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Remember all those years ago when the former Yugoslavia was all over the news virtually all the time? We were bombarded day and night with story after story of blood, guts, gore, and mayhem. The Chechnyans were killing the Serbs who were slaughtering the Bosnians who were butchering everyone they could find from a place called Kosovo. One religious group was pitted against another while both, of course, claimed that God was on their side and ethnic rivalries spilled over into bloody and brutal hostility. The images were horridly graphic and the profiles of individual tragedies were truly heart- rending. I remember discussing with friends and acquaintances how this could happen in a formerly united nation. How could it get to a point where entire villages were wiped out, neighbor fought and killed neighbor, and family members found themselves on opposite sides? I distinctly remember a Friday afternoon at our local watering hole where a bunch of us were watching a documentary about the mess taking place halfway around the world. The general consensus seemed to be that at least that kind of thing could never happen here in the United States of America – not in the good old U.S. of A. After all, we’re much too civilized to allow that kind of brutality to take place and our system of government has too many safe-guards built into it to permit that kind of horror from occurring here.
Well, not wanting to be a fly in the ointment or perhaps a monkey in the wrench, I reminded the group that it already has happened here and it was just as violent and bloody as what we were witnessing on our nightly news programs. They told me I was being ridiculous and that these kinds of horrific events simply did not happen in civilized, western societies like the United States. These atrocities took place among the less enlightened, the less sophisticated, and those whose first response to problem solving is violent blood-letting. I pointed out that our own American Revolution matched any of the violence and bloodshed that we viewed on television while we serenely sipped cocktails and dined on pub snacks. Back then, Americans killed Americans, villages were destroyed, and families torn asunder. The only difference, it seemed to me, was that the weapons were not nearly as sophisticated and efficient as those we use today. Additionally, I noted that less than a century later we had this little internal squabble known as the Civil War over that slavery-states’ rights thing. During that “brouhaha” a mere 700,000 Americans killed one another and once more claimed that God was on their side.
Horrific and brutal violence is certainly not unknown to Americans and we too have slaughtered one another with seeming abandon and, at times, enthusiasm. The examples cited erupted onto violence only when the differences between the sides involved seemed utterly insurmountable and irreconcilable. Certainly, prior to both conflicts efforts were made to find peaceful, nonviolent, and non-lethal solutions but unfortunately to no avail. The group told me that was then and this is now and insisted that I stick my paranoia where the sun don’t shine and have another drink. I considered the wisdom of their suggestion and, of course, dutifully complied. The thought, however, that it could still happen here just wouldn’t let go. How could something like Balkanization happen in the United States in the 21st Century given our common history, language, and culture? Aren’t we all Americans with similar desires and needs? Don’t we all want to see what is best for ourselves, our families, and communities? Aren’t we all in the end Americans or have we become a nation of “us vs. them?” Have we become merely a country of separate and disparate groups striving to pursue their own rather narrow interests at the expense of and to the detriment of the whole?
If that is indeed the case, the future of our nation is not nearly as sanguine as it once was and is in fact somewhat uncertain and precarious. As I considered the issue, it occurred to me that we are no longer a particularly united nation but are perhaps more divided than at any time in our history. The common bonds of language, culture, and borders – so crucial to the existence of a united and harmonious country and future – seem to be crumbling at alarming rates. I believe that the disharmony and discord that we increasingly witness is both purposeful and strategic. By constantly accentuating and aggravating the differences and disparities that exist between and among the various groups and sub-sets in our country, harmony and rationality are all but impossible. The constant and deliberate pitting of one against the other can only raise animosity, tension, and discord to the point of suspicion and open hostility that allows little if any room for compromise and cooperation. It seems to me that the single, most guilty entity amongst us is what I have dubbed the LFE (Liberal Fucking Elite) in the United States. These are the folks on the very Far Left in America and while they certainly do not constitute even close to a majority, they have an influence far beyond their numbers.
That group effectively controls most if not all of the nation’s major institutions. Among others, these include: our educational system from pre-K through graduate school; all major news and media outlets; arts and entertainment; and the country’s political apparatus on local, state, and national levels. These Leftists and Statists, then, have a virtual lock on shaping and molding public opinion and thought on literally every major issue and trend that comes before the American public at any given time in any given sphere. They frame the issues and define the debate concerning any and all matters of importance to Americans and America. Additionally, they are led by the most radical, Socialist, and completely unqualified President it has ever been our misfortune to see elected in the history of the nation. President Barry Boy epitomizes the essence of the LFE and Far Left Liberalism. His agenda since day one has been to use the old military tactic of divide and conquer – to set one group or interest against another – and reap the spoils of the discord and antagonism that he purposely creates and fosters. He does not want a unified and harmonious nation but must, instead, do all he can to sow discontent, discord, frustration, and anger among as many different groups and interests as he can. This is and has been his battle plan since as far back as his “community organizing” days in Chicago. That tactic got this virtually unknown, incompetent, no talent Buffoon his second term in office.
He sets rich against poor in order to create and harbor a feeling of jealousy and class envy among the so-called “Have-Nots” who are conditioned to believe that the successful amongst us have reached their position in life by dint of lying, cheating, stealing, and otherwise abusing the weakest and most vulnerable in society. He exacerbates racial tensions between black and white to enforce the lie that blacks in America are still living as slaves with no constitutional protections. He and his minions also ramp up the discord between blacks and Hispanic minorities and has them blaming white America for all of their problems. The Divider-in-Chief forever stirs up animosity between the American citizen and our ever growing illegal alien population by dangling the amnesty carrot which would mean “entitlements” for those that don’t deserve them in the hopes of increasing his party’s voter base. The Bamster constantly creates friction between his fellow one-worlders and American nationalists who view this country with pride and gratitude. He regularly attempts to ramp up the hostility that exists between those who favor an ever larger, more intrusive government against those who insist on a smaller, limited, constitutional republic as envisioned by our Founders all those years ago. He pits Capitalist against Socialist and those who see the United States as the greatest source for good in planetary history and those who view it as an unmitigated source of evil and suffering. He views America as an oppressor of humanity while most Americans know that we have been the world’s leading liberator of the poor and downtrodden.
This list could go on indefinitely, but the point is made. The Anointed One wants to create as much discord and disharmony as he can for that fits his overall template of bringing our great nation to its knees as a just punishment for, in his view, all the evil and unfairness we have foisted on the people of this planet. He views it has our “comeuppance.” This, folks, can accurately be described as Balkanization. Have we reached that level of discord and acrimony that will boil over into rivers of blood running down our streets? Not yet, but there have been a number of violent incidents associated with Obama’s divide and conquer approach to governance. Do you remember the antagonism and violence associated with the Occupy Wall Street mob of spoiled middle class college kids? How about the intimidation of voters in Philadelphia by the New Black Panther Party? Do not forget that a number of Tea Party types have been physically attacked for expressing their political views. Who can forget the huge rallies during which illegal Mexican aliens made demands on American citizens while waving their flag and burning ours?
There have been other examples but thus far they have been relatively few and far between. There is absolutely no guarantee, however, that they’ll stay that way. As the LFE constantly and purposely continues to pit group against group and increase the tension and hostility between and among them, the likelihood of increased violence and bloodshed will grow. Most Americans can’t or won’t fathom that outcome for it’s just too foreign to our experience. Remember, however, the utter horror show that was the Balkans did not ignite immediately. Neither did the American Revolution or Civil War. It took many decades for conditions to boil over into massive death and destruction and I have an ominous and sinking feeling that we have definitely started down that road.
An article entitled, “The Balkanization of America; Can We Survive?(www.intellectualconservative.com),” states that the, “American Heritage Dictionary describes Balkanization as the dividing of a region or territory into small often hostile units, as in the political division of the Balkans in the early 20th century.” Author R.B. Cox maintains that the, “United States of America is more frequently and vehemently becoming more Balkanized than at any time in its modern history.” The writer continues that, “Many will say it is just politics but it is much more than that. It is deep seated and goes to the fundamental core beliefs of people. Some say it is a culture war but this war is for the very soul of America.” Well now, that sounds quite dramatic doesn’t it? That doesn’t make it any less true nor does it make it irrelevant. The author queries, “Will an America so divided on values, morals and the place of God in society remain one nation under God or continue to become the Balkanized States of North America?” The author asks because he introduces yet additional divisions in our society not yet discussed here. He accurately maintains that there, “are those who believe in moral absolutes vs. those who don’t; the secular vs. the religious; the ones shocked at the halftime antics of a Super Bowl and those who were not.” These divisions exist in America as well as those already mentioned above and illustrate just how divided we have become.
According to a piece entitled, “The Balkanization of America(www.proconservative.net),” Balkanization constitutes the separation of a region into hostile units as occurred in the Balkans in the 20th Century. The author notes that this happens, “when you fill up a country with diverse groups who have little in common,” and he uses the former Yugoslavia as a primary and obvious example. He explains that when that country broke apart, “a three-way civil war ensued in which thousands were slaughtered. People who once were neighbors became blood enemies overnight. This is what happens to a country in which different ethnicities do not assimilate and assume one common ethnic identity.” Whether we wish to admit it or not, this is exactly what is happening in America and it has been occurring since at least 1965 when the Fat Liberal Drunk from Massachusetts rammed his immigration act down our throats. That act alone, I believe, sealed our nation’s fate and forever changed America for the worse and will in the end destroy the United States as historically founded.
The act mandated, among many other things, that fully 85% of immigrants to this country must originate from places like Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, or other Third World shitholes whose citizens have virtually no experience with democracy, self-government, or western civilization. They did not in far too many cases come here to be Americans but rather to acquire the “goodies” available to them at literally no charge. They bring their culture, traditions, and languages with them and never let go. They set up enclaves all over this country and their allegiance remains with their homeland instead of transferring to the United States. This is perhaps somewhat understandable for those that came from another place but not two or three generations later. Immigrants in huge numbers stopped assimilating leading the author of the above piece to, “admit being uncomfortable at the eclipse of George Washington and the Founding Fathers,” and, “to the attacks on European culture at our major universities.” He further notes that he is, “doubly offended when people pretend that some multicultural idea, attaching to thinly disguised Socialism, is upheld as Americanism.”
The constant, ceaseless Far Left emphasis on multiculturalism and diversity as the highest of virtues is, in fact, Balkanizing and therefore destroying this nation. They deemphasize and belittle the common bonds that we as Americans have historically held and that have bound us together to a common proud and shared past and a future that is both optimistic and confident. In fact, the LFE’s never ending harping on the pillars of multiculturalism and diversity do nothing less than highlight and emphasize our differences and ignore our bonds of unity. Elevating multiculturalism and diversity as the highest of virtues coupled with political correctness makes it literally impossible to speak honestly and openly about serious and destructive issues that we as a nation must confront. To criticize or to find fault with ideas and concepts like diversity and multiculturalism can be devastating if not actually dangerous. To state out loud and in public objections to these dual pillars of Liberalism is to invite public ridicule and demonization of the most extreme nature. Just walk into virtually any student union on any university campus and begin explaining why you believe multiculturalism and diversity are actually dangerous to America’s future and get ready to run like Hell!
At the very least, you’ll be cursed at, called a racist and a bigot, and perhaps be forced into a Sensitivity Training Session in some Liberal gulag. Our universities, for the most part, have become hotbeds of intolerance for anything but the “party” line and to express any thought or idea that doesn’t fit into the prescribed orthodoxy can have anything from unpleasant to dire consequences. Should you dare to express the opinion, for example, that it’s time to seriously limit immigration to our country or perhaps stop it altogether for a set period, you’d better be wearing body armor. You’ll once again be accused of racism along with xenophobia and jingoism. You’ll be told in no uncertain terms that you’re nothing more than an outdated, intolerant nationalist who doesn’t understand the concept that no one culture is better than any other and that expressions of nationalism and love of country will no longer be tolerated in our brave new world of 21st Century America. This tactic and strategy is literally codified in Saul Alinsky’s Rule Book for Radicals in which he states that one must completely and utterly demonize any perceived enemy because once he or it is universally hated and despised it is ever so much easier to destroy that enemy. The enemy is literally dehumanized and turned into a monster and monsters must not be permitted to exist.
This is exactly what happened to Jews in Germany under old Adolph’s reign of terror. The same tactics are used against Conservatives in America today. We are thoroughly demonized by the LFE. If, for example, we object to the current state of our so-called immigration policy we become hated anti-immigrationists who have absolutely no compassion for the world’s poor and persecuted. If we object to policies like Affirmative Action, why then we must obviously be racists. If we are against abortion on moral grounds, then we must be anti-choice and anti-women. This is done purposely to put Conservatives on the defensive and force them to defend themselves when in fact none is necessary.
No one likes to be called a racist, anti-immigrant, or anti-female but when you claim that you are none of these things you immediately become suspect and are assumed to be guilty of some great evil or sin. It’s difficult if not impossible to defend any point of view from a position of weakness. This is “Alinskyism” and you should know, if you don’t already, that Alinsky is one of Obama’s heroes and role models. Following the Alinsky-Obama template can lead to no where but the Balkanization of America. It is a strategy of division and disunification. It ensures animosity between and among the disparate groups and sub-sets that live in this country. This template absolutely mitigates against any kind of harmony or cohesiveness and will literally tear the fabric of our society completely apart to the point where it can no longer be mended or repaired. This seems to me to be the desired outcome of America’s LFE and they are much closer to realizing it than most of us can imagine.
Famed author and historian Samuel P. Huntington spoke to those issues in an article entitled, “The Hispanic Challenge(www.freerepublic.com),” and he did so bluntly and honestly. This, of course, caused him to be despised and hated by many and it is much to his credit that he didn’t seem to give a damn. He accurately noted that unlike, “past immigrant groups, Mexicans and other Latinos have not assimilated into mainstream U.S. culture, forming instead their own political and linguistic enclaves – from Los Angeles to Miami – and rejecting the Anglo-Protestant values that built the American dream.” He cautions that the, “United States ignores this challenge at its peril.” Additionally, over the centuries America has developed its own particular creed key elements of which, “include the English language; Christianity; religious commitment; English concepts of the rule of law and the rights of individuals; and dissenting Protestant values of individualism, the work ethic, and the belief that humans have the ability and the duty to try to create a heaven on earth, a city on a hill.” Huntington insists that historically, “millions of immigrants were attracted to the United States because of this culture and the economic opportunities and political liberties it made possible.”
The scholar explains, however, that beginning late last century, things began to radically change. He points out that in the, “final decades of the 20th century, the United States’ Anglo-Protestant culture and the creed that produced it came under assault by the popularity in intellectual and political circles of the doctrines of multi-culturalism and diversity. . .” Note Huntington’s choice of words here: assault as in attack. Assaults and attacks are not merely vagaries but have specific meanings as well as consequences. They are not simply happenstance or accidental occurrences nor are they the result of some form of societal evolution or progression. Assaults are purposeful, planned, and premeditated and if not challenged, they have predictable and negative outcomes. He also clearly identifies the leaders of the assault that America now faces: those in our intellectual and political circles. In other words, the FAR LEFT – the LFE. Make no mistake here. The assault Huntington referenced is now a full-fledged, all out war and traditional America is losing badly.
When the Unqualified One ran for office for a first term, he repeatedly promised to fundamentally transform America and this seems to be the only pledge he intends to fulfill. What he really meant but couldn’t say right out loud in front of God and everybody was that he intends to destroy this nation as envisioned by the Founders and presently constituted. He fully intends to destroy America as a limited constitutional republic in which government has specific, prescribed, and restricted powers beyond which it must never go. Obama and the LFE envision a country in which government is all powerful and all intrusive. He wants a system in which citizens must look to the government as the central focus of their lives and upon which they must depend for all of their wants and needs. There is no better way to accomplish this transformation than by constantly pitting group against group and special interest against special interest. This is Balkanization.
The piece notes that this is further being accomplished by encouraging, “the rise of group identities based on race, ethnicity, and gender; the impact of transnational cultural diasporas; the expanding number of immigrants with dual nationalities and dual loyalties; and the growing salience for U.S. intellectual, business, and political elites of cosmopolitan and transnational identities. The United States’ national identity, like that of other nation-states, is challenged by the forces of globalization as well as the needs that globalization produces among people for smaller and more meaningful blood and belief identities.” This is key, folks. With ever increasing immigration, especially of the illegal variety, we are indeed in danger of losing our national identity as Americans. Once that happens, full-fledged Balkanization of the United States is a virtual certainty. As more of us cease to think of ourselves as Americans, more of us will view each other as some form of “hyphenated” American. Our national identity will then quickly erode and eventually be destroyed. This process is well underway and is actively encouraged by those on the Far Left who view this country as a scourge and a blight on humanity. They don’t like America and feel no pride whatsoever in being American. They are the ones that clamor for open borders and feel that the movement to make English our official national language is but one more example of our intolerance, bigotry, and racism.
The author also points out the positive effects of limited immigration especially from south of the border. He summarizes the conclusions of the Commission on Immigration Reform and notes that, “Illegal entries would diminish dramatically.” Additionally, “The wages of low-income U.S. citizens would improve. Debates over the use of Spanish and whether English should be made the official language of state and national governments would subside. Bilingual education and the controversies it spawns would virtually disappear, as would controversies over welfare and other benefits for immigrants.” Can anyone who cares about this country and its future object to these positives? Furthermore, Huntington explains that, “the debate over whether immigrants pose an economic burden on state and federal governments would decisively be resolved in the negative. The average education and skills of the immigrants continuing to arrive would reach their highest levels in U.S history. The flow of immigrants would again be highly diverse, creating increased incentives for all immigrants to learn English and absorb U.S. culture. And most important of all, the possibility of a de facto split between a predominantly Spanish-speaking United States and an English-speaking United States would disappear, and with it a major potential threat to the country’s cultural and political integrity.”
The problem here is that those on the Far Left who control our major institutions desire these negative effects that our current immigration policies foster. Those folks do not want a united America whose citizens view themselves first and foremost as Americans who live in the greatest nation God ever gave mankind and who appreciate the vast blessings that accrue to them by dint of being U.S. citizens. This is the very last thing they want. They are globalists and one-worlders and view the concept of loyalty to and pride in the traditional nation-state as mere relics from our unenlightened past. They, of course, are ever so much more sophisticated and urbane than us doltish boors who still love America and all that it stands for. Care for just one small but instructive example of just how far we have moved away from traditional America? Sure thing. In 1917, Theodore Roosevelt declared that, “We must have but one flag. We must also have but one language. That must be the language of the Declaration of Independence, of Washington’s Farewell Address, of Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech and second inaugural.” In 2000, Bill Clinton, that paragon of virtue, said, “I hope very much that I’m the last President in American history who can’t speak Spanish.” Quite a contrast, don’t you think?
The Balkanization of our country is on-going, relentless, and threatens to tear this nation apart. The primary and most obvious example of this process is the American Southwest. There exist areas in that part of our country where English is just not spoken and the Mexican flag is easily as prevalent as is Old Glory. There are vast numbers of residents there who feel more loyalty to Mexico than they do to the United States and that trend continues to grow. There exist schools in the Southwest in which English-speaking children – American citizens born and bred here – are ridiculed, mocked, and even threatened. Most of the residents of Mexican origin feel the United States simply stole the entire region from their native land without factoring in such minor details as the Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadelupe-Hidalgo. They have simply transferred their language, customs, and traditions north of the Rio Grande and have absolutely no intention or need to assimilate and become Americans. Why should they? They read Spanish books and magazines, have no trouble finding Spanish language television and radio programs, and Mexican-Spanish restaurants and food marts abound. In New York City, a section known as Flushing is predominantly, perhaps overwhelmingly, Korean and the same conditions exist there as they do in the Southwest. Even street signs are printed in Korean. Cities like Detroit and its suburbs are becoming increasingly Muslimized and there are serious calls to introduce Sharia law in those localities. Similar situations exist in San Francisco’s China town. In the part of Brooklyn where I formerly worked for many years, you could swear you had somehow been magically transported to the Dominican Republic.
It is, of course, true that throughout our history new immigrants have tended to flock together and various ethnic groups usually staked out their own distinctive neighborhoods. There is nothing wrong in this and it is, in fact, perfectly natural. The difference between then and now is that most of those folks, all four of my grandparents included, became not only American citizens but truly Americanized. They deeply wanted to become Americans and adopt our customs, habits, patterns, and mores. They learned English as quickly as they were able, adopted American dress, and they worked. Back then, there was no welfare, hand-outs, or other so-called entitlements. Those immigrants felt that they were entitled to whatever they could earn and no more. The “Gimme” mindset had not yet taken hold and they expected nothing from no one. If they fell on hard times – and they did – they relied on family, friends, and neighbors to get them through or they turned to the neighborhood “settlement house”.
Compare that to what has taken place in America over the past five to six decades. In Mexico, for example, even before they cross our border the prospective immigrant, legal or otherwise, can get a booklet published by the government that instructs them on how to avoid U.S. border patrols, where they can fit in safely and comfortably, and which of our urban centers have been designated as “Sanctuary Cities.” The freebies and goodies they can receive are explained and they are instructed on how to acquire them. They do not want to assimilate and become Americans but instead attempt to replicate their homeland on U.S. soil. No nation can long survive in this fashion but given the fact that our leadership is spineless, weak, and overly adept at pandering and groveling, conditions have no chance of improving for at least the foreseeable future.
In the past and despite immigrants arriving from every part of the globe, America was a truly united nation. A piece entitled, “Illegal Immigration: The Balkanization of America(http://theamericandiscourse.blogspot.com),” notes that, “America survives because we are one nation; we share a common language, a history which ties us together. We live under a common flag which we honor, salute, and would die for.” The author goes on to point out that, “when you look at countries with bilingual and bi-cultural societies, you see histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy. Belgium, Malaysia, Pakistan, Cypress Canada, Germany, Lebanon, Nigeria, Italy, France, Burma, and more have all faced crises of national existence when minorities press for independence. Ethnic uprisings must be suppressed to prevent a divided nation.” Are we at that point yet? Apparently not but we are probably much closer than ever before. Animosity and strife between and among the various groups and interests in our society keep growing more raucous and angry every year. Those folks in charge, rather than diffusing tense situations, appear to relish nothing more than rubbing ever increasing doses of salt into already festering wounds. The author of the piece continues that countries, “must be bonded by similarities in culture, ideologies, and language,” and historically, “immigrants would assimilate quickly into American culture and provide a workforce to better our country.”
Well, that certainly was the case but now, “illegal immigrants flock to this country for work in such vast numbers that they no longer feel the need to conform to the standards of American society.” This has been true for a very long time and continues to get worse. All actions, of course, have consequences – some intended and some not. The piece explains that illegal aliens, “are a drain on the American system causing massive costs to society including but not limited to increased welfare costs, access for terrorists, escalation in crime, segregation, population booms, introduction of third world disease, lowered availability of medical resources, availability of illegal drugs, and a negative impact on education.” This by the way is just the short list and it’s way too long as it is. Those in charge of our society on both sides of the aisle are fully cognizant of these and other negatives but haven’t got the cajones to do anything about it. They know exactly just how badly fractionalized our country has become and that it presents a serious threat to America’s survival as a great nation and people.
With regard to illegal immigration, the author suggests some solutions that just might get him tarred and feathered in certain circles. He calls for the, “deportation of the masses of illegal workers which infest our nation,” because it, “is time to end the harboring.” Additionally, there must be, “a cut off of all public services offered to illegal aliens. They are not entitled to welfare, education, and healthcare for the simple fact that they are not citizens.” Yeah, bravo and good luck with that, pal. It is not, however, merely the illegal immigrant problem that must be addressed and corrected if the Balkanization of America is to be reversed. We must finally after all these years get control of legal immigration into this nation as well. Before 1965 when the Fat Drunk and his cronies stood immigration policy on its head, we let people into our nation only if it was to our advantage. The floodgates were not wide open as they are today. We picked and chose carefully who we would allow in. If someone from somewhere else possessed skills and talents that we as a country required at any particular time then fine, come on in.
Everyone else, however, is excluded – no exceptions – no mas! This is the way it used to be and it worked. Immigration was viewed as a method to help America continue to prosper and succeed and if immigration didn’t help achieve that goal then It’s Katy, Bar the Damned Door! As it stands now, too many of the world’s dregs find their way to our shores and contribute virtually nothing that benefits the United States. We must not first and foremost do something from the point of view of the potential immigrant or immigrant group. This country must be able to benefit from any immigration policy we adopt and not the other way around. Too many of us, however, seem to have abandoned any semblance of common sense as well as a love of country and the concept of American Exceptionalism. Until this is reversed, The Balkanization process will continue unabated.
In fact, the more multicultural and diverse we become, the quicker and more drastic will the fractionalization of our nation take place. A piece entitled, “The Ghost of Bertold Brecht and the Balkanization of America(www.familysecuritymatters.org),” insists that, “nations and peoples that are too open to outside influences risk losing their character and the uniqueness of their language, culture, customs and traditions. The ties that once bound strain and then break, as neighbors no longer know one another, communities lose their cohesion and factionalism becomes the norm.” The author notes that there, “are disturbing signs that the local, regional and national cohesion that once characterized Americans have weakened significantly.” Anyone who doesn’t realize the veracity of this statement is obviously walking around with his head firmly planted up his ass or has been living in a remote mountain-top cabin for at least the past five decades. As a nation, I very much doubt that we can coherently survive with so many disparate groups and interests competing for the limited resources we have. This situation obviously creates animosity and antagonisms that show no signs of abating but, instead, are being purposely exacerbated by all those with real or imagined axes to grind. The friction between and among the “diverse” groups does not bode well for America’s stability, unity, and future.
Those of us who have reached my age can clearly remember when the vast majority of students in America left school with a solid, working knowledge of our nation’s history and the certainty that we lived in a very special place unlike any other on the planet. We were and still are proud to be Americans. We knew how our government worked and functioned and were more than just slightly familiar with the Declaration of Independence, our unique and magnificent Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. This was considered to be both normal and necessary. We had become informed citizens with a direct and palpable link and attachment to America’s proud past. Look around you, folks. It’s literally gone. From elementary school to high school to college and university, it’s a rare thing indeed to find anyone with this type of knowledge anymore. These topics are now rarely if ever taught let alone learned. A people with no real knowledge of their past cannot possibly be proud of their nation and therefore are not nearly as attached to it as were former generations. A nation with no memory is easily susceptible to fragmentation, division, and even disintegration. A nation populated with hyphenated Americans is simply not a unified, cohesive place with a sense of purpose and pride. This is what America has become and is a major element in the increased Balkanization taking place today.
An article entitled, “The Balkanization of America, Part lll: Alone Together – The Failure of Assimilation(www.familysecuritymatters.org),” points out that, “not so many decades ago, Americans possessed a strong sense of shared identity. The typical man or woman on the street knew – and could explain in simple terms – what it meant to be a citizen of the United States. He or she could summarize the rights common to all Americans, and also the responsibilities and duties of citizenship.” Furthermore, author Peter Farmer points out that, “Thanks to widespread primary and secondary school instruction in civics and American history, most adults had at least a fundamental knowledge of our founding documents and traditions. The well-informed citizen knew important passages from the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and from famous speeches and orations. That citizen was also well-versed in U.S. history and knew the structure and function of the various branches of government.” Yeah, try to find this at any level of our society today and your frustration level will be beyond measure. A nation whose citizens cannot perform these rudimentary tasks of citizenship is ripe for Balkanization and we see it getting worse in America with every passing year.
This familiarity with our country’s past and a knowledge of our civic institutions, however, was not only expected from those born and bred within our borders but extended to new-comers as well. It has always been a crucial aspect of the assimilation process. The piece continues that even though, “a given American may have been born in another country, or raised in a home where English was not spoken, he was expected to learn the language of his country – and usually did so without complaint. Likewise, his teachers expected him to work hard to master English as soon as possible. Knowing the language was rightly seen as a gateway to economic opportunity and upward social mobility.” The piece asserts that the, “naturalized American sought to reinvent himself by shedding his old ways and habits and of adopting the ones of his new land.” Most of these newcomers, “aspired to fully American.”
This, tragically, is just no longer the case. American born citizens are not taught as they should be, naturalized citizens learn just enough to pass an extremely dumbed down citizenship test, and the growing number of illegals simply couldn’t give a rat’s ass. No country with a population thus described can survive as a unified, cohesive nation. It just simply isn’t possible and will lead to ever increased and acrimonious Balkanization. In the past, this was not the case. Immigrants were expected to adopt and conform to American values, mores, and norms. Not to learn the language of your new country was virtually unheard of and considered the height of folly and foolishness. In fact, “Prior to the 1960’s, new arrivals to the United States were expected to assimilate as rapidly and as fully as possible.” The article continues that with, “startling success, the Marxist cultural left has been able to flip old customs and practices on their heads; where once, the failure to assimilate was seen as shameful, today it has become respectable not to assimilate and hip to retain the customs and habits of one’s non-American country of origin.” This is merely one more aspect of Balkanization.
In fact, it has gotten so bad that many, “public schools no longer require civics or American history as prerequisites to graduation, and those that do require them offer such watered-down and/or flawed content as to make the courses useless or even harmful.” To make matters even worse, colleges and universities, “have gutted core curricula in the humanities, purging them of the classics of western civilization in favor of post-modern works explicitly hostile to the traditional values of the United States specifically and western civilization generally.” Our country is under attack as are our values, traditions, and heritage. Those on the Left are determined to rip this nation apart and turn it into something it was never intended to be and they are winning. It has gotten to the point that implicit, “in the new paradigm is the assumption that anything connected with the old order is flawed as too white, too European, too male and too dated to be of any value.” The author of the piece points to the fact that, “where schools once flew the American flag, taught children the Pledge of Allegiance and required the learning of civics, today these things are derided as insufficiently inclusive or xenophobic – and are no longer done.”
This is Balkanization, folks, and it is destroying our country.
Much Luv Y’all and Have a Great Day!
The Fifth Horseman
(Dr. David M. Rich, Ph.D.)
