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.

Small Consolation - German and British Embassies Under Attack

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that the whole Middle East just doesn't like the West at all.

Not one bit.

This should come as a surprise to exactly no one.

Know Thy Enemy - A Brief History of the Muslim Brotherhood

As I mentioned the other day, the Muslim Brotherhood is not our friend. In fact, if they had their way, we'd be an islamic nation, complete with all the non-freedoms that other islamic nations, um, don't have. Anyway, you get the picture.

Doug Ross explains this fact in his short post: A Brief, Illustrated History of the Obama Administration's New Pals, the Muslim Brotherhood.

And that is y'alls reading assignment for this morning. Enjoy.

The Muslim Brotherhood is Not Our Friend

Here's a really good post that Rush mentioned yesterday from PJ Media: The Wages of Willful Blindness. Here's a good pull quote,

Sharia is Islam’s totalitarian framework for how societies are to be ruled. It is not just a set of spiritual guidelines; it is a comprehensive social and legal system, said to be Allah’s gift and directive to mankind. It governs all human activity — not just prayer and worship, but financial, social, familial, political, military, and even hygienic activity.

 It's a longish post, but well worth your time to read.

It's relevant because Representative Michelle Bachmann is asking questions about Huma Abedin, wife of noted diq-pic-Twit, disgraced former Rep Anthony "Could I have a better last name?" Weiner (D-Mentia, NY) and Chief of Staff to the "Proud Progressive" Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Specifically, she's concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood's infiltration of this administration. You should be concerned also. As the title of this post states, they are not our friend. In fact, given their stated goal of transforming America into an Islamic state, we should be very concerned.

And just so this is clear: if your stated goal is to overthrow our government, then you are an enemy, guilty of sedition. But in these politically correct days of ours, you'd just be a racist for bringing that up.

Or something.

What concerns me more is, Abedin isn't the only high-ranking moslem our government seems to like. here's another one, courtesy of Weasel Zippers.

I had forgotten about this: Did Obama's Actions Put Seal Team Six in Danger?

Also understand you'll be hearing the bleats from lefties calling any investigation into the actions of lefties "the New McCarthyism." Here's a newsflash; McCarthy was right. All you need to do is take a look at how far we've fallen to the left since then.

The Case for Banning Sharia Law in America - Why Are We Even Discussing This?

This is a sad statement about today's America: The Case for Banning Sharia Law in America.  (h/t to Creeping Sharia.)

American law is based on our Constitution and absolutely nothing else. Those who wish to abide by other laws are free to leave. Those who wish to follow any foreign law are traitors, including any judge who issues any ruling based upon any other law besides the Constitution. No world court has any influence inside this Soverign Nation.

I recognize no authority other than the Consititution.

I can't believe we're even talking about this.

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.