The sky is falling
Posted on March 10, 2004 @ 12:05 am
Prominent political scientist Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations gained quite a bit of mainstream exposure following the events of 9/11 — which isn’t all that shocking considering the book’s dire predictions of civilizationalwars over cultural differences replacing traditional disputes over resources and ideologies in the post-Cold War era. Personally, I wasn’t all that impressed by Huntington’s research when I first read it in 1996. It relied on broad cultural generalizations and a specious use of history to make its arguments then, and in my opinion, 9/11 did nothing to change that.
Nevertheless, Huntington is back at it. What’s the latest threat to American culture as we know it? Well, the Islamic and Confucian civilizations should be happy to know that Huntington has let them off the hook this time around. No, he’s far more worried about Hispanic immigrants these days — and Mexican immigrants, in particular. Here’s an excerpt from “The Hispanic Challenge” (published in the current issue of Foreign Policy):
Continuation of this large [Hispanic] immigration (without improved assimilation) could divide the United States into a country of two languages and two cultures. A few stable, prosperous democracies — such as Canada and Belgium — fit this pattern…. The transformation of the United States into a country like these would not necessarily be the end of the world; it would, however, be the end of the America we have known for more than three centuries. Americans should not let that change happen unless they are convinced that this new nation would be a better one.Thankfully, the Washington Post’s magazine columnist, of all people, has saved me the trouble of critiquing Huntington’s latest Chicken Little story.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under In the News |
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i think mexico should become a large principality of the US, independent in certain respects but under federal jurisdiction. that would end all the BS about immigration and jobs going to mexico, and at the same time would allow us to completely control our own borders. mexico isn’t the best place to live, but this is greatly due to the corruption deep-seated in the mexican justice system.