America and the Paris march..........

 Yes, O or Kerry or Biden should have been there to hold hands with the fantastic 40 who did show up. But the US was a bit confused by it all. We are not quite sure what all the fuss is about. Besides, the short notice was not appreciated, especially now that it is American professional football playoff time. Most of us are glued to our telly and don't feel guilty at all over watching what has become our national sport.

 

Europe is currently engaged in a broad debate over immigration. To them, this means Muslim immigration. When we hear the term we think Mexican and Hispanic and ask 'so what's the big deal?'  Also, America is not a tribal society, but rather are the product of huge melting pots that result in, as Europe would have everyone believe, a largely cultureless and lo-bred society. European countries and the UK have the delightful baggage of ethnic, cultural and linguistic history to preserve and protect. Threats to this heritage are anathema to the integrity of their social structure.

 

Confusion is also precipitated over our having politicized the event in Paris. These days we seem to be politicizing just about everything. The political right pretends to be shocked by O's failure to properly address the Paris protocols. They think of O as more than half Muslim anyway and many are still convinced he is foreign born. It is difficult for ordinary Americans to understand why we should be called to rally to this particular event and not over other equally misogynistic acts of terror.

 

That the Charlie Hebdo slaughter has morphed into a debate on the status of French Jews adds another layer of complexity to the mix. Reading the European press over the past several months leads one to believe that anti-Semitism is very much on the rise again. We read of Jewish citizens forsaking their country for a better life elsewhere such as the UK, the USA or Israel. Given this context it is somewhat non sequitur for public rallies for Jewishness as evidenced by people carrying 'je suis juif' placards. Are we now to understand that anti-Semitism has seriously faded in France, or is the equation one of the French favoring Jews over Muslims?

 

Not coincidentally I am sure, are the rallies in Germany which condemn contemporary waves of immigration as both overly Islamic and insufficiently German. The rhetoric of German participants shown in the American media are uncomfortably reminiscent of attitudes prevailing in the Third Reich. They berate immigrants for not speaking German and not being in touch with the fatherland and its people and values.

 

It would  appear that Europe has just experienced a massive injection of anti-Muslim sentiments. The question Americans are asking is where will Europe go from here. Clearly, France and Germany have had enough and the UK is right behind them. Will this movement wane or will there be specific actions taken to curtail immigration into Europe from outside the EU. Or will the reaction to the Charlie Hebdo assault be another sizable brick added to an already overladen camel's back.