Wednesday, November 17, 2010
MULTI-CULTURALISM FAILS THE CRICKET TEST
Hearing about the Territorial Army volunteers who have been verbally abused and worse in the street, for having the temerity to wear their uniforms in public, I can only agree with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's assertion that multi-culturalism has failed. It was brave of her, the leader of a country with a dark past on ethnic issues, to make such a statement, but it shows how strongly otherwise fair-minded people now feel about having their fellow-citizens plotting against them and otherwise abusing the lands that have given them a home.
America doesn't seem to suffer from these problems to quite the same extent: immigrants and their families and descendants are, for the most part, very proud to call themselves Americans first and their nationality of origin second. Does the same thing apply in matters of religion, which seem to override nationality? I don't know, but it certainly doesn't in the UK, where it's possible to be Muslim first, second and third and to hell with the country that has taken you in and made you welcome.
I'm not arguing in favour of a policy of 'my country, right or wrong', but if you are a citizen of the UK then that should come before any partisan considerations or religious loyalties. Abusing members of our armed forces going about their lawful business is tantamount to treason, not freedom of expression and it's only our weary tolerance of such freedoms, often at the expense of the values we claim to hold dear, that makes such expressions possible. In some of the states and groups that wish us harm, such disrespect would not be tolerated, indeed it would be likely to lead to imprisonment, torture or more extreme retribution.
Those who consider their first loyalty is to their god, not their country badly need to re-examine their values and priorities.
Hearing about the Territorial Army volunteers who have been verbally abused and worse in the street, for having the temerity to wear their uniforms in public, I can only agree with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's assertion that multi-culturalism has failed. It was brave of her, the leader of a country with a dark past on ethnic issues, to make such a statement, but it shows how strongly otherwise fair-minded people now feel about having their fellow-citizens plotting against them and otherwise abusing the lands that have given them a home.
America doesn't seem to suffer from these problems to quite the same extent: immigrants and their families and descendants are, for the most part, very proud to call themselves Americans first and their nationality of origin second. Does the same thing apply in matters of religion, which seem to override nationality? I don't know, but it certainly doesn't in the UK, where it's possible to be Muslim first, second and third and to hell with the country that has taken you in and made you welcome.
I'm not arguing in favour of a policy of 'my country, right or wrong', but if you are a citizen of the UK then that should come before any partisan considerations or religious loyalties. Abusing members of our armed forces going about their lawful business is tantamount to treason, not freedom of expression and it's only our weary tolerance of such freedoms, often at the expense of the values we claim to hold dear, that makes such expressions possible. In some of the states and groups that wish us harm, such disrespect would not be tolerated, indeed it would be likely to lead to imprisonment, torture or more extreme retribution.
Those who consider their first loyalty is to their god, not their country badly need to re-examine their values and priorities.
