Have you ever had the feeling that the governments around the "civilised" world are purposefully sabotaging the social situation in their corresponding countries with things like political correctness, national minority politics and faked tolerance? It's really a bit disturbing if you stop and think about it a little.
First of all, one doesn't need to be a genius to see that the old laws that are based on the idea that all of the given nation's citizens have something to lose that will prevent them from going bad doesn't any longer function. Why? Well, it's rather simple - now, any country out there has a layer of society that, essentially, has nothing to lose at all, or perceives the situation to be of that sort - there is little to gain through legal means any longer, and the only means available are, therefore, illegal. And as there is too little to lose to begin with, the question of "To be or not to be" becomes rather irrelevant - and then, it's time to form nationality-based gangs, fight, rob, burn down stores and cars, get involved in drug business et cetera. And as we know, the European laws as such are absolutely ridiculous in terms of formal punishment - it's nothing that the guys we're talking about would even worry about. Sure, a future manager that's a representative of the "title nation" might worry about a criminal record because that will kill his career, but what about those that haven't even got a hope for a career? What stops them? Kind words? Conversations with a psychologist? Small-time imprisonment? Being ruled to pay several thousand euros that they do not have, and will never pay since the government hasn't really got an effective means to make them pay?
But what is it that makes these gangs form at all? Why are the people desperate? Why can't they get a job? Well, this, too, is simple - the workings of the legislation, corporate machinery and various shortcomings of the system make it nearly impossible for a foreigner without recommendations to get a job that isn't about cleaning the streets - and let's admit it, not that many of us would love to go clean the streets. Three years' experience requirement is, of course, still understandable, if not somewhat stupid, really, it's the lack of proper language, social and legislative courses for foreigners that makes one's jaw drop. Seriously, what do people really think, that people come around and magically learn a new language? That they magically learn the ways of the local society? Traditions, culture, laws - all of which can be radically different from what the immigrants are used to, none of this is really on the curriculum unless one actively seeks such courses. Even the language courses themselves are fairly weak, often uninspired and ran by bored lecturers. The good courses, on the other hand, are paid, but why would an immigrant low on money to begin with toss out the money out of his pockets for it if there's no guarantees anyway?
Instead, the government pats the criminals on the head and exercises in political correctness - with the aid of awesome organisations like Amnesty International etc. What help is it to the source of the problem if a black is called an african american? What help is it if out of the two fighters on the street, the national minority representative will be punished far less severely than the "title nation" representative? None, unless the purpose is to anger the members of the title nationality. And what happens when everyone is angry?
I don't really even understand the whole thing about political correctness movement. People are supposed to be equal? Okay, equalize all the groups (race/gender/sexual preference/what have you) both in rights and responsibilities, stop screwing with language (OMG, he called me "Black", oppressing bastard!"), stop giving obvious priviledges to groups, create proper propaganda instead of "gangsta bro/ho cool bustas" rubbish, hell, I don't know, work for the money you people get from grants and donations, as crazy as that may sound. How bloody hard does that sound? Well, it does sound hard, but one has to start, else, things turn worse and worse by the year. But well... It'll never happen until the fires start. It's not what these people want. It's not their purpose. They're merely a distracting arm with a flashy foil that takes the audience's eyes away from the magician's manipulating hand.
One day, the pendulum will make the swing to the opposite direction. All the tolerance, patience, correctness, solidarity, all of it will crumble, and once more, extreme nationalism and other lovely features of an inflammated society will appear. We claim we've learned our lessons, we claim we've grown smarter. But that's just a lie, ain't it?
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Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Troopers
ReplyDeleteI've got to read that book.
ReplyDeleteBut, well, that story can actually be found in other, less literary works. In things like "causes for the rise of nationalism in Germany, Italy and Spain in the 1930ies". When the social/financial situation of the nation as a whole goes down the drain, the easiest short-term target are the most brazen members of the society - which, surprisingly, are often created by the society itself to begin with.
Rhetorics are as old as language itself and this doesn't surprise me one bit.
ReplyDeleteThere's one thing I don't understand, though: why do you assume the government wants foreigners in the country? From the government's point of view, them not being in their countries of origin is a civil anomaly, and they take up jobs that could belong to natives. So why would any government want to support foreigners?
Well, I won't talk for any government, but I'll take the example of Finland for one and break it down into a point-by-point list
ReplyDelete1)Due to various social reasons, the amount of people that are about to enter the retirement age is composing a huge percentage of the population of Finland.
2)Due to other social reasons, the amount of young, working Finns has seen a sharp decline; about 50% of the total country population will be composed of the retired people that need their pensions paid.
3)The appeal of high-wage executive jobs leaves the lack of the lower-wage "base" workers.
4)Indirectly - peer pressure from the EU regulations and groups like Amnesty International etc, which see to it that every country takes refugees and immigrants, and "oversees" their rights being unviolated.
Four of those are enough already, ain't they? Besides, foreigners come to the country anyway, it's a given. With the new EU members and general immigration, the foreigners' numbers are growing higher and higher - but yet, they're not made to fit into the society they're coming to
Neither educationally, nor through the means of "You're on our grounds now, you have to act like one of us or get the hell out", which, d00h, is not politically correct.
Selling drugs, though, is fine.
Heinlein wrote less about such in-your-face things as nationalism and unemployment, but tackled the topic rather from a psychological view. Rights and responsibilities; actions and consequences; motives and motivations; evolution on societal level. That's why your post reminded me of it that much.
ReplyDeleteAs for why a government would want immigration - a wise government, that is, which is why most of our governments are not aware, that they should want it for that cause - there is a simple reason: societal evolution. And it might be more than an accident, that I mention that term for the second time in one post.
The thing is, for millennia, adaptation was handled by evolution, and evolution was handled by mutations. And that is all good and fine, as long as you have a couple of centuries time for even the slightest effects to set in.
However, our today's world works much faster. The natural human resources of a certain closed group of people are bound to be exhausted rather fast. Now you need fresh blood. Why? Because you still need to adapt to a rapidly changing world, you need to bring up new "breeds" that will make your society evolve significantly within decades.
You cannot let mutation handle that, so you have to go with immigration.
"Sometimes, the hand of Fate must be forced", indeed.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Rem. In addition to the physical evolution, though, mixing of various cultures in a proper way can result is the evolution of the actual society in the mental and social aspect, not only from the perspective of the gene pool (Though I'm sure you meant that too :) ). We do have to keep on evolving in every aspect if we actually feel like surviving and thriving rather than dying out like them dinosaurs.
Sounds like the book is much better than what the film turned out to be, too. Now I definitely have to get it.
Yes, that's what I meant with "human resources". The physical development is rather negligible nowadays (in theory, of course, in praxis, handing out citizenships to athletes, just for the sake of having them play in your national team, on a silver plate is common practice). You do, in fact, not even want to import a thinker - you want to import a way of thinking. You want to cash in on exactly those effects, that arise during integration and merging together. The reality, of course, mostly looks very different, as you wrote.
ReplyDeleteThe film wasn't bad, it was, in fact, quite good in many respects. However, except for the character names, it has all but nothing to do with the book.
...in fact it cheats even on the character names. Dizzy Flores, the girl who always had a thing for Johnny Rico, finally made out with him and died heroically shortly thereafter, is in fact a guy, whose only mention is his plot-device death at the end of chapter 1.
ReplyDeleteMight sound like it doesn't really matter much, but, if you've read the book, you'll know that it does. And Rasczak wasn't his high-school teach...nah, I better stop here, just read it. I'm sure you'll like it.
Oh hey look, it only took 9 years.
ReplyDelete