Political Correctness and Three Dollars...

... will get you a latte and growing silence about the Holocaust and other significant historical events that should not be forgotten, as John Leo reports for City Journal:

Some British schools are dropping lessons on the Holocaust and the Crusades, seeking to avoid antagonizing Muslim students. A Historical Association report, funded by the department for education and skills, said teachers feared confronting “anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils.” Some teachers also “deliberately avoided teaching the Crusades” because “a balanced school treatment would have challenged teaching in some local mosques." ....

Some British Muslims object to the Red Cross as a symbol, as well as the cross of St. Andrew in the Union Jack, since Crusaders wore the emblem. The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding said it is time for England to produce a new flag and adopt a patron saint “not identified with our bloody past and one we can all identify with.”Britain usually outpaces the U.S. in the politically correct sweepstakes. Out of deference to Muslim pupils, the “Three Little Pigs” children’s story has become the “Three Little Puppies.” In many English schools, “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is now “Baa, Baa, Rainbow Sheep,” which makes no sense, but supposedly spares the feelings of sensitive black pupils. In some of the same schools, Snow White and the seven dwarfs have morphed into Snow White and the seven gnomes. The advantage here: gnomes aren’t really known for shortness, and, as fictional creatures, they’re in a poor position to complain that the story exploits them.

This combination of insanity and cultural suicide has been going on for some time, of course, and it can only end badly unless it is ended for the right reasons: respect for truth (and, yes, belief that there is truth), the need for open dialogue about religion and free societies, and the resurgence of authentic tolerance. Ironically, a former Islamic terrorist, Tawfik Hamid, recognizes this far better than do most (if any) of the reigning cultural elites in the West. In an opinion piece, "The Trouble With Islam," in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Hamid gets right to the heart of the matter:

Yet it is ironic and discouraging that many non-Muslim, Western intellectuals--who unceasingly claim to support human rights--have become obstacles to reforming Islam. Political correctness among Westerners obstructs unambiguous criticism of Shariah's inhumanity. They find socioeconomic or political excuses for Islamist terrorism such as poverty, colonialism, discrimination or the existence of Israel. What incentive is there for Muslims to demand reform when Western "progressives" pave the way for Islamist barbarity? Indeed, if the problem is not one of religious beliefs, it leaves one to wonder why Christians who live among Muslims under identical circumstances refrain from contributing to wide-scale, systematic campaigns of terror. ...

The tendency of many Westerners to restrict themselves to self-criticism further obstructs reformation in Islam. Americans demonstrate against the war in Iraq, yet decline to demonstrate against the terrorists who kidnap innocent people and behead them. Similarly, after the Madrid train bombings, millions of Spanish citizens demonstrated against their separatist organization, ETA. But once the demonstrators realized that Muslims were behind the terror attacks they suspended the demonstrations. This example sent a message to radical Islamists to continue their violent methods.

Western appeasement of their Muslim communities has exacerbated the problem. During the four-month period after the publication of the Muhammad cartoons in a Danish magazine, there were comparatively few violent demonstrations by Muslims. Within a few days of the Danish magazine's formal apology, riots erupted throughout the world. The apology had been perceived by Islamists as weakness and concession.

Worst of all, perhaps, is the anti-Americanism among many Westerners. It is a resentment so strong, so deep-seated, so rooted in personal identity, that it has led many, consciously or unconsciously, to morally support America's enemies.

Progressives need to realize that radical Islam is based on an antiliberal system. They need to awaken to the inhumane policies and practices of Islamists around the world. They need to realize that Islamism spells the death of liberal values. And they must not take for granted the respect for human rights and dignity that we experience in America, and indeed, the West, today.

Take nothing for granted, indeed. Including the history of the Holocaust. Have we so easily forgotten that the preservation of a future free of tyranny and terror is dependent in large part upon a recognition and acknowledgement of the atrocities and evils of the past?

Comments

[Rick]

"Tolerance does not mean toleration of atrocities under the umbrella of relativism."

Dr. Hamid never mentions Benedict nor the Regensburg lecture, but he understands more about Benedict and right "reason" in this one small quote than Kramer did in the entire New Yorker article. Thanks for posting this and the link to the article!

[clive]

One has to be very careful about many of these claims (Baa Baa Blacksheep being banned; three little pigs being morphed into three little dogs. Many of these stories, which usually appear in the British Tabloid Press, prove to have no basis in fact).

Regarding schools pulling out of teaching on the Holocaust. Well, so far as History for General Certificate of Secondary Education exams is concerned, can't be done. There are only three module choices at that level - (Nazi) Germany 1931 -1945; USA 1925- 1940; USA 1959 - 1973. This last is particularly PC as it seems to be about how those nasty white folk kept down those good black folk eg civil rights, civil rights, anti Vietnam war. Its a 'history' syllabus almost so shallow as to be without substance. We forbade our Son to choose History for his GCSE Option precisely because it is too narrow, shallow and 'dumbed down'.

As to the Crusades - well, my son barely heard the word mentioned when he was studying Medieval British history. Indeed, not even the 100 years war, nor the Wars of the Roses. Unbelievable, crass, and anti-intellectual.

[Paul]

Are there that many Yorkists still around to be offended by mention of the Wars of the Roses? And it's particularly interesting that the Holocaust is getting left out, given the fact that many European nations also have laws making Holocaust-denial a crime.

[Ed Peters]

Well, for what it might be worth, I think efforts to "save" a civilization are doomed to failure. By the time one realizes that a civilization is dying, it's already too late to do anything about it. Babylon (please, the historical reality, not the metaphorical symbol), Rome, Charlemagne, they all served a purpose, but nothing of human invention lasts forever. Salvage what we can, and build something new from it.

[Celestial SeraphiMan]

Yes, Ed, let's build something new. I have prayed for the coming of a new civilization of Christ called on others to do the same. I've developed my writing and drawing talents towards the end of helping to inspire a new Christian culture in a new century.