Aidan Maconachy has a good post on the failure of multiculturalism. I wanted to post a comment, but remembered that he does not allow commenting. I'll make my comments here. I recently lunched with two Indian co-workers. Both are first generation immigrants to the U.S.A. One is old (my age), one is young. Both have arranged marriages. When talking about their futures, both were proud to be Americans, and proud to be Indians too. But mostly it was the pride one see when a first generation immigrant realizes that for the most part, the rest of the country really does not care who you are or where you came from. As long as you work hard and contribute to society, you are welcomed here - unless you choose to live in Waco that is. My point is that in America I can go out to lunch with two Indian friends and talk about the future and nobody will care. The wonderful thing is, our dreams sound an awful lot alike, so do our fears.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The Failures of Multiculturalism
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1 comment:
Your example speaks volumes.
Immigrants want to feel a part of a host society on every level, and be able to compete on an even playing field. Part of the genius of the American model is that you can come from any part of the globe, and if you demonstrate individual value and skills, you can make your own running.
By contrast, immigrants in European countries are often patronized and forced to contend with a dominant culture that finds ways of limiting their access to employment and opportunity.
When people on the far right point to the problems of immigrant crime in Europe, they often neglect to include these crucially important concerns relating to acceptance and assimilation.
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