General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 20+ girls molested in Cologne-style attacks at Swedish rock fest [View all]joshcryer
(62,270 posts)But the US, imo, is so large and broad that it can assimilate cultures without too many terrible consequences. See Somalians for an example of a large influx of foreigners who were able, for the most part, to adapt and acclimate to US culture. (Yes, there were and have been bad incidents, I'm talking of the culture as a whole.)
As far as Syrian refugees, we'll probably be fine, but there will no doubt be some bad seeds in there, and we'll discuss and work on that. It's ultimately unfortunate when those bad things happen, but it would not be an indictment on the refugees as a whole. Because we've simply been there before. It happens. It sucks when it does, but we're good people, and we have the best intentions. (Puke, US worst country ever, etc, etc.)
As to whether the US does it better? Nah. We started out this way, it's just how we are, culturally. I am in a family of foreigners, my nephew and niece are Filipino. We just are. We don't care, we look beyond it. There was of course that phase in segregation where we for a short stint had our EU moment (ultra nationalist and racist bullshit) but it passed quickly (due to justice and fairness winning out in the end).
The founding fathers created a system, whether they realized it or not, that fostered this kind of multiculturalism that no other country on the planet has yet to emulate. We're literally a country of three different lineages at this point (Germanic, Spaniard/Mexican / African). There's simply no going back for us, and we've adapted really fucking well.
As to whether or not the rest of the world should emulate the American experience? Of course, that'd be ideal, but my original post was that maybe it wouldn't work for them. Perhaps, sadly, a more nuanced method should be sought. It's going to take a long while for the rest of the world to emulate Pax Americana.