One of today's smartest young conservatives - and the son of Muslim immigrants - offers a bold new approach to immigration that avoids any appeals to bigotry. Reihan Salam shows why a return to the melting pot may be our best hope to avoid a true civil war.
From the late 1800s to the 1960s, the dominant metaphor for American immigration was the melting pot. Every ethnic and religious community was expected to assimilate as quickly and completely as possible. But then came the rise of multiculturalism and identity politics from the 1970s to the present, celebrating a reluctance among many immigrant communities to give up their original customs and culture, and a sharp rise of people identifying themselves as "hyphenated Americans."
As the explosive controversies of the 2016 presidential election demonstrate, the identity politics model has become far too polarizing for the nation's best interests. In fact, according to Reihan Salam, the pendulum has swung so far away from the melting pot that the country is at serious risk of a new civil war.
Salam argues that America's future depends on our ability to come together around a common identity. Rejecting both militant multiculturalism and white identity politics, he suggests that immigration restriction is the best way to combat rising inequality, balance diversity with assimilation, and create a new nationalism that puts the interests of Americans-- native- or foreign-born, of all creeds and colors -- first.
As the son of immigrants himself, Salam knows well the challenges facing newcomers to America. He believes in welcoming immigrants to this country but knows that open borders not only hurt native-born Americans but also ghettoize the foreign-born. Balancing empathy with clear-eyed analysis, he explains how "immigrationism," as he calls dogmatic belief in unfettered immigration, results not in healthy diversity but in toxic tribalism, and paints a picture of the truly united society that America still can be.
From the late 1800s to the 1960s, the dominant metaphor for American immigration was the melting pot. Every ethnic and religious community was expected to assimilate as quickly and completely as possible. But then came the rise of multiculturalism and identity politics from the 1970s to the present, celebrating a reluctance among many immigrant communities to give up their original customs and culture, and a sharp rise of people identifying themselves as "hyphenated Americans."
As the explosive controversies of the 2016 presidential election demonstrate, the identity politics model has become far too polarizing for the nation's best interests. In fact, according to Reihan Salam, the pendulum has swung so far away from the melting pot that the country is at serious risk of a new civil war.
Salam argues that America's future depends on our ability to come together around a common identity. Rejecting both militant multiculturalism and white identity politics, he suggests that immigration restriction is the best way to combat rising inequality, balance diversity with assimilation, and create a new nationalism that puts the interests of Americans-- native- or foreign-born, of all creeds and colors -- first.
As the son of immigrants himself, Salam knows well the challenges facing newcomers to America. He believes in welcoming immigrants to this country but knows that open borders not only hurt native-born Americans but also ghettoize the foreign-born. Balancing empathy with clear-eyed analysis, he explains how "immigrationism," as he calls dogmatic belief in unfettered immigration, results not in healthy diversity but in toxic tribalism, and paints a picture of the truly united society that America still can be.
