[Mb-civic] Europe's burning issue of assimilation - Jason Lim - Boston Globe Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

Europe's burning issue of assimilation

By Jason Lim  |  November 10, 2005

JUST AS with the saga of British-born Pakistani youths who killed 
themselves and 52 others in a series of bombings on London's subway and 
bus in July, the Paris riots will once again trigger a wide lamenting 
over the failure of mainstream European society in assimilating these 
mostly Muslim and African youths into the general society, blaming 
everything from misguided government policy to lack of intercultural 
dialogue.

Despite the countless variety of causes that are proposed, all seem to 
agree on one inescapable fact: Muslim youths in Europe are not 
''culturally assimilated," and that social malfunction directly led to 
these violent events. Therefore, these represent a colossal breakdown in 
socioeconomic integration and a significant failure of mainstream 
European society in general.

However, before the sheer volume of social psychobabble convinces us of 
the supposed unworthiness of secular European society, allow me to share 
a few insights drawn from my experience as the son of a lifetime 
Korean-American dry cleaner in Yonkers, a blue-collar suburb of New York 
City.

The United States is often held up as the model ''melting pot," with 
countless ethnicities living in harmony side by side, interacting 
peacefully every day. The stereotype is true to a certain extent. 
However, when you look beneath the surface, you will see that most 
minorities have built separate ethnic enclaves that are reproductions of 
their respective homelands, often catering exclusively to their own 
groups and beholden to their traditional prejudices and cultural chauvinism.

Just because we are interacting economically with other ethnic groups 
does not mean that America is just one big family living in perfect 
harmony. Superficial tolerance and interactions among different groups 
do not translate into sociocultural integration. In fact, the opposite 
may be true. Familiarity breeds contempt, and that contempt has the 
scary potential to ignite more destruction than that currently wrought 
by the French youths, turning this happy melting pot into one boiling 
with blood.

So, how do we keep everything together in America despite these 
underlying dynamics? Why do the Chinese, Koreans, Dominicans, Mexicans, 
Irish, Italians, blacks, and countless other ethnic minorities overcome 
their respective cultural prejudices and constitute constructive parts 
of a cohesive society?

Simple. Despite our cultural differences, we all buy into the noble 
principle enshrined in the following immortal words: ''We hold these 
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are 
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among 
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This is the glue 
that binds us all together. This is the overriding common belief that 
allows us to overcome our significant cultural differences and call 
ourselves Americans.

This is successful assimilation. Successful assimilation means that you 
share that one greater, overriding belief that overcomes the inevitable 
friction that comes from looking and thinking differently from one 
another. Therefore, successful assimilation requires a central core 
belief that can unite people in spite of their ingrained cultural 
differences. Without such a center, what are you being assimilated into?

Dry cleaning strangers' dirty laundry is not an uplifting work. 
Replacing broken zippers is not a glamorous profession. But my parents 
are satisfied because they bought into the core beliefs that them 
allowed the opportunity to self-determine their lives within their means.

Therefore, the London bombings and Paris riots do not represent any 
general failure in secular European society. In fact, if at all, these 
events represent a failure to teach these misguided children the basic 
nobility of the liberal societies they were born into. Because people 
were so sensitive to their right to maintain their own cultural and 
traditional identity, perhaps they were never given a chance to truly 
become Europeans.

And although introspection is needed after such tragedies, we should not 
search our collective soul just to seek out apologetic excuses for 
imaginary failures. Let us delve into our soul to rediscover and 
reaffirm the shared liberal spirit that underlies the great democracies 
of the world.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/11/10/europes_burning_issue_of_assimilation/
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