The Tragedy of Ethnocentrism

Today I got an email from a friend who railed against multi-culturism.  It seems in Canada Moslems are complaining that required P.E. classes infringe on their religious right.  The article claimed that the "political correctness" of having empathy for that position and seeking to accomodate that must "finally" end.

I see this position all the time.  The railing at "political correctness" that sees cultural diversity as somehow un American, unpatriotic and "we are simply sick and tired of it" .  The article resorted to the cliche, "If they don't like Canada's Laws then let them leave".

Today, in the United States, we see an anti-immigration movement that attacks cultural differences, language differences, and brands many law abiding citizens or non-citizens as dangers or threats to "America".

So, I asked my friend what Canada and the United States had done to those cultures that were already here when Europeans and other "immigrants" came into conflict over land?  You know, that pesky genocide thing!

What happened?  You all KNOW what happened.  The "dominant" culture destroyed the other cultures in short order.  This was done through religious "order" through direct military action and genocide.

Today, we see the "Redskins" as the mascot of a NFL team in the United States' Capitol.

And if you say anything, you are attacked as being overly "politically correct".

I can and probably should list the literally thousands of etnocentric destruction of culture that western civilization has manifested on millions of people over the past five hundred years.  I could mention the World Wars, the genocide that western culture has perpetrated on the world.

But we still get the "wounded" statements that "political correctness" is "endangering" our way of life.

I have a news flash for you, at the present rate WE are endangering our way of life more every day than ANY immigrant or different cultural group.

Western Civilization as a culture is the dominant culture in the world.  China and India are trying full time to be more western.  And, they are fouling the environment, possess nuclear weapons, and spend more money on "defense" than on their chilrens' welfare.

The United States, the present leader of western civilization as a culture, poisons the air, burns fossil fuels as fast as we can, and spends more money on "defense" (war) than any other country on earth.

And if the day comes when the button is pushed, and the world is plunged into the dark ages of hell, what culture is supreme then?