Fred Reed currently lives in Mexico <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico> as an American expatriate <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate>.
Reed notes that his columns are often provocative and calls himself "an equal-opportunity irritant". His output does not fit into conventional political classification; it includes attacks on feminism<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism> [4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Reed#cite_note-4> (generally the province of the right <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_politics>), George W. Bush <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush>[5]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Reed#cite_note-5> (generally the province of the left <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics>), Israel (though not of Jews in general), and evolution<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution> [6] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Reed#cite_note-6> (generally the province of religious fundamentalists<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_fundamentalist> ). On Tuesday, August 13, 2013 7:35:20 AM UTC-5, MJ wrote: > > > August 12, 2013 > *Respecting All Cultures > **By Allowing Them to Remain Separate > *Fred Reed > > Note: WHile I try to read all email and answer what I can, and find almost > all of it interesting and thoughtful, I get swamped. Nobody likes being > ignored, and I don't like doing it, but sometimes it isn't avoidable. > Apologies. > > Americans have prided themselves on America´s being a melting for so long > that few notice that it isn´t. Cultures that could melt did, and those that > couldn´t haven´t. > > We tend to regard categories such as African-American, European-American, > and Mexican-American as political, when in fact they designate > unassimilated and perhaps unassimilable cultural entities. The differences > are stark. The United States indeed is multicultural. > > Go to a purely European-American community in, say, Idaho or Iowa. You > will find clearly defined attitudes toward obedience to the law, the > raising of children, toward schooling and acceptable behavior in school, > toward democracy, self-reliance, constitutionality, civility, toward law > and its enforcement. These qualities are not associated by accident. They > closely resemble those found in Denmark and Finland. This is hardly > surprising, since European-Americans came from Europe. > > Now go to a purely African-American cultural enclave -- say, Detroit. Here > you will find very different attitudes toward study, behavior in schools, > law enforcement, and reliance on governmental charity. Again > unsurprisingly, society in Detroit resembles more closely that of Nigeria > than of Holland since its people came from Africa and have had no contact > with Europe or its values. > > Now go to a Latino-American enclave, maybe El Paso, or Berwyn in Chicago. > While Latino-American culture has much more in common with > European-American than does African-American culture, because of heavy > European influence during colonial times, attitudes toward schooling, > government, marriage, and so on are distinctly not European-American. > > Now, it is natural for cultures to be proud of their achievements and fond > of their customs. As a European-American, I note that we have a continuous > history from Agamemnon through Pericles, Archimedes, Xenophon through the > magnificent achievements of Rome in government, architecture, and law -- > Ulpian, Papinian -- through the Renaissance and its intellectual and > artistic preeminence, through the invention of mathematics, chemistry, > physics, electronics and so on. I grant that I am prejudicedone always is > regarding one´s own cultural home -- but I think ours is a pretty fair > record. > > The successes of my people have sprung from studiousness, a talent for > organization, obedience to law, and a certain adventurousness, both > economic and otherwise. (“Hell, let´s drop out of Harvard and start > Microsoft.”) > > These qualities I think are the core of European-American identity, but > they are not remotely unique to it. The Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and > Jews for example share these values, with which account for their obvious > successes. This underlying similarity of the deeper values explains why > there is comparatively little friction among these groups. > > Now, while I feel proud, justly so I believe, of the nature and > accomplishments of my own people, I do not believe I have a right to > instruct other cultures as to how they should live and behave -- provided > that their manner of living and behaving does not affect me. If a > Mexican-American community chooses to play loud *ranchera* late at night, > and put chili in milkshakes, I have neither the right nor a desire to > complain. Different cultures have differing tolerances for noise and eat > different things. So what? It is their business. > > Similarly, I do not believe that I have a right to tell African-Americans > how to live -- provided that their culture does not affect me. Being a > European-American, my suspicion is that people in Detroit would prosper by > studying more and shooting each other less, but this is a cultural > prejudice on my part. They can do as seems best to them. Nor do I pretend > to impose my European-American notions of proper schooling on Detroit. The > African-American community can teach its children anything it wants, or > nothing at all. I don´t care. It isn´t my business -- provided that it > doesn´t affect me. > > I don´t say this from hard-heartedness. If the schools of Detroit said, > “Fred, we got these lousy, worn-out stupid textbooks and not enough of > them. We need books with bigger words and smaller pictures. Can you help > us?” I would respond, “Sure, which books you want? They will be on a truck > by noon tomorrow. No charge.” > > But multiculturalism is, or should be, a street of two directions. If I > don´t want to impose my values on other cultures, neither do I want them to > impose their values on me and mine. And that is exactly what the federal > government is trying to do. It is trying to destroy my culture by melding > it with others. This Is not multiculturalism. > > For example, I believe in the correct use of language. My culture after > all produced Milton, Shakespeare, Dodgson, Galsworthy, and Tolkien. But > when African-Americans are put into a European-American school, they do not > learn English, but rather impose Ebonics, and every third word is “Fuck.” > This latter is said to be acceptable because it is part of their culture, > as it certainly is. It is not part of mine. > > As a European-American, I believe in advanced courses and strict grading. > African-Americans do not, and so standards have to be lowered for my > children. As a European-American, I believe that boys should wear their > pants somewhat higher than the level of their ankles, and that any student > who curses or pushes a teacher should be permanently expelled. > African-Americans do not share my European-American views. > > How other cultures view these matters is not my concern. Provided that > they do it in their own schools. > > Having said these things, I will of course be said to be a white > supremacist and a racist and all the other markers of very dim minds. > Hardly. For one thing, culture is not synonymous with race. I am perfectly > content to have people of other cultures and races in the schools of my > children, provided that they accept my European-American core values. For > another, I am not aware that Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese, > whom I very much admire, are white, though perhaps with global warming a > hotter sun has bleached them. I know many Mexicans who share the core > values of European-American culture, and do not regard myself as supreme > over them. > > Further, like almost all who are called white supremacists, I am in fact a > cultural left-aloneist. I do not want supremacy over any group, as that > would mean having them in custody, a responsibility of which I weary. > > At the end of the day, I have to wonder what purpose is served by forcing > cultures to mix. Nobody seems to want it. In Washington, DC, a city I know > well, neither cultures nor races mix. When blacks move into a neighborhood, > whites move out, and when whites move into DC, threatening to become a > voting majority, blacks become unhappy. When whites leave the city, they go > to white enclaves, notably Arlington, Fairfax, and Bethesda. Blacks go to > Prince George´s County, mostly black. > > Why not let them? Why not let people live with whom they choose, as they > choose, and raise their children as they choose? > > Nah. > > > http://www.fredoneverything.net/Multi.shtml > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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