The “United States is the Melting Pot”

My Mother helped to arrange for missionaries from India to speak and visit our United Methodist Church.  She invited these gentlemen into our home, and I was fascinated with their story and felt that I was quite worldly that people from so far away had come to visit our home.  I am grateful that I learned from my mother, that Jesus does not see color, race, color creed, or nationality. 

After their visit, I went to school and was reminded of what other children learn in their families.  I was laughed at, made fun of, and called Queen of Sheba because these men of color had been invited into our home.  I was bullied many times by the mean girls, in my little town.  I don’t keep in touch with any of them, but I do pray that life lessons have taught them to be more loving and compassionate of people that are different than them.

Another defining moment from my earlier years comes from the 10th grade when Elaine Elliott was teaching United States History.  I remember my excitement, when reading the line, “The United States is the melting pot”. This sentence validated how progressive my mother was and resonated what a beautiful country we should be.  Full of people, red and yellow, black and white, truly a melting pot.  We are all exactly where we are supposed to be. 

I want to thank my mother for her love of reading and having books lying around the house. These books helped form my thoughts and opinions about my political views.  Reading the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Odessa files, and The Five Isms, to name a few, made a huge impact on how I vote.

In a perfect world, bullies should never win, and Christians and other religious faith-based organizations should never judge.  The 2024 election will determine the future of our nation.  The United States should hold the values that keep us united and allow us to continue being the melting pot that we are.

 "In a world that is too often divided, I am reminded of the values my mother instilled in me—compassion, diversity, and the unwavering belief that we are all part of a greater whole. As we face pivotal moments in our nation’s history, let us choose unity over division, empathy over judgment, and love over fear. The future of our country lies not in our differences, but in the strength, we find in embracing them."