The concept of Multiculturalism has become more and more popular in America over the last few decades. Today it’s almost synonymous with diversity and has essentially replaced the traditional American concept of the nation being a “melting pot”. However, if you remove all political biases and preconceived notions, it is clear that multiculturalism is not only worse, but failing. When put together with historic mass immigration, multiculturalism is fatal for America. Let’s dive in…
Multiculturalism vs. Melting Pot:
First, let’s clarify the two concepts.
Melting Pot: (popularized in America in the early 1900’s)
Various immigrant groups will “melt” together, abandoning their individual cultures and become fully assimilated into the predominant society. It advocates for the blending of different cultures into a single, unified identity.
Multiculturalism: (popularized in America in the late 1900’s-early 2000’s)
The presence of, and support for the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups. It emphasizes the coexistence of multiple distinct cultural identities within a single society.
The concept of a unified national identity, created by the Melting Pot model, serves as the foundation for creating a deeply rooted sense of belonging and loyalty among Americans. This was the long understood theory of how America would continue to grow and accept new immigrants. This unity builds a shared sense of purpose that ideally transcends the individual backgrounds of various immigrant groups. It instills a collective identity, highlighting our allegiance and commitment to America and it’s values. It reinforces the idea that despite our differences, we are one nation. It is built on assimilation. This entire idea pushes individuals to see past their cultural or ethnic origins and focus on their new identity, which also includes their fellow citizens. It enhances social cohesion, national loyalty, and ensures better outcomes for the future of the country as one whole.
On the other hand, multiculturalism suggests that immigrants should maintain their distinct cultural identities. This entire concept serves to underline our differences rather than commonalities. Over time it has clearly led to the fragmentation of our national identity, creating silos within our society. By focusing on different cultures, skin color, national origin, etc… America is losing our social cohesion. Individuals identify more closely with their specific cultural or ethnic group rather than with being American. Multiculturalism will continue to weaken America’s social fabric and also our government, making it more and more difficult to mobilize collective action or support for a common purpose.
Mass Migration:
In my opinion, mass migration is the political issue of our era. It is much larger and more consequential than any tax rate or healthcare debate. This has become exceedingly clear in just the last few years and it is largely responsible for the reelection of Donald Trump (the most unpopular American politician in history just a couple of years ago). It has also caused the political pendulum to swing across the West, with support of right-wing, anti-immigration candidates surging. Unfortunately, mass migration partnered with the current popular concept of “Multiculturalism” is the perfect storm and presents a fatal threat to America and the West.
Take a look at the charts below. They represent foreign mass migration into America, Canada, and the UK over several decades:
What jumps out is that in America and across the West, mass migration is breaking records in recent years. The foreign-born share of the US population has now surpassed even the “Great Wave” of European migration at the start of the 20th century. While we’ve experienced periods of mass migration before, there is a very important difference happening today. Not only do we have more immigrants coming from much different cultures than ever before, but we are not demanding assimilation of these new immigrants.
In the early 1900’s, and since our nation’s founding, Americans pushed for and outright demanded assimilation. New immigrants were told by the US government and by general society to leave their old cultures and languages behind, and to become an American. To speak English. To adopt our culture and way of life. Sadly, today we are not forcing or even suggesting assimilation. Instead, our weak leaders have been celebrating the presence and growth of multiple different cultures inside of our own nation.
Many people, mostly on the left, will actually argue that multiculturalism is good. They will often say things like, “it gives us different foods and great music”. Those are obviously superficial, surface-level offerings to distract from the fundamental threat that has existed throughout human history. A nation divided can not stand.
Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President and one of the most beloved leaders in American history, explained it bluntly and correctly:
“We should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.
BUT, this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language. We have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
Roosevelt, and every other great American leader, understood this very simple yet existential issue. We can accept immigrants and newcomers, but they must assimilate. We already have an existing culture in America. We have a history. We have a language. We have a heritage. We have a flag. We are a nation.
Even back in the Colonial Era, Benjamin Franklin was clear on the exact same issue. In his 1751 essay “Observations concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries”, Franklin wrote about early German immigrants needing to be “Anglified”:
“Why should the Palatine Boors be suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them.”
Assimilation in America is as old as America itself. It is not taboo. It is not controversial. Immigrants who want to leave their home countries and come to America, must adopt our existing culture and language. They must commit to becoming an American.
A New Immigration Act:
It’s important to understand that this multiculturalism lunacy has been tried before. In the early 1900’s the Transnationalists, led by leftist academics of the time such as Randolph Bourne, rejected the idea that immigrants should assimilate into the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture. Bourne suggested, “Before the American people at the present time there are two ideals of American nationalism. One is that of the traditional melting pot, the other is that of a co-operation of cultures and a cosmopolitan America”. Of course, with World War I unfolding and the need for a strong national unity, the Transnationalists were crushed. This was however the primitive idea of multiculturalism. Luckily for us, this idea was once again overwhelmingly rejected by leaders of both political parties and by the American people. Assimilation was embraced, just as it always had been in our nation’s history.
Shortly after that, and following the “Great Wave” of European immigration to America, President Calvin Coolidge signed into law the Immigration Act of 1924. He stated plainly, “New arrivals should be limited to our own capacity to absorb them into the ranks of good citizenship. America must be kept American. For this purpose, it is necessary to enact a policy of restricted immigration.”
The Act of 1924 passed the House and Senate with overwhelming support. Democrats and Republicans. The bill introduced tight immigration quotas, visa requirements, created the Border Patrol and outright banned immigrants from certain countries whose cultures were seen as incompatible. It dramatically reduced the number of people coming into the country, and maybe most importantly, it provided an opportunity for the recent “great wave” of immigrants to assimilate. By the 1940s and 1950s, American society was thriving and united with a common culture.
In my view, after our recent “great wave” of global immigration today, it is now time for a new version of the Immigration Act. We need to severely restrict immigration. Not only do we need to be selective from where we are accepting new immigrants, but we need to consider once again outright banning immigration from certain places and cultures that are now seen as incompatible in today’s modern geopolitical landscape. No one has a right to come to America. Our government’s loyalty is to the American people only and to the preservation and success of America. Additionally, just like the in 1920’s-1950’s, we need to provide time for the tens of millions of recent immigrants to assimilate.
The Melting Pot theory only works if we control the addition of newcomers. If we are adding salt to the dish, we must do it slowly a little bit at a time. We need to let the ingredients blend together. We can always taste the dish as we go and see if more salt is needed. But if we instead just dump the entire container of salt into the dish, it will not blend together. It will simply overpower, dilute and ruin the existing dish.
You can see an example of losing control of immigrations by looking at the UK. They have flooded their small island country with massive numbers of immigrants, and immigrants from incompatible cultures. There are towns and cities with literally zero assimilation. They are now actually debating banning certain kitchen knives:
They have also just recently banned Samurai swords. England, known throughout history for having knights and swords, is banning swords and kitchen knives due to the people they have flooded their own nation with not being part of their culture. It is a terrible thing to see. England, a nation which has been the same way for ~1,000 years, has now been changed forever in just the last generation.
In 1950, England was 99.9% White.
Not 90%… 99.9%.
A fully homogeneous society.
They were able to own cutlery.
There is also growing evidence that our court system is degrading. The various ethnic groups on juries in America will protect “their own” at higher rates and convict “the others”. This is a warning sign that immigrants and groups are not assimilating. That group identity and differing cultures are clearly taking precedent over being an American.
The mainstream media often questions why trust in our system and institutions is falling so sharply. It’s because they were set up and built by one people. They were not built to operate within various differing cultures and peoples. Things are getting more chaotic because we no longer share the same values. Groups that were once miniscule and could be ignored, now make up meaningful percentages of the population. There is no unified vision of what Rome should be, meaning there can be no Rome. People now openly identify with their race or distinct cultural identities, instead of first being an American. If this path is not reversed, America’s social fabric will continue to deteriorate. This is the underlying threat of multiculturalism.
We Don’t Need Mass Immigration:
One thing you hear a lot is that due to falling birth rates, America needs to continuously accept more and more immigration. While the birth rate and population point is true, the solution being mass immigration and multiculturalism is 100% wrong. This combination will simply lead to exactly what they are trying to avoid… the destruction of America.
What we truly need is domestic policies and social incentives to support having more children and starting families. Immigration can still be a major part of America’s future and our population goals, but it needs to be restrictive and selective just as we did with the Immigration Act of 1924. We need to choose the countries and cultures that best assimilate and further advance America. Indiscriminately flooding the country with third-world, low-skilled men from Haiti, Somalia or various Muslim nations will not continue the American culture or our way of life. We owe our children and grandchildren the opportunity to experience the same America that the men before us left us.
What we need is the opposite of what China did with their One-Child Policy. Incredibly, when politicians and academics suggest that America needs endless mass migration to compete with China, they never mention that China is not doing it themselves. In fact, China is incredibly focused on building and maintaining a strong national unity. They are actually operating under restrictive immigration conditions very similar to America after the Immigration Act of 1924. Which, I will remind you again, led to America’s strongest cultural and social cohesion possibly ever in the decades following it’s enactment. China is fully aware that our national unity and common purpose at the time was a major factor in our success during WW2.
Conclusion:
The current mix of mass migration partnered with multiculturalism is a fatal combination. We are purposefully weakening American society and accelerating the collapse of national unity. Human beings will naturally choose their own ethnic groups, race, religion, etc. This is why immigration must be restrictive and controlled. We must give immigrants time to assimilate into the existing culture, and also give the predominate existing culture time to accept the immigrants in. We must sprinkle new ingredients into the Melting Pot a bit at a time. On top of restrictive immigration, we must completely ditch the dangerous idea of multiculturalism. Much like Communism, it doesn’t take into account human nature and only sounds good in academic papers. If we do not demand assimilation, we will become nothing but a “land of squabbling tribes”, as Teddy Roosevelt put it.
America was always able to be multi-ethnic, because it was never multicultural.
Great piece, I totally agree. Uncontrolled mass migration is a civilizational disaster, as seen in England.
Diversity is not, in fact, our strength. https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/957061-chris-demuth-jr/2210972-its-a-small-world-after-all-and-its-going-to-eat-our-lunch