America, in many ways, symbolizes the metaphor of a melting pot or a salad bowl, a country where many different cultures from around the world cross over the border and settle to make one, multicultural nation. Many people from other countries come to America in order to accommodate for a better lifestyle. The conveninece favors America with the advancement of travel and technology. Global American icons, including McDonald's and Coca Cola, are huge, economical contributions to other countries as well as cars and other technology imported from those countries. Thomas L. Friedman, a columninst from the New York Times, argued in the article "America's Dream Team" the benefits of various ethnical backgrounds in America. Each person from a different background has different strengths and weaknesses that contribute to society. He later gave an example of the possiblity of him coming up with an idea and using other countries' resources to construct that idea into something tangible and useful. Instead of trying to draw borders to prevent immigration, he argues that America should welcome them with open arms because they could be a postive difference for the next generation of our country.
America simultaneously struggles with the idea of becoming a huge melting pot for other cultures. Recently, the state of Arizona received a lot of backlash for passing a new law allowing them to distinguish potential illegal immigrants by their race. The NBA's Phoenix Suns were against the new law and to show their support, the team wore official jerseys affectionately displaying the official team name in Spanish - "Los Suns" during a playoff game. The game was around the time of Cinco de Mayo, but many believed the team were making a political statement. Nevertheless, this issue shows that although America has made great strides to become more of a huge melting pot for other countries, it still continues to struggle with certain issues that separates the two worlds.
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