Posted on 10/20/2010 9:11:40 AM PDT by NCjim
Multiculturalism has completely failed.
That’s the assessment of Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, in a recent speech before the youth wing of her conservative political party, the Christian Democratic Union. The idea that disparate peoples can “simply live side by side and live happily with each other” has failed, she said. “Utterly failed.”
Merkel insisted that Germany still welcomes immigrants, particularly those whose high-tech skills make them valuable workers. But she conditioned that welcome upon a warning: “We feel bound to the Christian image of humanity — that is what defines us. Those who do not accept this are in the wrong place here.”
To put that another way: Muhammad, go home.
Merkel’s words have yet to gain much traction on this side of the Atlantic, but they have roiled the political landscape in Germany, which — like much of Europe — is struggling to manage an influx of immigrants of Arabic origin and Islamic faith. The U.S. State Department reports that Germany is now home to 3.5 million Muslims.
So there are mosques where there were not before — along with women in scarves, people with foreign accents, ghettoized poverty and a fear that some core aspect of the nation’s character, its very “German-ness,” is under assault.
Last year, the head of Germany’s central bank published a book, “Germany is Destroying Itself,” arguing that the influx of Muslims was lowering the nation’s intelligence. He was censured and fired, but the book was popular and the country seemed to agree with its thesis. The Guardian newspaper of London reports that, according to one recent poll, a third of all Germans believe their country is being “overrun” by foreigners.
And if Merkel’s declaration has received scant notice in the United States, that will likely change soon. Her words will surely be manna to the constellation of xenophobic bloggers and pundits for whom it is an article of faith that Muslims — and Hispanics — are agents of ruin. They would laud her contention that multiculturalism is unworkable and undermines national character.
Of course, America isn’t Germany. America’s mainstream culture is already made, and has always been made, of other cultures. So that if apple pie is quintessentially American, well, so are burritos, borscht, sauerkraut, paella and sweet potato pie.
That said, proponents of multiculturalism should concede this much: It is not easy, being diverse. To the contrary, it’s a challenging thing.
Diversity raises questions that are thorny and defiant of easy answers. From the Muslim woman whose religious sensibilities required her employer, Disneyland, to design a uniform with a head covering, to arguments over a schoolbook some American Cubans thought painted too rosy a picture of that island, from debate over whether and how to dismantle the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” restricting gay service in the military, to arguments over how and when Español “es hablado” in public, managing diversity often means managing a delicate balance between accommodation and coercion, between expectation and fear, between reverence for what was, then, and sensitivity to what is, now.
The only thing worse than living in a nation that seeks to achieve that balance is living in one that does not.
So with due respect to Germany, it is impossible not to consider the source here. We should all be alive to the grim historical resonance of a German chancellor declaring the idea of disparate cultures living peaceably side by side a failure. What, after all, is the alternative? Shall Germany officially declare itself a nation with room enough for one culture only? For the record, that’s been tried already. And it didn’t work so well, either.
And the Nazis were allied with Muslims in WW2.
I agree with her...multiculturism is a gigantic failure when immigrants won’t assimilate.
The Muslim criteria is incompatible with modern society. It is NOT a religion. It is and always has been...a politicaql movement.
A pro-Islamic cartoonist. Why should people be allowed to invade another country, demand freebies and to change their culture. No thanks. The Germans are correct.
A pro-Islamic cartoonist. Why should people be allowed to invade another country, demand freebies and to change their culture. No thanks. The Germans are correct.
Muslims in Germany are doing the same thing. They want to take over Europe. What is Europe to do? Either they stand up to them or let them take over. I see big trouble in Europe over this. Hopefully, Europe will come together and stop them.
Hear, hear!
I'm sure the inevitable comparisons with the Nazis will now commence from the Left.
One of the things the Nazis hated about the Jews, was to the level that they did assimilate into German society. The Nazis didn't care whether or not Jews assimilated into the country, they were all the same, even those Jews who served in the German Army in WWI were held in contempt.
A young Arab asks his father:
What is this weird hat that we are wearing ?
It’s a “chechia” because in the desert it protects our heads from the sun !
And what is this type of clothing that we are wearing ?
It’s a “djbellah” because in the desert it is very hot and it protects your body !
And what are these ugly shoes that we have on our feet ?
These are “babouches”, which keep us from burning our feet when in the desert !
Tell me, papa...
Yes, my son ?
... Why are we living in Dearborn, Michigan and still wearing all this crap?
And Muslims are the only people I saw litter in Germany. You can imagine how that goes over with Germans.
Let me see here; what is a nation? A nation defines borders, language and culture. If you don’t want to be part of those national components, get on to one that suits you. Duh.
Agenda, much?
They are always welcome in USA.
Bullcrap!
Islam is destructive of all cultures into which it intrudes. Assimilation of Islam is essentially impossible in a Western culture.
!
Some areas in Europe seem to be entirely different countries. In France, for example, the Middle Eastern immigrants have made the area they live exactly like where they came from. It’s no longer resembles ‘France’.
You on the bandwagon with that cartoonist?
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