Donald J. Trump and the Muslim Migration to America and Europe
Donald Trump said that thousands and thousands of Muslims celebrated following the murder of 3000 Americans and decimation of the twin towers on 9/11. Let's not forget that the Pentagon was attacked as well, on that day. As usual, Trump overstated the case. It was a mere dozen and dozens of Muslims celebrating, not thousands and thousands.
Rudy Giuliani, New York's mayor at the time, verified that there were celebrations by Muslims around various parts of New York, but mostly in New Jersey. In fact, according to Giuliani, the tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey was sealed off for fear that Jersey's sizable Muslim population might be involved.
Now, what am I to make of this?
Somewhere between Trump's hyperbole and Barack Obama's casual indifference to the genuine concern of Americans about a terrorist threat, lies the truth. The president attempts to allay our fears by saying that ISIS poses no industrial threat to the U.S., and, of course, he's right. ISIS are not the Soviets. Nor are they the Nazis, so there's that. But, neither the Soviets or the Nazis were terrorists, and there is a profound difference, at least, there is for real people living with the potential threat of bombings and be-headings. It took only a handful of people to kill more than 130 Parisians. A husband and a wife terrorist couple killed 13 and wounded another 21 in San Bernadino. If the bombs that both were carrying had been detonated, those numbers could have been much higher. So, industrial sized military threat or not, there are very good reasons for concern. The president's casual attitude regarding domestic terror relatively speaking, is indicative of just how disconnected he really is from the American people.
One gets the sense, that the president is well-aware that this social experiment with Muslim migration to America and Europe will come with substantial costs, some will certainly be deadly. Those costs will also be borne disproportionately by average Americans and Europeans. For the president, however, the risk is worth the reward.
What benefit is there for Americans? The glories of multiculturalism, that is the answer. In real terms, there is no tangible benefit. Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, recently admitted that Multiculturalism as a benign force was basically a myth. She also implied that integrating hundreds of thousands of Muslims into German culture world not be easy. Merkel, like Obama, is primarily a social scientist and academic turned politician, making theory the raison d'etre for both.
By comparison, Trump is essentially a pragmatist, as are all successful entrepreneurs. And, for him, the cost is simply too high, with too little payoff. In other words, the risk isn't worth the reward. To say this in today's PC climate, however, turns the pragmatic entrepreneur into a racist. And that, is the greatest indicator of just how corrupt our political discourse has become.
Given a choice between the two, I'll opt for the pragmatic blowhard before the disconnected ideologue any day, although, admittedly, it isn't much of a choice, and that, more than anything, is the real tragedy.
Mark Magula
Rudy Giuliani, New York's mayor at the time, verified that there were celebrations by Muslims around various parts of New York, but mostly in New Jersey. In fact, according to Giuliani, the tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey was sealed off for fear that Jersey's sizable Muslim population might be involved.
Now, what am I to make of this?
Somewhere between Trump's hyperbole and Barack Obama's casual indifference to the genuine concern of Americans about a terrorist threat, lies the truth. The president attempts to allay our fears by saying that ISIS poses no industrial threat to the U.S., and, of course, he's right. ISIS are not the Soviets. Nor are they the Nazis, so there's that. But, neither the Soviets or the Nazis were terrorists, and there is a profound difference, at least, there is for real people living with the potential threat of bombings and be-headings. It took only a handful of people to kill more than 130 Parisians. A husband and a wife terrorist couple killed 13 and wounded another 21 in San Bernadino. If the bombs that both were carrying had been detonated, those numbers could have been much higher. So, industrial sized military threat or not, there are very good reasons for concern. The president's casual attitude regarding domestic terror relatively speaking, is indicative of just how disconnected he really is from the American people.
One gets the sense, that the president is well-aware that this social experiment with Muslim migration to America and Europe will come with substantial costs, some will certainly be deadly. Those costs will also be borne disproportionately by average Americans and Europeans. For the president, however, the risk is worth the reward.
What benefit is there for Americans? The glories of multiculturalism, that is the answer. In real terms, there is no tangible benefit. Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, recently admitted that Multiculturalism as a benign force was basically a myth. She also implied that integrating hundreds of thousands of Muslims into German culture world not be easy. Merkel, like Obama, is primarily a social scientist and academic turned politician, making theory the raison d'etre for both.
By comparison, Trump is essentially a pragmatist, as are all successful entrepreneurs. And, for him, the cost is simply too high, with too little payoff. In other words, the risk isn't worth the reward. To say this in today's PC climate, however, turns the pragmatic entrepreneur into a racist. And that, is the greatest indicator of just how corrupt our political discourse has become.
Given a choice between the two, I'll opt for the pragmatic blowhard before the disconnected ideologue any day, although, admittedly, it isn't much of a choice, and that, more than anything, is the real tragedy.
Mark Magula
