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View Full Version : Merkel Turning Against 'Multiculturalism?'



Kathianne
12-17-2015, 08:23 PM
Some reasons that aren't being clarified?

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-15/germany-s-merkel-aced-her-most-important-speech


Merkel Aced Her Most Important Speech
18 <time class="timestamp" datetime="2015-12-15T13:53:42.340Z" itemprop="datePublished" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.00392157) 1px 1px 1px; font-family: SupriaSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; position: relative; letter-spacing: 0.1em; line-height: 25px; color: rgb(170, 170, 182); text-transform: uppercase; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px;">DEC 15, 2015 8:53 AM EST</time>By Leonid Bershidsky (http://www.bloombergview.com/contributors/leonid-bershidsky)


It should have been her Nobel lecture, but in practical terms, about 1,000 members of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) were probably a better audience for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's speech (https://youtu.be/tdnJXpBUw2Q) on Monday. And Merkel is nothing if not practical.



Before she appeared at the annual party conference in Karlsruhe, there was the usual talk of rifts and internal tensions because of Merkel's stance on refugees. When she was done, she had to stop a nine-minute standing ovation by saying, "We still have work to do today." The weekly Der Spiegel called (http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/cdu-parteitag-angela-merkels-erben-laufen-sich-warm-a-1066907.html) this the most important speech of her career. That may be an exaggeration, but Merkel, who is not eloquent by nature or even by training despite a political career that now includes 10 years as chancellor, handled it as if she had a lot to prove.

"What will change in Germany?" she wondered with them. "Do we even want change? What effect will other cultures have on us? Will this still be the Germany that we know?" There are just two ways to handle these doubts, Merkel said: Seize the chance to find out, or become closed to the world -- an impossibility in the 21st century.


She could have left it at that but, with some influential party members calling for a cap on the number of refugees, Merkel had to show she aimed to achieve consensus, not overrule her opposition. "We want to significantly reduce the number of refugees," she said, arguing this would be for the good of Germany, given the difficulty of integrating so many people, and for the refugees themselves.


And, knowing full well she'd be quoted on it for years, she repeated her rejection of "Multikulti," a derogatory term for multiculturalism. "Whoever seeks refuge with us, must respect our laws and traditions and he must learn German," Merkel said. "Multikulti leads to parallel societies, and Multikulti thus means living a lie." Merkel's message to the newcomers is that those who fail to integrate won't be tolerated. This is perhaps a grim promise of future clashes and deportations, but it's also the inevitable flip side of "We can manage it."

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Perianne
12-17-2015, 08:38 PM
I grew up with multiculturalism. While it may be beneficial in some respects, it must be administered like medicine, that is, with care and proper dosing.

Kathianne
12-17-2015, 08:43 PM
I grew up with multiculturalism. While it may be beneficial in some respects, it must be administered like medicine, that is, with care and proper dosing.

I've always believed that our traditional salad bowl was a better way, still do. Immigrants have never had to give up their traditions or language of home, in their homes. To assimilate though, language and knowledge of American traditions-history and celebrations are needed. IF coming here for something better, then get with the plan. Open a Swahili restaurant or store, but be able to converse with the majority.

The problem is when the majority become so complacent as to think that things won't change. Change is inevitable.