The Creeping Balkanization Of America

We have heard how the French get irate if, while visiting one of their country’s restaurants, you dare to order a meal in English – this is so, right or wrong, because the French is implying that visitors should respect their language/culture. In America, we are not so uptight, yet there is merit in respecting certain seasoned and ingrained institutions that are Americana. This respect for America is perversely deemed in many quarters as an affront against immigrants, which has resulted in a creeping, ominous Balkanization of America – and, I am afraid we are heading the way of the Balkans. The immigrant of yesteryears, included yours truly, tried his or her best to assimilate into the existing culture, but today, in most quarters, this is frown upon and some perverted belief in placing one’s ethnic group heritage above important aspects of the American way of life is growing and it is rather troubling.

We have seen some immigrants insisting in flying their respective flags above that of Old Glory… and gratingly so during the Fourth of July holidays. We have also seen some immigrants insist that they speak their native language in schools or insist that personnel who are employed at social infrastructures, which are in place to assist said immigrants, speak their languages. One dare not bring up the fact that this travesty of insisting that the immigrants dictate to the host country how to accommodate them to have access to our largesse… would not be tolerated in the countries whence many of these immigrants came from. Pick up your telephone or if you frequent a bank machine, you will see what I am speaking about – you might say that it makes good business sense to cater to all ethnic groups, but respect for the institutions immigrants met in place when they came here should take precedence.

The tail is wagging the proverbial dog and in major enclaves, immigrants are dictating and changing American established ways of life. I am not saying that we are close to the situation we had in the Balkans with the internecine blood letting among the various ethnic groups, but listen to our discourse… and you’ll realize that we are getting there. No one is saying that you must lose your ethnicity completely; as a matter of fact, America welcomes your keeping many aspects of ethnic heritages… provided that they cause no cancerous effects. It is why we have so many ethnic parades right here in New York.

Take a look at what is happening in England; see what is happening in Minnesota; and remember the images we saw during the heat of the debate on the Arizona immigration law. I must convey this apt story to underscore the theme discussed above. I once saw in New York City, during the Christmas season, in the public square supposedly, representations of the Christmas Season: there was a Crescent Moon and a Menorah… but the baby Jesus was excluded.