How to Take Over a Country Without Firing a Shot

By Rod Hemphill
6/26/07

An article from the Washington Times which I have linked to at the end of this commentary illustrates what I've written regarding the Islamization of Europe and the refusal of modern ethnic groups to assimilate into the societies into which they have immigrated - in this case Muslim immigrants in Europe, but it's the same with large numbers of today's Mexican immigrants into the United States.

In previous immigrations, the newcomers were eager to learn our language and become part of the American culture. Their ethnicities flavored and enriched American society, but their ethnicities notwithstanding, these immigrants wanted to shed their immigrant status as quickly as possible and be seen as Americans. Americans from Germany or Ireland or Italy or China . . . wherever . . . but they wanted to be Americans!

This assimilation builds stability and progress in a society. But the refusal to assimilate that we are seeing today is destabilizing, divisive, impedes the progress and healthy evolution of a culture, and in the end is disastrous to a society. This is the historical record and if allowed to continue, there is no reason to think it will be otherwise in today's societies, especially since it is being vigorously promoted by politically-correct advocates of multiculturalism.

Democracies are especially vulnerable to this threat from multiculturalism which reduces common decency and respect of others to an untenable enforced political correctness, pits each group against the others, weakens national unity while it gives rise to disaffected groups and their threat to national security and encourages ever larger and more invasive government as all groups weaken their sense of personal responsibility and look to government to take care of more and more of their perceived needs and desires.

These non-assimilating people come to their host countries to have a better life without any concept that it is the character and values of these countries that have made them freer and more desirable than the countries from which they come, more technologically advanced, lands which have a higher standard of living for every person, and where opportunities exist for every person to improve his station in life. Although the concept is not politically correct, the fact that such people emigrated evidences that they regard the opportunities afforded by the culture of their new host country to be superior to those of their native culture.

If they were to assimilate, they would be expected --even encouraged-- to retain meaningful elements of their native culture. But they would also be adopting their new country and its culture, and giving their loyalty to it. And this only makes sense, because with their loyalty, their new country and their own lives and livelihood are stronger and more secure. On the other hand, by refusing to assimilate, they are destroying the very things that give them that which they treasure about their new country. By refusing to assimilate, they must --of necessity-- always be regarded as outsiders --people who are out of place and don't really belong here-- and this means they will always be viewed with a certain amount of suspicion in terms of national security.

I don't have a solution as to how we can cause immigrants to want to be Americans, but I do have a couple suggestions that strike me as basic moves in that direction. First, we must not accommodate pluralism in language. Every nation with multiple languages is weakened in its unity and its functioning by accommodating languages other than the one common language. This is easily observed in nations from Canada to India, in contrast to Israel and the United States prior to the 1950s in which immigrants knew that if they were going to enjoy the maximum benefits and advancement in their new society, they had to learn the language.

Secondly, instead of watering down entrance/citizenship requirements in order to accept the maximum number of immigrants as the United States has done over the last 50 years, we need to ensure that these newcomers understand the basic functioning of our government and the historic documents upon which our government and society is built. It's not enough that they have some idea of freedom and their right to vote. It is imperative that they understand (and appreciate) why these rights and freedoms are here for them and how they work.

Without this basic understanding, they --like many of our own people over the last couple generations-- will be illiterate in matters of civics and political science, and in this ignorance will tinker with the foundations of our government and society, failing to understand the difference between improving the administration of justice as opposed to changing its fundamental character. Given their ignorance of these matters and therefore their uninformed attempts to change our culture and the way our government is administered, two sayings come to mind: They are "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs," and "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

To read Mona Charen's article Cause to Celebrate, visit PressAnalysis.com

Other articles by Rod:
Critique of the Da Vinci Code
The Tomb of Jesus. . . and Mary, and Son Joseph?
Halloween: Spoof, Spooked or Spiritual Service?
The Golden Compass: A Warning for Parents

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