Why a Distinctive Culture Matters
In a “multicultural” world, it’s not politically correct to actually stand up for your own culture – unless of course you’re a 3rd world country, or perhaps Muslim. The ascendency of the West fell out of fashion long ago, and it’s tough to find many who would actually defend a “Christian” culture. However, in the January Issue of “Books & Culture” Leah Seppanen Anderson reviews Christopher Caldwell’s book: “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West” and takes a different view. In her review she points out a fascinating assessment of Europe’s immigration problem – according to Caldwell. As she states:
“Caldwell’s grim assessment rests in large part on his understanding of the two communities he sees in conflict. In his view, Europeans are weak. They are weak culturally because they no longer have a coherent, defensible culture. Appeals to “European values” are meaningless: “you cannot defend what you cannot define. There is no consensus, not even the beginning of a consensus, about what European values are. A united Europe would have nothing to fear from Islam, but Europe is not united.”
Moreover, Europeans are politically weak, explains Caldwell, because their leaders have capitulated to political correctness and ideals of diversity, which render them unable to criticize any aspect of Islam. Rather than critically engaging with the Islamic culture of many immigrants, Europe has “bent over backward” to accommodate Islam: “For the first time in modern history, European societies were taking pains to allow residents—and, increasingly, citizens—to lead their entire lives in a foreign culture.”
After reading this, my first thought was – How far is the United States from this situation?
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http://www.inthatdayteachings.com Robert Winkler Burke
