Europe's burning issue of assimilation
JUST AS with the saga of British-born Pakistani youths who killed themselves and 52 others in a series of bombings on London's subway and bus in July, the Paris riots will once again trigger a wide lamenting over the failure of mainstream European society in assimilating these mostly Muslim and African youths into the general society, blaming everything from misguided government policy to lack of intercultural dialogue.
Despite the countless variety of causes that are proposed, all seem to agree on one inescapable fact: Muslim youths in Europe are not ''culturally assimilated," and that social malfunction directly led to these violent events. Therefore, these represent a colossal breakdown in socioeconomic integration and a significant failure of mainstream European society in general.
However, before the sheer volume of social psychobabble convinces us of the supposed unworthiness of secular European society, allow me to share a few insights drawn from my experience as the son of a lifetime Korean-American dry cleaner in Yonkers, a blue-collar suburb of New York City.
The United States is often held up as the model ''melting pot," with countless ethnicities living in harmony side by side, interacting peacefully every day. The stereotype is true to a certain extent. However, when you look beneath the surface, you will see that most minorities have built separate ethnic enclaves that are reproductions of their respective homelands, often catering exclusively to their own groups and beholden to their traditional prejudices and cultural chauvinism.
Just because we are interacting economically with other ethnic groups does not mean that America is just one big family living in perfect harmony. Superficial tolerance and interactions among different groups do not translate into sociocultural integration. In fact, the opposite may be true. Familiarity breeds contempt, and that contempt has the scary potential to ignite more destruction than that currently wrought by the French youths, turning this happy melting pot into one boiling with blood.
So, how do we keep everything together in America despite these underlying dynamics? Why do the Chinese, Koreans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Irish, Italians, blacks, and countless other ethnic minorities overcome their respective cultural prejudices and constitute constructive parts of a cohesive society?
Simple. Despite our cultural differences, we all buy into the noble principle enshrined in the following immortal words: ''We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This is the glue that binds us all together. This is the overriding common belief that allows us to overcome our significant cultural differences and call ourselves Americans.
This is successful assimilation. Successful assimilation means that you share that one greater, overriding belief that overcomes the inevitable friction that comes from looking and thinking differently from one another. Therefore, successful assimilation requires a central core belief that can unite people in spite of their ingrained cultural differences. Without such a center, what are you being assimilated into?
Dry cleaning strangers' dirty laundry is not an uplifting work. Replacing broken zippers is not a glamorous profession. But my parents are satisfied because they bought into the core beliefs that them allowed the opportunity to self-determine their lives within their means.
Therefore, the London bombings and Paris riots do not represent any general failure in secular European society. In fact, if at all, these events represent a failure to teach these misguided children the basic nobility of the liberal societies they were born into. Because people were so sensitive to their right to maintain their own cultural and traditional identity, perhaps they were never given a chance to truly become Europeans.
And although introspection is needed after such tragedies, we should not search our collective soul just to seek out apologetic excuses for imaginary failures. Let us delve into our soul to rediscover and reaffirm the shared liberal spirit that underlies the great democracies of the world.
Jason Lim is a graduate student at New York University, specializing in management of international public service organizations.
