Part 5
All the people who’d supported the open-the-gates policy were called out. The policy was a failure, and the critics made it clear, as did the messy aftermath.
Sadly, there was plenty of racism to go with the anger toward the failed policy. Another sick side-effect of this no-brains approach, which its proponents failed to grasp. The more misguided and pseudo-moral the ways in which they advocated human rights, the harder they made it for human rights to be defended.
Yes, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy was as empty and fallacious in its high-ground do-gooder-ism as the approach of hardliner conservatives and their invocations of God etc, not to mention the bigots and racists of both the far left and the extreme right. Bluster all around, one side trying to outdo the other. Merkel, eager to shut down the far-right, overreached and overcompensated. Disconnected from the raw reality, her policy was ideological, not practical, putting hot-air theories ahead of centuries of experience and practice, leading to blowback. Her do-goodder-ism failed to deliver, causing damage in a roundabout way.
And herein lies the second issue I’d like to raise, as grave and pervading as the first, namely: The slipshod manner in which Merkel’s open-the-gates policy was applied. It gave rise to a rejuvenated extreme right.
Like I said, there’s no greater threat to a cause than a misguided champion and his or her misguided and ill-advised policies.
In this case, Merkel gave the far-right the weapons it needed. Her failed policy was instrumental to the shift in Germans politics to the far-right, undermining open society instead of defending it.
In other words. two precious birds with one stray stone. 1) Humanitarian charity was applied in an unreasonable, reflexive, unsustainable manner, resulting in 2) political and cultural uncertainty, undermining Germany’s internal balances, subjecting the citizenry’s morality to political expedience masquerading as charity, undermining the notion of humanitarianism itself, giving a platform to the far-right.
All this from the failure of the establishment to tackle the problem with conviction and pragmatism.
See below for Part 6
Part 6
Humanitarian charity was applied in an unreasonable, reflexive, unsustainable way, resulting in political and cultural uncertainty, undermining the notion of humanitarianism itself, giving a platform to the far-right.
Then, when things went wrong, public opinion was unable to pin the crimes where they ought to be pinned — on the criminals themselves, the perpetrators of the crimes. Agitated by Merkel’s blunder, the people were swayed by fear and anger, allowing the extremists to rise up on their sick podiums and blame an extra million people for the crimes of a few people, branding all asylum seekers terrorist scum, sweeping the lot of them under their hateful rug just because the majority of voters were angry at how Merkel and Gatekeeper Co. had screwed up.
And there you have it. The chickens came home to roost. It happened (is happening) in Germany, progressive and non-bigoted, post-war Germany. In their efforts to not fall prey to the shadows of racism, Germans are now suffering a resurgent far-right and its toxic bigotry, its poisonous xenophobia, and yes, racism! Such is what happens when you act on an ideological whim. When you’re a self-deluding nincompoop, a person whose policies are ‘beyond criticism’ because your cause is a ‘good’ one. Not only do you undermine the causes you supposedly uphold, you create all kinds of trouble by handing over the initiative to the extremists among you.
As if the radical Islamists weren’t bad enough. Now we have to deal with the radical far-right, too.
And the radical far-left, which is merging with the far-right on a great number of issues, pushing forth a populist agenda.
Not to mention the ‘progressives’ themselves, a large portion of whom are as fanatical, monolithic and unreasonable as the extremists mentioned above. To each their own, all of the above preach their empty preachings, adding their fixated two cents to the mix, inflating the ongoing crises, making things worse.
See below for Part 7
Part 7
To each their own, all of the above — the far-right, the far-left, and the single-minded ‘progressives’ among us — preach their empty preachings, adding their fixated two cents to the mix, inflating the ongoing crises, making matters worse.
Idiocy and opportunism, my friends; not the monopoly of the far-right or far-left after all, and neither is damage. Idiocy and opportunism and damage come from all sides, and the progressives can claim their share in recent years. The way they go about things is not always sound, giving the extremists fuel to resurge. We’re experiencing the resurgence of old ghosts — neo-Nazism, nationalism, communism, bigotry, a closed and paranoid society, a protectionist regime — the defeat of which will not happen unless we approach progress from a pragmatic side, combining necessity with decency to the effect that the problems we’re facing are dealt with on the ground, as they stand, not in the ivory towers of theorists busy climaxing on their fancy ideologies at the expense of hard facts.
So, if you’re a hardliner leftist, fuck you!
If you’re extreme right-wing, fuck you!
If you’re a progressive who advocates human rights the way Angela Merkel’s administration did, fuck you!
If, on the other hand, you’re willing to weigh a host of ideas to find solutions to the crisis and mayhem we’re in, applying your notions with common sense, keeping one eye on the past and the other on the way ahead, then welcome to the debate. The world needs you, now more than ever.
Yes, yes, I know . . . I said I’d remain level-headed and cool despite everything, but my mouth has gotten the better of me.
And yet, having said that, I feel that everything voiced above was merited. The aspersions cast were due, if not overdue. Some things you just can’t keep silent. No matter how much they offend, you have to voice them and get to the bottom of things. You have to get mad.
See, it’s hard not to take it personally in times like these. In fact, it would be bizarre not to. We have to go after the persons responsible for this sordid state of affairs, whoever they may be. It’s the only way to put an end to the trouble we’re in.
First the criminals, then the negligent and illogical, one at a time, be they left-wing, right-wing, or ‘enlightened progressives,’ until we turn this thing around. One act of hard-boiled common sense at a time. Yes to immigration, no to immigration overkill. Yes to controls, no to bigotry and racism. Yes to pragmatism, no to fanatical ideology. Yes to an open society with rules, yes to debate, yes to people coming together, celebrating their differences in a respectful manner, building a robust culture.
From your ominously forthright Spin Doctor,
Eyes open, mind sharp.