I’m conservative when it comes to big things like morality and personal integrity. Lesser things too: grammar, punctuality, neatness. I have no use for those who don’t live up to positive societal values, the important ones that help us work together to make life better for everyone. I reject those who want to bring us all down to the level of the lowest common denominator, those who say crap values are equal to good values.
Lately, in addition to my basic conservatism, I’ve been experiencing some knee-jerk reactionary moments, and I’m a little concerned about it. Is it a natural part of getting older, or the onset of something worse?
Case in point: Muslim immigration. I mentioned the other day that if Europeans close the door to future Muslim immigration in the wake of repeated terrorist attacks, I would not condemn them. God knows some Muslim immigrants have given Europeans plenty of reason to distrust them. Similarly, I don’t reject Israel for its harsh actions against Palestinian terrorism, and I won’t condemn the Turks for their hostility towards the Kurds. I have not walked in their shoes and don’t know both sides of the story.
I’m beginning to think putting Muslims who want to come to the USA under the magnifying glass isn’t as wrong-headed as I first thought. This doesn’t mean I’m a Trumpite. If anything, it means I’m a Clintonite, because I suspect that while Hillary publicly says the correct & conventional things about Muslim immigration, as president she and her administration would actually be cautious and conservative about letting large numbers of Muslims … young single men in particular … into the country. Just as President Obama and his administration has been.
And there you have it, the latest jerk of my conservative knee.
Speaking of Turks, my pedicurist Semra is one. Somehow this morning we got to talking about terrorism in Europe, and I hinted at my willingness to take a harder look at allowing large numbers of Muslims into the USA. That’s all it took, and she was off: I’m Muslim but I’m a Turk, not an Arab; you can’t trust any Arab; they’ll eat breakfast with you in the morning and kill you in the evening; ask any Turk and they’ll tell you. I’m not fully clear as to whether she was condemning all Arabs or just Muslim Arabs, but it was quite a tirade. Sadly, at the end of her rant she said Trump was the answer. I decided to keep my thoughts about Clinton to myself.
I have heard a few Turks who have not time for Arabs. One friend explained to me that naturally she chose not to fly through Dubai, because they’re Arabs.
Coincidental to your blog, I just watched tonight a devasting film ‘Timbuktu’ that takes place when the Islamist took over Mali in 2012 and was totally puzzled how the ordinary people kept their religion (and I am still puzzled). I also am unsure of why they tend to have worse rates of integration and high rates of conflict (except for one root cause of the high birth rate).
I don’t think what you’re experiencing is a direct function of growing older. It’s just taking a more nuanced view of the world and that comes more from experience than anything else
. Your views have simply gotten past the period where they are based more on opinion than experience.
I disagree with Burt, as it seems to me that the more experience one has – which does not necessarily come with just aging – the less likely one is to lump any group of people together under one blanket (e.g., “Muslims”, or “Americans” or “Men” or whatever. I have an acquaintance I discuss things with, who has very strong negative views about gay people, Muslims, anyone “pro-choice”, immigrants, and so on – i.e., anyone who is not white and right-wing Christian like himself. When pressed he admits he has never ever known a gay person (at least, a person he knows to be gay) or a Muslim person. Here in Melbourne there have been a number of events aimed to bring Muslims and non-Muslims together – often for a coffee or a meal – with there being the opportunity to chat and ask any questions about Islam, etc. It’s amazing to see how people’s pre-conceived notions change when they meet a “real person”. Well, not so amazing I guess – I remember even back on the Archie Bunker show, Archie was prejudiced against a lot of groups – but his friends or co-workers who happened to be members of those groups were “different – they’re okay!”.
I know a few Turkish Muslims, one of them a hasher, and think they’re great people. Ditto Iranians. True, though … I don’t know any Arabs, Muslim or otherwise. I don’t think I’m working from an unconscious position of “all Muslims bad,” it’s more a position of natural caution based on empirical evidence. Despite the claims of Cruz & Trump, our government has been super-cautious about admitting Muslim immigrants and refugees, maybe more so than it needs to be, witness all the Iraqis who worked for our forces and have now been abandoned there.
I believe racism and fear of “the other” is hard-wired into us, part of being human. But it’s something we can overcome, and it starts with changing our behavior. The US military led the way with racial integration, and one of the lessons it learned early on is that while you may not be able to change hearts & minds, you can change behavior, and that counts. People can learn to live and work together, and over time hearts & minds may soften a bit.