Michael Medved and Pork

Hey folks after chewing down on a pork shoulder, and watching some Ferris Bueller’s Day off I now feel up to digesting what was on the Michael Medved show today. Michael had a provocative question, but as he is often want to do he dropped the ball in an effort to kiss up to Christians ( no offense to my Jesus loving friends out there). The Question was “Why do Muslims feel more like outsiders in the society of Europe, where multiculturalism is King then they do in Cowboy McDonald’s land America?

Michael was right in a very important sense. America’s sense of natural religiousness is what makes it work for Muslims, just not the religion Michael was shilling for. You see America is very different then any other country out there. People die trying to get here to become Americans. People break all manner of laws to come here to be Americans. While the United States is a nation, its nationality is more like a religious experience.

From the welfare state of Europe where being on the dole for 5 years or more after getting out of college is the norm, to the heart of 3rd world poverty everyone around the world knows if they can get to America they can have things better. Now America isn’t going to be a silver bullet for them, but they know America won’t be as restrictive as their totalitarian nation, and they will be allowed to keep the fruits of their labor unlike much of Europe. No King or government will be their master, they will master a government. Doesn’t that sound like a faith to you?

I am no more American then the guy who just took his oath this week. But if I were to go to Canada, I would not meld in and be “Canadian” heck even Canadians have a hard time figuring out what they are. The same thing with; Brunei, or Sweden, or any of hundreds of other countries I could go to and be a citizen, but not be one of them. But they can come here and become Americans.

Not only do we have this identity founded on a doctrine of faith, it is an identity that doesn’t exclude anything. You can make some dish out of curry and burrito’s at your fourth of July festivities and be no less an American then your neighbor who serves hotdogs and hamburgers. While in the UK you find ethnic food in ethnic slums as part of their multicultural sense of self.

And part of that faith of America is a belief in some higher power, but not necessarily in the way of traditional faith. Throughout the history of this great nation more then one man has prayed to God like Conan prayed to Crom telling God that if he doesn’t help him out then to **** with him. That is something fundamental to America, because if you don’t see God as some one important enough to tell off, then you don’t see the value in God. In the multicultural world of Europe the rules are indeed arbitrary because no one views them as built on anything of serious importance.

So we have a Nation that welcomes anyone who wants to work hard, and earn a better life for themselves and their children. A nation of people who take in the best of everything the world has to offer. And a nation that views religious belief and the debate of religious ideas as important to being a person of faith. This is part of why the Muslims find themselves better fit as Americans then as Europeans. We welcome them as a full part of our communities… even if from time to time we look at them suspiciously.

As Carlos Mencia says “Achmed it’s your turn” while we aren’t a nation that’s been kind to our racial and ethnic minorities, we get better at it. We work at it and try not to be so bigoted and small minded. In Europe nothing has value so you don’t have to look out at people who would ever thing to tell you that you’re full of donkey flop. Which society do you respect more? The Society which becomes a balkanized mess where everyone is tolerant that no one believes in anything… or a society of people that are often rude and often offensive but we don’t mean to be and we try to do better next time.