America; Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?

[SamC]

OK, so yesterday in my government class we were told what our 2nd quarter project would be. So, what it is, is we have to write an essay on how we think American people are so much alike or how diverse we are. So I chose to title my project, "America: A Melting Pot or Salad Bowl" (alternative title is, "America: Melting Pot or Salad Bar").

Pretty much I just want to see what everyone else thinks about this idea of diversity or not.

Also, i little clarification on the two terms.

Melting Pot: is a metaphor for the way in which societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures and religions) are combined so as to lose their discrete identities to some degree, yielding a final product which has a more uniform consistency and flavor, and which is quite different from the original inputs.

Salad Bowl: The multicultural approach, each "ingredient"(person) retains its original culture, religion, traditions, etc..., while contributing to a successful final product.

So what is everyone else's view on these ideas of the "Melting Pot" and "Salad Bowl"?

-Sam