All we need is a voluntary, free-spirited, open-ended program of racial deconstruction…. Everybody gotta start f***in’ everybody till we’re all the same color. Senator Jay Bulworth, as played by writer-director Warren Beatty in the movie, Bulworth (1998). (Listen to the whole speech HERE)
Last October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced multi-culturalism at a meeting of young Christian Democrats (her political party). She cited a study that found that 13 percent of Germans would welcome a “Führer” to run the country “with a firm hand.” Some 60 percent of Germans would “restrict the practice of Islam,” and 17 percent think Jews have “too much influence,” according to the study.
This past week, British Prime Minister David Cameron echoed her words, pointing to the failure of “multi-culturalism” in the UK as a factor in national security. He noted that home grown terrorism in the UK was not always the product of poverty. Terrorists, such as those who perpetrated the London bombings in 2005, were middle class. The failure, in Mr. Cameron’s view, is that “we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream.” He believes that the UK should strongly defend its values and culture and let it be known that those who don’t believe as does the mainstream should find someplace else to live.
Open borders and an influx of immigrants from the Middle East have challenged Western Europe in ways that we can only imagine. However, America has an extraordinary history of absorbing and integrating foreigners. Perhaps the so-called LEADERS of these great European democracies should study our success before giving up.
The Irish, Germans and Scandinavians who came here in the 19th Century were followed by Japanese and Italians in the 20th. All faced resistance from the establishment at first. However, they brought up their children here. By the second or third generation, the children and grandchildren of these immigrants had become as American as the Britons and Scots who revolted against the British crown at the birth of this nation. As a resident of South Florida, I can tell you that the children of the Cuban, Puerto Rican and South and Central American immigrants who predominate here want to act like their American peers by age 6, have unlimited texting on their cell phone by 12 and to be driving and dating by age 18.
One of the challenges of last year’s census was how to “classify” its respondents. The NY Times, this week, published the story of Michelle Lopez-Mullins who is of Peruvian, Chinese, Irish, Shawnee and Cherokee descent. How did the government classify her? It depends on which cabinet department you ask. The Department of Education classifies her as “Hispanic” so they can measure the educational progress of that “class”. Meanwhile, the National Center for Health Statistics classified her as Asian and Hispanic. But, if she had no “Hispanic” in her background, she will be classified in the “two or more races” category along with the children of black and white couples or Asian and American Indian parents. While many here have been concerned that Latinos do not want to be integrated into our society, the College Board reported this week 14.6% (an increase of 2.6%) of US high school seniors who passed an Advanced Placement exam in 2010 were Latino. This, despite the fact that 41% of Latino’s over the age of 20 have no high school diploma.
One can only wonder how Mr. Cameron and Ms. Merkel would respond to that. Perhaps they should consider how the provincialism of European societies dooms multi-culturalism. Perhaps they should consider that their LEADERSHIP role requires them to address the challenge rather than to denounce its failure.
As for the US? Well, maybe it’s time to stop “classifying” people.
The forbears of Ms. Lopez-Mullins didn’t really care about their classification. Their multi-racial, multi-cultural multi-copulations were the product of sexual attraction, pheromones, whatever! Indeed, the Times story reported that one in seven births is the result of a multi-racial relationship.
So, it seems that we are taking Senator Bulworth’s advice. Maybe we’ll all be the same color someday.
America's historical success with multi-culturalism, as outlined by the influx of various nationalities who became part of the glorious mix, was based on high rates of assimilation. The "melting pot" that America became famous for was the the result of many different immigrants joining in with our society, especially by adopting English as the common language. The problems become real when immigrant communities isolate themselves instead of integrating themselves into our society.
ReplyDeleteNobody objects to keeping heritage and culture alive in the home, and even celebrating it in the community, as a contribution to the collective. In my little FL town, we celebrate Lithuanian Independence Day and proudly acknowledge the second largest Lithuanian population outside of Lithuania (Chicago is first). Where I grew up in Tucson, Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day is widely celebrated joyously. And everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Celebrating cultural heritage, even caricatures of it, help spread appreciation and interest in it, and foster integration in society.
Contrast that to the Cuban community in Miami/Dade that refuses to learn English and insists that all government interaction, including the education and court system, must accommodate their language and culture, at great expense to the taxpayer. The Cubans in Miami may as well still be on an island, since they cannot readily go to the rest of the country and participate. It is similar with Mexicans in California and elsewhere. The concern in the UK and many other countries is the similar trend observed by middle-eastern and Muslim immigrants.
These isolationist cultures are missing the opportunity, and diminishing the benefit of multiculturalism, and it does increase risk in our already polarized national community.
Bulworth's approach is one way to resolve this matter, although it takes a long time. For everyone's benefit, we need faster assimilation, that which is a decision, an attitude, and a commitment to learn and use English everywhere in America.
Bill Greene
A homogenous, multicultural, colour blind society! When we achieve this we will have self actualized as a nation.
ReplyDeleteLOVED THIS ONE!
ReplyDeleteTeddy Roosevelt got it back at the early part of the 20th Century with his 1915 speech to the Catholic group the Knights of Columbus ( http://www.conservapedia.com/Hyphenated_American ). Roosevelt said:
ReplyDelete"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism... a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts "native" before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else... "
Read the entire speech. I concur heartily. I know there are many more issues behind immigration law, but much prejudice toward immigrants would disappear if they (we) were seen making earnest efforts to adopt this country's culture as their own and proudly claim to be Americans legally. I believe military service should be mandatory for citizenship.
Do like Israel does and band together for common military and economic survival. Other countries are getting ready to eat our lunch economically if we don't band together as one nation. Perhaps start with fixing the schools and the lack of STEM focus. American ingenuity can be a common concept again if we stop dumbing everything down to the lowest common denominator and outsourcing our jobs. We're going to lose our way of life in a generation or two if we don't get on it now.
My favorite saying lately is "You're special...Just like everyone else. Now get back to work."