German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that multiculturalism has "utterly failed," add
Leftist diversity
advocates and multiculturalists are right to argue that people of all
races, religions and cultures should be equal in the eyes of the law.
But their argument borders on idiocy when they argue that one set of
cultural values cannot be judged superior to another and that to do so
is Eurocentrism.
That's unbridled nonsense. Ask a
diversity/multiculturalism advocate: Is forcible female genital
mutilation, as practiced in nearly 30 sub-Saharan African and Middle
Eastern countries, a morally equivalent cultural value? Slavery is
practiced in northern Sudan. In most of the Middle East, there are
numerous limits placed on women, such as prohibitions on driving,
employment and education. Under Islamic law, in some countries, female
adulterers face death by stoning, and thieves are punished by having
their hand severed. In some African and Middle Eastern countries,
homosexuality is a crime, in some cases punishable by death. Are all
these cultural values morally equivalent to those of the West?
The vital achievement of the West was the concept of individual rights,
which saw its birth with the Magna Carta in 1215. The idea emerged that
individuals have certain inalienable rights. Individuals do not exist to
serve government; governments exist to protect their rights. But it was
not until the 19th century that ideas of liberty received broad
recognition. In the West, it was mostly through the works of British
philosophers, such as John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith and John Stuart
Mill.
Personal liberty implies toleration of differences among
people, whether those differences are racial, sexual, ideological or
political. Liberty also implies a willingness to permit others who
disagree with you to go their separate ways. This is not the vision of
the new immigrants. In some parts of Britain, Christians are threatened
with violence for merely handing out Bibles. Trying to convert Muslims
to Christianity is seen as a hate crime. Women are accosted by Muslim
men for "improper" dress. Many women are sexually assaulted. In many
European countries, "no-go zones" — where civil authorities will not
enter — in which Shariah is practiced have been established. According
to the Express, "London, Paris, Stockholm and Berlin are among the major
European cities that feature on a bombshell list of 900 lawless zones
with large immigrant populations" (
http://tinyurl.com/hubbxuw).
Both in Europe and in the U.S., multiculturalism is a leftist elitist
vision with its roots in academia. The intellectual elite, courts and
government agencies push an agenda that is anything but a defense of
individual rights, freedom from conformity and a live-and-let-live
philosophy. Instead, multiculturalism/diversity is an agenda for all
kinds of conformity — conformity in ideas, actions and speech. It calls
for re-education programs where diversity managers indoctrinate
students, faculty members, employees, managers and executives on what's
politically correct thinking. Part of that lesson is nonjudgmentalism,
where one is taught that one lifestyle is just as worthy as another and
all cultures and their values are morally equivalent.
Western
values are superior to all others. But one need not be a Westerner to
hold Western values. A person can be Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, African
or Arab and hold Western values. By the way, it is no accident that
Western values of reason and individual rights have produced
unprecedented health, life expectancy, wealth and comfort for the
ordinary person. There's an indisputable positive relationship between
liberty and standards of living. There is also indisputable evidence
that we in the West are unwilling to defend ourselves from barbarians.
Just look at our response to the recent Orlando massacre, in which we've
focused our energies on guns rather than on terrorists.
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
Fire for effect...