Australia: Rising nationalism is a natural response

The Australian ^ | Februari 06 2007

[knighthawk]

There is a fine balance to promoting tolerance UNFASHIONABLE as it may seem, the Cronulla riots provide a useful reminder of the inherent risks of civil decline when the political class strays too far from grass-roots expectations on a nation's sense of self. The issue is not confined to Australia and is felt more in Europe than the US, where nationhood is more aggressively founded on a binding loyalty to a defined set of core values. Elsewhere in the West, a renewed clamour for national identity is a predictable and overdue response to the permissive extremes of the decades-long embrace of no-rules multiculturalism. The trend has been provoked by the rise of militant Islam, with its own competitive identity that transcends national borders. The reaction can be measured by a resurgence of pride in the Australian flag among young people and near universal support for the Government to impose a tougher citizenship test for migrants. It is reflected in the Government's decision to swap multiculturalism for citizenship in the title of the Immigration Department.

The new reality sits uncomfortably with the so-called progressive view that favours unbridled tolerance for the minority and a loathing for the dominant culture or conventional view. These themes are explored by Francis Fukuyama, professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins School of International Studies, who says that if existing citizens do not sufficiently value their national citizenship, they can scarcely expect newcomers to value it. The potential cost of inaction is evident in comments by Middle East Forum director Daniel Pipes in The Australian today that opinion surveys in Britain consistently show 50 per cent of British Muslims would like to see the introduction of sharia Islamic law. This is akin to exchanging the constitution for the Koran.

[b4its2late]

Wish we had some rising nationalism here.....

[knighthawk]

Unfortunately for the West, the liberal tolerance shown by the Left to minority groups has not always come with reciprocal obligations. Professor Fukuyama argues that Europe's failure to better integrate its Muslim population is a ticking time bomb that has already contributed to terrorism.

Islam-list

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

[PeterFinn]

Ditto that.

[ZULU]

No society should tolerate foreign invaders who are determined to undermine it from within.

Self-preservation is a primary rule of nature. Its about time we and our politicians learned it.

[Tzimisce]

Pride in American culture = problem. We must learn to change our culture to that of others.

Pride in Hispanic culture = good thing. We must allow them to protect their culture from being washed away.

Pride in Austrailian culture = problem. Leads to racism and bigotry.

Pride in Islamic culture = good thing. Maybe the Jews really are destroying the world.

[Red6]

There we have it again-

"opinion surveys in Britain consistently show 50 per cent of British Muslims would like to see the introduction of sharia Islamic law" Was written

What the liberal simply can't get into his head is that this culture does not seek to coexists, it seeks to take over and dominate.

In small numbers they are quiet, in large enough numbers they will tell "you" how to run your show, as witnessed in the streets of Paris. If you look at Sudan or several other places, what is the fighting really about?

[Let's Roll]

ditto

[Oct1967]

Australia has a very scots-irish national attitude

[CurlyBill]

You have nailed it!

[Red6]

I watched an old Western with John Wayne in it this weekend. It was funny to see the Indians as bad guys and Calvary as they good guys. Could you image a movie like this made today?

[Grateful One]

Self-preservation is a primary rule of nature. It's about time we and our politicians learned it..................

Ditto in spades! Such a simple concept, yet drowned out by liberal hysteria and anti-intellectualism!

IMHO

[arthurus]

At least in this country the ruling class will fight any resurgence of nationalism tooth and nail and has MSM as its ally and weapon. Nationalism begets a response of Amnesty and invitation to the flood.

from G.K. Chesterton-
"We do not admire, we hardly excuse, the fanatic who wrecks this world out of love for the other. But what are we to say of the fanatic who wrecks this world out of hatred of the other? He sacrifices the very existence of humanity to the non-existence of God. He offers his victims not to the altar, but merely to assert the idleness of the altar and the emptiness of the throne. He is ready to ruin even that primary ethic by which all things live, for his strange and eternal vengeance upon some one who never lived at all….Not only is faith the mother of all worldly energies, but its foes are the fathers of all worldly confusion. The secularists have not wrecked divine things; but the secularists have wrecked secular things, if that is any comfort to them."

[Tzimisce]

No - today it would be maniacal gun toting white guys shooting innocent women and children as the braves begged for peace. *wants to gag*

[VOA]

I'm no expert of Fukuyama, but...
IIRC, Frances Fukuyama was the fellow proclaiming a new age following the
fall of Communism (e.g., "The End of History") and that things were
gonna' just be swell.

IMHO, the fault of the West isn't in failing to integrate the Islamic
immigrants.

The faults of The West are
1. Funding Islamic nutburgers by buying their oil (and becoming
dependent on it)
2. Allowing them to freely infiltrate their democracies
3. Not jailing and exporting their sorry derrieres at the first indicator
that these folks are nuthin' but PROBLEM children.

[Made In The USA]

Nailed it.

[Fair Go]

Despite having this heritage, I have always considered myself an Australian first as did my parents and grand parents before me.