A recent controversial speech by British Prime Minister David Cameron follows similar speeches from other Western leaders calling for a rethink on the concept of multiculturalism.
by Melvin Rhodes
The famous actress was sitting on the couch reviewing the morning newspapers
along with the host of the morning news program and another person. The
review soon came around to a discussion of Prime Minister David Cameron's
attack on multiculturalism. The actress commented that this attacked the
very core of British culture! Really? Growing up in England in the 1950s
and '60s, I never even heard the word "multiculturalism." Its
usage began in Canada during the premiership of Pierre Trudeau in the '70s
and '80s and has since spread to other Western nations. It is hardly
the historic core of British values!
A number of world leaders have in recent months come out against multiculturalism.
Not only Britain's prime minister Cameron, but also Germany's
chancellor Angela Merkel, Australia's former prime minister John Howard,
Spain's former premier Jose Maria Aznar and France's president
Nicolas Sarkozy have expressed concerns about integrating immigrants through
multiculturalist policies (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 10, 2011).
Multiculturalism is the advocacy in Western nations of embracing all the
new cultures that have moved into Western countries in recent decades. It
is not the policy in most countries around the world, where preserving national
identity is valued more highly.
What was the context of the British prime minister's remarks, and
why did they get so much attention?
Attempting to overcome nationalism
It should first be noted that he gave his Feb. 5, 2011, speech in Munich,
Germany, in the presence of the German chancellor. No speech given there
has received so much media attention since Neville Chamberlain's visit
to Hitler to try to achieve "peace in our time." That was more
than 70 years ago, and Europe is now a very different place. Just as Chamberlain's
speech was of great historic significance, so Cameron's may also turn
out to be a turning point in British and European history.
