Matthew Continetti has a very thoughtful piece at National Review quoting an editor of the German news magazine Die Welt extensively about his conclusion that Obama is the first European President and that it bodes ill both for this country and Europe from a foreign policy standpoint. Continetti extends the analogy to the immigration issue and finds a similar ill wind blowing:
"The questions of sovereignty, compassion, and relocation, of the economic and social costs of mass immigration of displaced peoples, of the most basic understanding of what a nation is, what borders are for, what distinguishes a citizen from an alien: Such questions have dominated European politics, and are coming to dominate American politics as well. They have also coarsened European politics, made it more antagonistic. They have set the advocates of the European Union, and of the immigrants, against nationalist publics. Elite condescension is met with public antipathy, even extremism. The casualties? No biggies: just trust, cohesion, and fellow feeling — the very ingredients for a healthy, successful country."
Indeed. What we may now be seeing in the U.S. is a coming apart of the bonds that have historically held us together. If this is accurate, it is a recipe for serious domestic trouble and then, when a nation of serious purpose comes along, it will catch us unaware and unprepared and unable to effectively respond. Not too far, actually, from where we are right now. I hope people are getting their storm shutters ready because a storm is heading this way.
No comments:
Post a Comment