The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Keep On Truckin'

4.4.07 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 5)

Finally, he ends up with the idea of assimilation of Muslims into the West. If he knew anything about Muslim teachings, he would know that there is no assimilation in Islam. There is the "house of Islam" (Muslims) and the "house of war" (every one else). When will we in the West wake up and understand that Islam is a totalitarian ideology amazingly similar to the Nazi party. We don't want to assimilate with them any more than we would want to assimilate Nazis. The goal of Islam is to bring all the world into the "house of Islam." When that occurs, then there can be peace. All that would require is the overthrow of our government, the shredding of our constitution, and rule by Muslim clerics. By all means, lets hustle down that path.
-- Lanson Ross

I am all for assimilation of anyone that wishes to come to America to stay and become a citizen. I am also all for an increased sense of modesty then we see all around us today in America, and a higher standard of moral behaviors. But then again, I am very reluctant to see the government entering into almost every possible interpersonal life style decision. I tend to want to let you live the way you wish to, as long as you are not trying to get me to change my "American" ways to suit or agree with you.

I have a problem, however, with the article by Mr. Orlet. He addresses the problem of pushback from the Islamic folks that do not wish to assimilate in the West. He does NOT address the problem of pushback from the Hispanic folks that do not wish to assimilate in America. The ones that do not wish to learn English, that want to wave the Mexican flag during demonstrations demanding rights and benefits for ILLEGAL aliens that have no desire to become real Americans. They demand a full range of government services, and they demand that the services be delivered to them in their native language, Spanish. The demand their own Hispanic studies curriculums to major in at university. And the list goes on of their demands that Americans accommodate them, as opposed to them assimilating into our society.

I could re-write that last paragraph in almost every particular and simply replace Hispanic with African-American or Black. They are increasingly demanding segregation in schooling, housing, language, culture, laws, etc. I do have to give them credit, however. They are one culture that, while coming to what is now America 400 years ago or so, they did NOT do so voluntarily. For that reason I believe in cutting them considerable slack, just not as much slack as they are currently demanding. I can not, for the life of me understand why ESPN insists of force feeding me Ebonics from its anchors and analysts instead of them speaking English.

In sum, Mr. Orlet, I agree with your article as far as it went, but let us not ignore the other groups that are doing the same thing as the Islamists, and in most cases, have been doing it longer.
-- Ken Shreve
New Hampshire

JUDGE NOT -- NOT!
Re: Mark Tooley's Methodists for Jimmy Carter:

From my pagan vantage point on Mt. Olympus, all the fuss about presidential libraries is quite amusing. Mr. Tooley correctly notes that Jimmy Carter holds a naive view of foreign policy, but fails to mention the inherent naivete of Christianity. Perhaps he should reread the "Grand Inquisitor" section of The Brothers Karamazov. As far as I can tell, Carter is the only president in memory who actually makes an effort to live by Christian principles -- that's much harder to do than any conservative pundit would have you believe. It is therefore no accident that the patriarchs of The United Methodist Church, whether liberal or conservative, might look kindly upon him. President Bush's version of Christianity, on the other hand, stems from the perverted offshoot that began with John Calvin and reached its pinnacle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the robber barons, whose ranks included his great-grandfather, Samuel Prescott Bush. For the sake of argument, let's say there is a Heaven: George W. Bush isn't going to make the cut.
-- Abe Grossman
Pleasantville, New York

Maybe these Social Gospelists, as you call them -- including former President and former Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter -- would do well this week, which ends with Resurrection Sunday for Christians, to pause from working up such a lather over conservatives and aggravating or promoting yet another us-them division in America and in the body of Christ in America.

Should they take such break, perhaps then they could take a long, hard look at the cross of Jesus the Christ. If they can see that cross, perhaps then they'll re-examine the meaning of the Christ's life, death and resurrection in their lives, in their denominations and to the world. Or maybe they'll actually discover some or all of these things, afresh or for the first time.

Either way, that would be productive and more powerful than what seems to have snared their flesh, rather than liberated their spirit. Same goes for any others who call themselves Christian, writer included.
-- C. Kenna Amos
Princeton, West Virginia

IN SEALS' SHADOW
Re: William Tucker's In the Line of Fire:

Upon reading your article "In the Line of Fire" dated 26 March, I was happy to see that you recognized the contribution and commitment of the soldiers and sailors responsible for providing security and stability to Bayji and the surrounding towns. However, there is one fact in your article I feel compelled to correct. The Navy team you accompanied on the QRF patrol was not part of a SEAL platoon but members of the Navy's "other" special community, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). EOD techs have long served in the shadow of the SEALs and they do so without complaint as both communities often work together in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. You will never hear much about EOD techs because there are no movies or fiction telling their stories, but when it comes to IEDs or any other bomb squad type missions, they will be the only Navy boys on scene, not their more famous cousins. A retraction or correction to your article is not necessary over such a detail, but I feel that it is only fair to properly recognize and credit the men who risked their lives on that mission and every other day since they landed in Iraq.

Take care,
-- Lt. Jon T. Enberg

ILLEGAL SCREENS
Re: Merlin Perkins' letter (under "Immigration Types") in Reader Mail's No-Brainers:

I see that some people are still having problems grasping the concept of illegal immigration. Rather than go into a long winded dissertation on the social, ethical and legal ramifications of tolerating illegal immigration, allow me to present an analogy that should be easy to follow.

Letter to the Editor

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