Posted on 06/18/2006 4:20:42 AM PDT by knighthawk
This writer must be either SARCASTIC or a MORON.
"Multiculturalism," as it seems to be most accurately defined, is the parallel existence of multiple cultures within a single society.
As far as I know, no multicultural society has ever lasted very long.
The U.S. has never until very recently really been a truly multicultural society, because while there have been regional subcultures (e.g., Cajun, New Mexico, Midwest Germanic), there has always been a clear understanding of and participation in the overall American culture, and the subcultures have tended to become part of the greater culture, rather than remain truly separate.
Part of this is probably because the degree of difference was sufficiently small to allow this to occur.
The problem with today's immigration pattern is that now we have groups that have very, very great differences from the cultures/societies to which they are migrating. Multiculturalism, even if not desired, tends to be the result. It remains to be seen if such differences can be blended into the host cultures.
What's the mechanism for deporting those who don't pass the test?
That could be another nail in the coffin of Turkish EU hopes!
This is not restricted to Europe. If we forget about your Mexican immigrants the US has also a birth rate that is frightening low. Espechially those who are reponsible for your unique American culture fail to reproduce themselves. Not that far in the future it is possible that we identify the United States with dark haired muchachas who dance the samba on the streets of Los Angelos.
(BTW - since Mexican girls are among the most beautiful in the world this is not nessecarily a desaster)
That's not to say America doesn't have her problems in this area, but it has not reached the levels here that it has in the old country.
This is interesting. So you think that the new immigrants from Mexico do not define themselves as Mexicans but as Americans? I would be happy if we could achieve the same in Europe since most problems we have with our immigrants result out of their inabillity to define themselves as Frogs, Krauts or Brits...
Just some info:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/aabirthrate.htm
The US have a benefit from all those sexy Mexican muchachas that raise traditionally big families. This is the reason why they still have such a (comparatively to the western world) high birth rate.
Maybe it sounds cynical, but in Europe we found out that it are the "wrong" people who get the children (I hate my own verbalism here, since a baby will never be someting wrong - no matter who its parents are). I.e. 41% of the German women with a academic title have no kids anymore. The rate of childless male academics in Germany is even much higer. I doubt that this trend is different in the US. Young educated women want to combine job, kids, relation and have thereby high material and personal demands. Not exactly a good basement for founding a family. Since nearly nobody is taking morality too serious, marriage is no the pre-condition to sex anymore since a long, long time. Therefore young "Alpha-males" are not forced to marry anymore and engage themselves in the "quagmire" of a family (I have 3 sons and married the nicest girl you can think of and would never ever call my family a quagmire. But it is simply the viewpoint of many young ecducated dudes). This was different in the former ages when the pill and other contraceptives were not available.
The birth rates in ALL western societies suffer from the changed self-conception of women and men. I am quite sure that the US will get "European" birth rates within the next decade.
The Dutch get it.
There's a much simpler test and cheaper too, in reply #4, posted by calex59
You said, "No nation or region, anywhere at anytime in history has ever benefited from multiculturalism. Name one. Anyone?"
Throughout history, many nations have permitted Jews to live among them, even in times when those Jews remained very culturally distinct from their hosts. I suspect that every nation that did so was blessed by having those Jews, whether they acknowledged it or not.
Since you challenged us to "Name one", I'll name England.
I'm not suggesting that any civlized country should admit militant Muslims. Just disagree with your words quoted above. Historically, many nations have accepted and tolerated the presence of others among them (such as the Amish in this country) who did not share the culture, customs, and morals of the majority, and it has not inevitably led to disaster.
I agree...we're all headed in the same direction...we're just not quite as far along. I'm hoping that somehow we can all turn it around.
I Thought that the birthrate for White Americans were at 1.8. Not quite at replacement rate but nevertheless higher than Europe with the exception of Ireland.
Only if the host culture was weak to begin with. In reality one cannot stop cultural mixing and morphing, it's a fact of any dynamic society. If the so-called culture of 'Americanism' is weak it will subjugate itself to new patterns as they come along, and rightly so if it is so weak.
Also, enforced mono-culturalism doesn't last either, because it culls a cultures ability to adapted thus weakening it and usually has to be enforced by the state, which eliminated individual freedom in the long run. In any case identitarianism has a leftist liberal history, and rational conservatives should reject it as childish at best.
Verdonk is quite strickt on that issue, she sends them back on a plane.
Excellent.
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