On the other hand, some of the problems in the US are due to an
overidentification with one's own culture to the point where there is no
open-mindedness to other cultures.
This overidentification may be the result of not wanting to completely lose
one's cultural identity, a distinct threat in a multicultural society.
However, this over-reaction leads to varying degrees of contempt and
mistrust of any group not closely related to one's own culture (whether
they are white, black, asian, hispanic, or of any other ethnicity), an
unforunate side effect which creates many of the problems with which we are
all too familiar.
Here's an hypothetical musical example: It is very hard to get a white boy
from Montana into listening to Public Enemy...conversely, many blacks
wouldn't want white people from Montana to be part of the Public Enemy
scene.
The melting pot is not a myth, it's a threat!