Coming from the loud family that I do, and given the fact that we have never been shy about sharing our opinions, it may not surprise you to know that I have engaged in more than my fair share of dinner table debates.

I always found myself in the minority opinion, but I more than held my own; and there were certain principles and ideals from which I would not waiver. Those ideas and principles and ideas haven’t changed.

But one idea we could all agree on was that America isn’t exactly a melting pot. My father’s family were all within just one generation of immigrating to America. My mother’s family, we don’t really know about. But we could always recognize and celebrate the diversity of heritage in ethnicity around us — even when we lived in Minnesota and they told us about lutefisk (gross).

Though we could agree on avoiding the melting pot analogy, we never did settle on a proper alternative. But I think I have done so now.

America is a salad bowl. Stay with me on this.

A melting pot elicits an image of everything reaching its liquid state and bonding together as one. But that clearly has never been the case.

Since the nation’s birth, different ethnicities have maintained customs, cuisine, fashion and all kinds of things. That’s not anything new. In late 1800s, when my different family members came to this country, there were entire neighborhoods that spoke Polish, Italian or Scottish with its unintelligible garble (my family). Sure, there were those who didn’t like that, but it was accepted.

That’s how some major cities ended up with their own “Chinatown.” That’s how a portion of Harlem became known as Spanish Harlem. Those are just a couple of examples.

At no point has America ever been a static, homogenized conglomeration of white Europeans. It never was and it never will be. And that’s a good thing. That’s what makes America so great. That’s why my drill sergeant in basic training told us that we don’t get to see color, because the only color that mattered for us was green.

Imagine a vast net that stretches infinitely in all directions. At every node of the net, there is a jewel. Every jewel is distinct and separate, yet every jewel is so polished that it reflects every other jewel in the net. If you change or remove one jewel, the reflections in all the others change.

In a salad bowl, the acidity of the vinegar brings out the sweetness of the tomato. In America’s net, your identity isn’t erased by your neighbors; it is defined and brightened by them. We aren’t “melting” away our edges; we are polishing them so we can better reflect the people around us.

So, people can continue to complain and gripe about Latino halftime shows and whatever they may consider to be “woke,” but common sense and history both tell us that we are strongest when we respect our differences and work together toward a common goal.

I’m particularly encouraged by that thought when I think about how in Wrangell there is a well-represented interfaith organization, where different views, beliefs and theologies are represented and the common goal is caring for the fellow man.

It’s encouraging and it’s uplifting, and that group has shown that they enjoy a good salad.