Mulligan Stew rather than Melting Pot

What is Mulligan Stew? Well, there are a couple of definitions, but the one that I learned growing up was:

Said to have originated in hobo camps during the early 1900s, mulligan stew is a sort of catch-all dish of whatever is available. It usually contains meat, potatoes and vegetables in just about any combination. The name indicates that its origins might come from IRISH STEW, but it’s also often compared to Kentucky BURGOO. The cook at a hobo camp responsible for putting this tasty concoction together was called a “mulligan-mixer.”

 Yesterday I officiated at a Mulligan Stew wedding. What do I mean? Well, the groom was of Lebanese descent, but close enough to the original immigrants to still keep many of the cultural customs. The bride looked like your typical just-graduated-from-the-university tall blue-eyed American. Her father is not Orthodox, but her mother is. So, she grew up in Greek Orthodox churches, was a member of the Greek ethnic dance group (as well as taking ballet). He speaks no Arabic. She speaks no Greek. The wedding was wonderful. There were five priests present–oh, did I forget to mention that the groom is the son of a priest? One priest was pure Greek descent; two priests were of pure Lebanese descent; one priest was a convert typical American; and I, the Cuban convert. We had great fun, and the bride and groom ended up married.

The reception was an incredible mix of cultures. There was music from the 60’s, classical love songs, you get the idea. And, then, in the middle of the reception, they started playing Lebanese dance music. And out rushed the Greek, and Lebanese, and American university age women. And they started dancing the old traditional circle dance. If they did not know it, they watched someone who did. Eventually some of the university men joined them. And, finally, some of their elders joined in. Great hilarity ensued. And then, I realized that I was watching a cultural version of American Mulligan Stew.

What do I mean? Well, the predominant model for incoming immigrants used the be the melting pot. The idea was that different ingredients kept melting together, as they came in, into one homogonized culture. But, really, that was not an accurate description. A much better description of the American experience is Mulligan Stew. In Mulligan Stew, one can see everything dumped together into one pot, but still mostly identifiable. There are lumps of meat, lumps of potato, lumps of this, that, and the other. One cannot always identify what the lump is, but if Mulligan Stew is made correctly, it tastes wonderful.

And, so it has often been with the USA. No, we are not perfect. There are a couple of particular cultures that have never been fully allowed to become truly American. But, by and large, the difference between the USA and many parts of the world is our ability to encompass different cultures and “bring them into the stew” without having them totally discard their identity. It is a wonderful thing when the process works correctly. This type of process can also be seen in Canada, New Zealand, and several other countries. We are not unique in that. But, I am certainly thankful for what I saw yesterday at the wedding. It was America at her best, and it was good to see it.