The Ink of a Scholar: America, the Melting Pot

By Imam Vernon Fareed

During the sixties and seventies it was common to hear talk about America being the “melting pot,” and many perceived this as an invitation to the people of the world to come here and assimilate. For most of the world’s people they migrated here by their own choosing and they came for material prosperity, freedom, education and all of the good things that America had to offer. The African America people are obviously unique in this respect because they were brought here not of their volition, but rather by force. This factor alone underscores the point that everyone didn’t start out on an equitable plane.

So the suggestion was made to everyone that came here to melt into the pot (of America)! If you can envision a hypothetical big pot into which sweet and bitter things are thrown – acidic and alkaline things are thrown and the like; would you want to be the finished product from this strange mix? I am saying in clear terms that the melting pot was a scheme to get people to relinquish their religious, social, and cultural values, etc., and accept the strange pot of food that they offered us to feed and govern our lives. The late John Paul II referred to the present state of condition as “the culture of death,” and there’s no doubt that this is what we are witnessing. One of our former U.S. Presidents once said, “you must be willing to change with the changing times, but hold on to the unchanging principles.” This is particularly important in today’s climate, because too many people have compromised their principles for political expediency.

Look at the moral condition of America’s public, and you know the public life is nothing but evidence of what is going on in the private life. That is all it is! So not all of us, but many of us must have some terrible, perverted behavior going on in our homes for it to spill over into the public life like it is and show the decadence; just a spirit and a love for ignorance. It looks like there is an effort to portray themselves in the most ignorant, unintelligent picture. So it is not just moral, it is also intelligence that is lost, because the two go together. Morality and intelligence go together! There can be no noble character unless there is human decency. If the individual is vulgar they cannot have noble character. They cannot appear before us as being honorable and having noble character. They must have a strong moral foundation. Moral life, intelligent life and character go together, and if these two (intelligence or moral decency) are missing you cannot have noble character.

People are giving themselves to extremes, and we are therefore hard pressed to find the balanced man or woman. Many of the so-called leaders in today’s society are really following the people instead of leading them. They find out what the people like or want and they give them that. Often there is little or no regard for the true needs of human beings. Today’s society is a classic example of what happens when people give themselves to extremes, and it is truly an ugly picture!

Note: The spelling of “G-d” when used in my articles is not a typo, it is intentional. We have a serious issue when the reverse spelling for the Name of the Great Creator is “Dog” and this is our way of drawing attention to this concern!