My Experience Working With Iranians

Unless you've done a bit of traveling, you may not have a good grasp of the nuances of other cultures. However, one of the great things about our country, being the melting pot of the world that it is and welcoming immigrants who wish to become Americans, we really don't need to travel the world.

The world comes to us.

We have a lot to offer: freedom and opportunity for a better life are certainly at the top of that list.

Accordingly, many of us have worked with folks who are from somewhere else. In my case, I worked with a group of college students from Iran in the 1970's in a restaurant back home in Alabama.

It was an chance to see America through the eyes of guys from half a world away. It was, shall I say, enlightening.

This was around the time of the Shah of Iran's death, after he had been deposed. While some of the details are a bit foggy, my overall impression of their reaction to American culture remains strong. What I do remember was the contempt they showed towards our culture and mores. It was palpable. Out of a group of eight or so, I was only able to make friends with one student whose name was, appropriately, Mohammed. He developed a fondness for our music and we had several conversations over beers while the store jukebox played in the background after we had closed the store.

He was the only one. The rest kept their distance, and Mohammed was quiet condemned by them. It wasn't overt, but I could tell.

The other guys thought nothing of clocking an absent friend in to work when he wasn't there. Insubordination was a common problem, along with difficulty following company procedure.

The real kicker came when several of them flew from North Alabama to Los Angeles to take part in protests on American soil. It was then that I realized something that would stick with me to this day: some people just plain don't like us. I felt betrayed. How could someone from a foreign country come over here and protest on my land? Where is your respect?

My young eyes were opened. I gained some insight into their cultural attitudes in the time we spent working together. Their actions indicated that they were happy to take advantage of the freedoms we offered in a very condescending way. They clearly looked down upon us while making money and receiving a good education, neither of which were available to them in their home country.

Now don't get the idea that I think my experience would or should apply to everyone from that part of the world. Indeed, many come here in order to escape the brutal oppression that befalls those who are bold enough to think for themselves and question their culture. We've all seen reports of the stonings, imprisonments and executions of those who dare to challenge their government's iron-fisted sharia rule.

Needless to say, my experience with multiculturalism left a lasting impression.

Not a good one.

It did make me realize just how fortunate I am to be American.

I truly love this land.

Now Your Child's PB & J Sammich is RAAACCIISSTT!!

Just when you thought it was safe to feed your kids, along come yet another leftarded moonbat to find racism in a sandwich. Ace has this post up about a Portland, OR principal who actually used peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a "lesson" about racism, or something.

You won't believe the stoopid...

Verenice Gutierrez picks up on the subtle language of racism every day.

Last Wednesday, the first day of the school year for staff, for example, the first item of business for teachers at Scott School was to have a Courageous Conversation — to examine a news article and discuss the “white privilege” it conveys.

Through intensive staff trainings, frequent staff meetings, classroom observations and other initiatives, the premise is that if educators can understand their own “white privilege,” then they can change their teaching practices to boost minority students’ performance.

 

Hey, I have an idea. Why don't the parents show up at a few school board meetings and tell them to stop this crap and start teaching?

Just sayin'...

Mitt - Well, DUH! Culture Does Matter

It's amazing to me how our leftist media has attempted to portray Mitt Romney's trip to England, Poland and Israel as "filled with gaffes." Not only did Mitt speak the truth, he was roundly criticized for it.

Ace, through his new production company, Serf's Up Records, has conveniently set this to music.



He said that the London Olympics had problems. Guess what? They do.

Then he said that Palestinian culture was largely to blame for their poverty. Guess what? It is.

This simple fact of middle Eastern life is a good example of the Principle of Cause and Effect. Passion, especially negative passion, is never productive, nor conducive to anything good.

In a remarkable departure from the campaign of John McCain, whose refusal to state simple truths about Barack Obama got us into the mess we're currently in, Mitt Romney defends his remarks in this short post over at The Corner at NRO, Culture Does Matter.

This quote should be tattooed backwards on the forehead of each and every presstitute who yelled at Mitt about his "gaffes" at Poland's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, so they'll see it every day. After a few years, they just might learn something...

But what exactly accounts for prosperity if not culture? In the case of the United States, it is a particular kind of culture that has made us the greatest economic power in the history of the earth. Many significant features come to mind: our work ethic, our appreciation for education, our willingness to take risks, our commitment to honor and oath, our family orientation, our devotion to a purpose greater than ourselves, our patriotism. But one feature of our culture that propels the American economy stands out above all others: freedom. The American economy is fueled by freedom. Free people and their free enterprises are what drive our economic vitality.

There's another reason Mitt's words attracted the Ire of the Presstitutes (besides the truthfulness of them): It utterly destroys the modern socialist concept that all cultures are equal and equally good.

Is this the death of Multiculturalism? If it isn't, it sure should be. Maybe, with a gentle nudge, we can kill this distortion of reality that's used to silence dissent against the socialist agenda.

I find it rather strange that American culture could possibly be seen as equal to Palestinian culture. But Our Betters are constantly pushing this false idea daily in classrooms around the country, rendering any objective discussion about world cultures nearly impossible. How can anyone compare or contrast cultures without taking an honest look at them?

It's past time for us to question conventional "leftist thinking." The term itself is an oxymoron as there's very little in the way of thought inside the mind of a leftist. We have a right to free speech, which Political Correctness is so politely trying to deny us.

It's time to consider PC and Multiculturalism to be the fad it is, and discard it just as we did the polyester suits of the disco era.

Deflating the Big Lie of Multiculturalism

We live in the Era of Big Lies. Future anthropologists will doubtless call this the Fallacious Period and will wonder how we survived as a species when so many seemingly well educated people were so dumb as to believe in the many misconceptions, conspiracy theories and downright stupid things that pass for an informed opinion these days.

There seems to be no end to what we’ll believe: the Earth is flat, we never landed on the moon, Obama’s actually doing a good job. The depth and breadth of stupid boggles the mind.

Chief among these is the myth of Global Climate Change. This radical idea has managed to gain some sort of intellectual traction despite ample evidence that the planet’s climate has the ability to (and proven history of) changing on its own without any influence from mankind. It’s been used as an excuse to drastically reduce our standard of living and impose upon us a totalitarian government peopled by radical environmentalists who think that mankind is a virus on Earth. It’s responsible for countless laws, rules and regulations that are against our best interests but are done “for our own good.” The billions of dollars that this movement has wasted by preventing the creation of wealth have robbed us of the means with which to reverse the very trend its proponents claim is happening. How can we clean up the environment if there’s no money available to do so?

Social regression, thy name is environmentalism.

As destructive as the climate changers have been, there’s another Big Lie that’s even more damaging, that of Multiculturalism. This concept posits that all the cultures of the world are equal, and they all should be accorded equal respect. Except Western civilization, of course.

Clearly, logic, real-world results, and the truth have no place in this cultural theory. And finally, someone stood up to put the lie to the Big Lie of Multiculturalism. One William Levinson over at the American Thinker blog has an excellent post entitled, Dear 'World Community': You Are Not Our Equals. Read it all.

Thank you, Mr. Levinson, for saying what needs to be said. The concept of globalism is another one of those ideas that sounds great on paper, but fails spectacularly when put into practice.

Part and parcel of this grand social experiment is the notion of diversity. Different cultures are to be welcomed and celebrated, and varying opinions are to be included in the grand parade of humanity. The world will be oh-so-much more enlightened with the inclusion of differing points of view. All ideas are valid, since the world is no longer stifled by the outdated concept of right and wrong. Diversity is the key to mankind’s happiness. Everybody everywhere is wonderful, and interesting and exciting! There’s no need to prove yourself, just be alive. Anything you believe is just hunky-dory.

If you feel the need to hurl, go ahead. I’ll wait.

This social theory is also responsible for a massive amount of waste of human capital, as the notion that all must be included in every activity based solely upon appearances has replaced the former standard of individual merit. No longer are you treated as an individual and judged on your actual abilities. No, today, you’re merely another brick in the cultural wall, indistinguishable from anyone else, regardless of your real contribution to the betterment of mankind.

Not quite through hurling? I understand. I’m patient like that.

While all the worlds’ cultures are equal, some are more equal than others. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, Western culture is always portrayed as something less than other cultures. Never mind that Western innovation, borne of freedom (the West’s basic foundation), is responsible for the greatest advance in the human condition in history. No other culture has given the world so much. No other culture has been criticized as much.

Pick a category; Westerners are at the top if they don’t dominate it outright. Mr. Levinson’s post cites only a few stats, but they are telling. In pointing out the stark contrast between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Mr. Levinson notes,

Israel is, like Japan, relatively poor in natural resources. It was however settled by primarily European refugees and emigrants who brought with them Euro-American values that are intolerable to their militant Islamic neighbors. As reported by the International Monetary Fund, Israel's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $26.7 thousand in 2010. Iran's is $4.7 thousand, so one oil-poor infidel is on average more than five times as productive as an oil-rich Iranian Shiite. The per-capita GDPs of Syria and Egypt are less than $3 thousand, and even that of oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia is $17 thousand.

Hmm, that’s interesting. It sounds like some Middle Eastern countries are just like the students who constantly trash the class valedictorian. Clearly, they aren’t as bright: if they were, they’d be competing for the honor themselves. Instead of realizing that they had some serious studying to do, they prefer to denigrate someone who is clearly their superior, as a way of regaining the status they know they don’t have.

Funny how this aspect is overlooked by the diversity-at-any-cost crowd. If you’re smarter that everyone else, that’s bad. I coulda swore that all people of varying abilities were accepted: isn’t that what the word means? If you’re as dumb as everyone else is (and happen to think the same way, too), then welcome to the Diversity Club. This weeks’ meeting will be held on Saturday, since one day is just the same as all the others. It’ll also be held at 3:00 am, since one particular hour is just the same as any other. There’s no president, since everyone’s all equal and stuff. There are no awards to be given, since that wouldn't be fair.

Everybody’s all great and wonderful, which means that nobody really is.

All this would be relatively harmless if the proponents of diversity and multiculturalism weren’t trying to impose their beliefs on us. It’s worth noting that there’s a movement in some circles to ignore American law in our courts and to include decisions that rest upon international law instead. Aside from being extremely unconstitutional, it’s also just a plain bad idea. I certainly don’t wish sharia law to be allowed or even recognized by our court system. If anyone wants to live under it, there are many countries in the world to which they can relocate. American law is the one and only consideration in an American court.

Having studied this curious cultural theory for a while and seen it in action, it’s high time this experiment was concluded.

It has failed.

The Fort Hood Massacre: The end of Multiculturalism?

Yesterday’s tragic massacre at Ft. Hood, Texas is a clear-cut case of home-grown terrorism, despite what the MSM will tell you. The shooter was a devout Muslim who shouted “Allah Akbar” as he opened fire. The reports of him being harassed because of his ideology are false. As anyone in the Army will tell you, you don’t harass a superior officer (he held the rank of Major). Expect strained explanations that dance around the truth and will portray the shooter as the victim.

There may be a positive side to this. We could very well see the beginning of the end of multiculturalism. If there ever was a reason to dismiss this absurd idea that all beliefs are equal, yesterdays' tragedy would be it. If we, as a nation, continue to adhere to this insane idea, there will only be more senseless bloodshed at the hands of jihadists.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families at Ft. Hood. May God preserve you, keep you safe, and give you strength to recover from this senseless tragedy.