As one might deduce from the writings of Michael Walzer in his text What it means to be an American, the American identity - in political, social, historical and cultural regards - is a highly complex and almost mystifying phenomenon. The character of the United States of America is one of diversity; a multiplicity of cultures abound in its cities, interact in communities, exchange values and beliefs and work side by side. Though the populist notion of America as the metaphorical melting pot remains a rigourously argued point of contention, Walzer believes in the plurality of America. It is not a single homogeneity; it represents something far greater and vastly more unique than most people, academics included, wish to attribute it.

Walzer seems to believe strongly in the compatibility of pluralism with national unity. Despite the presence of hundreds of diverse ethnic groups, accounting for the general and voting public, the likelihood of a state maintaining its internal and territorial integrity is nevertheless very high. Reflecting on the experience of past decades, according to Walzer, "one can reasonably argue t

The United States, according to Walzer at any rate, was not an empire; "its pluralism was that of an immigrant society... [meaning] nationality and ethnicity never acquired a stable territorial base.... [in essence, they had] no special tie to the land on which they lived".

In looking from a Montesquieuean and Rousseauean perspective, the American republic is very different, indeed. As Walzer summarizes, it "lacks the intense political fellowship, [and] the commitment to public affairs, that they thought necessary".

Reminders of American pluralism flow from his essay "What does it mean to be an 'American'", as he closes with the remark: "America has no singular national destiny [or, in fact, identity] - and to be an 'American' is, finally, to know that and to be more or less content with it" . According to Walzer, a peace has been made by Americans with the immigrant make-up of their country, and "have come to regard American nationality as an addition to rather than a replacement for ethnic consciousness".

While its lack of internal imperial characteristics could be attributed to immigration, it is this very notion - that of welcoming foreigners - that contributed to the expansion of America and its solidarity as a country. Americans, historically, "expand their solidarity by taking new nations into their state.... Europeans are more likely to expand their solidarity by forming economic unions or political federations with other nation-states".

The plurality is maintained by facets of integration and not assimilation, as these people have become Americans by choice and are Americans "only by virtue of having come together... whatever identity they had before..., they retain (or, better, they are free to retain) afterward" . There appears to be a certain anonymity in being American; if someone lacks a hyphenated ethnicity he must therefore lack ethnicity altogether. The bureaucrats do not recognize "American" as a nationality, they recognize it as being little more than a citizen or resident of anonymous origins; nevertheless, this anonymity is, as Walzer states, a right of all Americans and is in fact "part of what it means to be an American" .

Perhaps, then, it is wise to understand American pluralism in the context of America

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Approximate Word count = 1527
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)