Europe: At a crossroad in the face of upheaval
By Felicia (Fee) Benamon (11/14/05)
Prince Charles of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles recently graced the American public with their presence. Part of his visit included a stop at the White House to talk with President Bush about his concerns with how Americans view Islam...and other pressing issues. Before the visit, the Prince seemed inclined to want to discuss in-depth, his reasons why Americans should loosen up towards Islam.
Prince Charles, who is about to embark on his first official foreign tour since his marriage to the Duchess of Cornwall, wants Americans - including Mr Bush - to share his fondness for Islam. He has agreed to attend a seminar on religions at Georgetown University, Washington, on Thursday: the only event where he will not be accompanied by the Duchess.
"The seminar will look at how faith groups can alleviate social problems in their community," a royal aide said.
The Prince and Duchess will attend a lunch and dinner with President Bush and his wife, Laura, at the White House on Wednesday.
Prince Charles has done more than any other member of the Royal Family in history to understand Islam. He said in 1994 that when he became Supreme Governor of the Church of England, he would rather be "defender of faiths" than "defender of the faith".
However, as the Prince of Wales dined with President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, he made only a slight reference to the tolerance of other religions and inclusion.
And, Mr. President, I am also very conscious of the extraordinary social progress this country has achieved. On the day Rosa Parks is laid to rest, there is a powerful message, I think, here about tolerance and inclusion that has relevance for the whole international community.
Has the Prince failed to notice that America is very diverse, and welcomes with open arms, anyone who will come to our shores and contribute to society? We are a very open society. America, the "very friendly", often to our own detriment.
The effort to combat terrorism should be the number one issue on leaders' minds today. America at times, is too tolerant. We continue to let anyone come to this nation to study at our universities, we practice political correctness in hopes we don't offend others. But we also have a leader who knows that it is pertinent to fight back if we are to survive as a nation. And most of America backs him in this effort. And we mean business.
Recent rioting
France, Denmark, Germany, and Belgium now suffer battle scars as law enforcement across these countries deal with rioting, mostly on the part of Muslim youths. After 13 nights of unrest in France, the rioting has decreased, but the damage is done. If riots happened in the U.S., the offenders would be either shot or disabled in some way. After the mayhem of Hurricane Katrina, looters faced police officers who were ready to shoot. Then there was a situation involving looters and police engaged in a shootout on a bridge in New Orleans. The point...the police engaged the looters, they did not take a defensive position as the French police seem to have been doing.
The emergency steps the French government came up with in response to the riots...to impose a curfew. There were some arrests, but a further step would be to deport the perpetrators as soon as possible. No more appeasement. If one seeks to move to a new country, to make it their home, he/she must assimilate into the culture and contribute by means of employment. If there are specific grievances, they can be handled appropriately, but not by rioting and putting fellow immigrants who are working hard at risk, putting anyone's life in danger by your actions.
Thugs have disrupted communities in France...in over 300 towns and cities. Amid the chaos, rioters are viciously harming citizens...an innocent man dies after being beat to death and rioters set a disabled woman on fire. Since French law enforcement was slow in their effort to squash the violence, copycats in other countries are getting in on the act and causing problems in communities across Europe. The French failed to send a message right away, rioting will not be tolerated, and immediately take measures to let people know you are serious. When a society faces riots, action must be taken immediately to regain control. Simply arresting violators certainly won't do, they will just get back on the street again in the future and continue to cause problems. I say deport and adopt strict new immigration laws to curb the number of foreigners coming into the country.
This is one reason why the political correct "open-borders" approach will not work. Giving in, and trying to appease perpetrators who riot will only make things worse. People then think the answer to any problem is to simply stage a riot. It's like a spoiled brat trying to get attention. Real action must be a deterrent to potential riots in the future, innocent people do not have to die, property/businesses should not be affected because someone feels wronged by society.
Countries have to work together
Some say that France deserved what they are dealing with. After all, there was such a huge lack of support from the French for President Bush as he pushed for the War in Iraq, etc. But I would like to point out that if we leave France and our neighbors to deal with the situation alone, they will fall, and the evil will spread to other nations.
While England's Prince Charles speaks of more tolerance, I say he must realize what is at stake when touching on the subject of "inclusion". A country must not give up its rich heritage and way of life to satisfy a few. Free countries must not tolerate the efforts by a minority to impose their will on government by rioting, disrupting peaceful societies, and causing harm to their citizens. There are ways of making one's voice heard in a peaceful way.
In order to move forward to a positive future, Europe must gather her strength, and deal with threats in the name of Islam. I truly believe the time is long gone for practicing "leniency". America will stand behind Europe in this fight. So keep your identity Europe, remain determined to root out terrorism... in any form it may present itself.
Related Reading:
Prince Charles to plead Islam's cause to Bush:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/30/nchas30.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/10/30/ixportaltop.html
President welcomes Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051102-17.html
Denmark Muslim youth riots ignored while Paris is burning:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover110405.htm
Belgium: Cars ablaze in third night of arson attacks:
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_id=25172&name=Cars+ablaze+in+third+nightof+arson+attacks+in+Belgium
Paris rioters set woman afire as violence spreads:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,174533,00.html
(Printer friendly version) Email: Felicia (Fee) Benamon
