As you may have heard, France’s Prime Minister Jacques Chirac must decide if the country should ban Muslim headscarves in schools. There have been several reactions to this potentially explosive situation. First, some people have said this is a problem nearly every large European country will have deal with very soon because, by their nature, European nations are quite tribal in their nationalism. That is, if you’re not ethnically “French” you’re really out of luck. Many people in America like to believe that Europe is just one big love in, but in reality, old prejudices die hard. There are people who haven’t forgotten about things like World War II.
Another reaction has been shock. How could a country that so many hold up as being a beacon of culture be so dismissive of a particular ethnic group? Well, see above.
An yet another reaction is the support of government mandated “secularism” — that is, the thought that religion has no place in the public face of a nation. I read one interesting comparision just the other day — in the 1990s here in America, schools banned gang-related headwear in the interest of safety. This is exactly what the French are trying to do here — make schools safer. If kids can’t be associated with a particular worldview because of their attire, won’t they be safer from violence and/or ridicule? So, the argument goes, why should major religions be given special preference. If everyone is the same, then won’t we all get along?
Oops. Did I just say that? Many Americans who are quick to praise the quasi-socialist systems of Europe and Canada don’t always understand how far the proverbial rabbit hole goes. At its core, socialism is about stripping away the identity of the working class — if everyone is on “equal” ground, won’t that lead to Utopia? Banning public displays of religion (and I don’t mean state-sponsored displays like a creche) isn’t going to make the world a better, more peaceful place. And what’s the next step? A ban on individual expression? More and likely. Granted, socialism’s least favorite brother, communism, would be more likely to breed this sort of intolerance, but the possibility is there. But I do agree with one point — you can’t ban one type of expression (gang-related clothing) and not another (Muslim headscarves). Gang-related clothing doesn’t kill people, gang-bangers do.
Posted on 14 December 2003