How Widespread is this Point of View?

[Occhidiangela]

Hi,
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-Kylearan
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Outstanding post, thanks so much for your reply. :D

1. France has a maritime border that Germany lacks, and the whole Algerian diaspora that the German Turk gastarbeiter is dwarfed by. A Turk is not an Arab, regardless of the Islamic cultural commonality, they are two very different cultural bases.

3. Germany and what is German starts with language, and language is a critical currency in the cultural matters. Ask any so called "Hispanic." Check out the special relationship between the US and UK, and likewise Canada, Australia, NZ and US/UK versus all othe relationships those nations have.

4. Well made point on "if Germany has trouble defining culture, how can Europe on aggregate do so?" If you follow that train of thought, how does the EU expect to suecceed as anything other than a mechanistic economic structure, unless Europe reverts to its old cultural commonality, Christianity?

That is a dangerous question to ask a secular society, and a question that no one wants to reflect upon, it seems. Has Europe rally "out grown" Christianity? I don't know. Given the Catholic church's track record in Europe for 1700 years or so, I don't see a reversion to a Christian cultural standard/commonality any time soon in Europe, do you? The Orthodox folks are yet another remove from that "cultural" commonality.

So, what is European Culture?

Is culture best distilled at the national level, which makes Nationalism a good word, not a bad word, and thus the idea of "European Culture" in aggregate must be left to sit at the railway station to be picked up by another porter? If that is so, the EU becomes far more like the UN: a union that can only take you so far, and is not suited for "a government for the people, of the people, and by the people" of "Europe."

Which brings me to: what is the author really talking about?

1. The ages old problem of not caring for immigrants?

My Grandfather dealt with "No Irish Allowed in this Establishment" issues in New York for example). No matter who you are (see also the second class citizen status of the Philippino, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan guest workers in many Arab Nations) you may not be welcome if you don't or can't assimilate easily.

2. Europe for Caucasians, Arabs go home

I don't think it's that simple, as I get the feeling from his other writing that he'd happily accept any Arab or Turkish or Pakistani or Persian apostate: one who left Islam) and who would thus fit into a secular society rather easily.

Which now begs my other question: is European culture necessarily purely secular?

Occhi