TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT FRANCE
TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT FRANCE—AND
PRAY THAT YOU ARE NOT LOOKING
AT YOUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE
by
Ken Eliasberg
France is in turmoil, very possibly experiencing the end of Western Civilization as they (and we) have come to know and enjoy it. Why? A combination of factors, not the least of which is; (1) the path of socialism that they have, more or less enthusiastically, embraced since the end of WWII; (2) the acceptance of multiculturism which has been a tremendous barrier to the absorption of a large number of North African immigrants, almost all of whom are unskilled and uneducated Muslims who have not been assimilated into the mainstream of France (and, partly in defense of France, who, because of their religious affiliation, frequently do not lend themselves to assimilation, i.e. they do not want to be absorbed by France; they want to absorb France); (3) all of this in a country that has refused to acknowledge its fall from grace as a world power; and (4) sooner or later, as a direct consequence of the foregoing, a declining enconomy This combination of refusing to accept the reality of its no longer being a world power, while, at the same time, opting for socialism as a means of governmental expression and multiculturism as the chosen method for trying to deal with diverse groups of immigrants is a lethal mixture—and, hopefully, a warning to us. Part of the problem is that, just as lefties in this country refuse to cop to even being liberal, let alone socialist, I understand that many of the French intellectual elite are similarly ill-disposed to acknowledge that they have a socialist form of government. Thus, if you won’t acknowledge a problem and your complicity in its creation, it is unlikely that there is any hope for finding a solution.
The amazing—and always interesting—facet of France’s choice is that it seems to confirm what Arnold Toynbee posited—“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.” And Toynbee, like knowledgeable others, makes it clear that this is not a sudden happening; there are any number of clear warning signs and signals. His position was both simple and obvious; he observed “that when a civilization responds to challenges, it grows. When it fails to respond to a challenge, it enters a period of decline.” There’s no magic here; not only have most declines evinced tell tale signs well in advance of their complete collapse, clear warnings are fairly typical. And, of course, post mortems are common, see, e.g. John Kennedy’s highly touted effort, “Why England Slept.” Well, Europe has apparently gone well beyond falling asleep; in France’s case it has lapsed into a coma. The point here is not to berate France, but to sound a clarion call for the U.S. Let us not be heard to say that it cannot happen here. I’ve got news for you folks, it’s already happening here!! Back to France “
The four factors cited above as the cause for France’s dilemna are clearly related. That is, the threat of a declining economy is a function of France’s diminished world status. She no longer has colonies whose resources she can exploit and add to her balance sheet. When you add socialism to France’s picture, her prospects worsen considerably, i.e. the entitlement mentality incorporated in a socialistic enterprise calls on you to make more available to your citizenry - this at the very time when your wherewithal to do so is diminished. Then, when you add the final piece, multiculturism, to your declining fortunes, your fate is sealed. Multiculturism is really a mechanism for making certain that your immigrants do not assimilate. This latter situation was made worse in France’s case because most of her immigrants were uneducated, impoverished muslims who, for the most part, had no real desire to compromise their culture in any way, no matter how slight, to be absorbed into the larger French culture. As a consequence, they have become a cancer on the body of France. Let’s take a look at these factors and see how they play out “
1.France’s Fall From Grace.- France had actually ceased to be a real power some time before WWII; her speedy (and embarrassing) collapse in that debacle amounted to little more than an exclamation point at the end of a sentence of decline. She was given a seat on the Security Council only in deference to Charles DeGaulle who, while playing a very minor role in the allies victory in Europe, was, nonetheless, given his props by virtue of being a heroic figure to the French (and the French have always needed a hero to worship and adore - as an aside, I was in Paris in1958 when DeGaulle was brought back to power, and the city was euphoric—pandemonium reigned). Thereafter, little by little, her colonies began to slip away—some violently, e.g. Algeria and Vietnam (another colossal French military embarrassment), and some not so violently, e.g. Morocco. With their departure, France’s claim to world power status became more and more strained—pretense is no substitute for power and is quickly exposed. Had France dealt with her declining fortunes in a more realistic manner, it is possible that her fall might have been somewhat cushioned. Also, the pretense made it all the more difficult to deal with the other serious problems that were gnawing away at her vital organs.