the issue of how our ancestors in their native countries didn't get along. Or is the fact that history is full of wars just a fluke?

So what happens is you toss a whole bunch of descendants from parts of the world that can stand another part of the world into one, big happy pot of joy. Then you add a seasoning of democracy and hope, HOPE the whole thing will cook up and nice tasty social stews.

What we do get is a pot full of stuff that boils and boils and sometimes downright stinks. As for the ingredients, well unlike a real stew, when you mix all kinds of people from different backgrounds into the pot, they don't say thank you.

Instead, each ingredient ends up saying, me first, let the rest boil to smithereens. I want out! And by out, I mean I want to be in charge.

Now in the middle of all this chaos you get the added joy of having the people doing the cooking, who are the rich and powerful, all stirring the whole mess with a big wooden spoon of lies or whatever. All of which is to convince the rest of us that it is a good idea. That it is somehow in our best interest to be boiled together.

Am I sounding a tad negative. That isn't really my main desire. What I'm striving for is to paint a simple picture that says, "Hey, don't be stupid, we can't all get along."

There was a time when somebody once got famous for asking, "Can't we all just get along?"

I think time has certainly demonstrated that the real answer is nope! That doesn't mean we can't have an understanding of some kind. Which would include all of us understanding that SOMEBODY has to go into that pot sooner or later. Including each of us.

That translates pure and simple into a fact of each of us coping with the reality that we are going to get cooked to some degree like it or not. I didn't say we have to celebrate the reality, merely accept it is a fact.

And with a few helpful thoughts we can learn to not be pissed off about being boiled. Just be patient and enjoy the times when the next poor slob who doesn't look like you in any way takes his turn in the pot!