December 21, 2005

My latest VDARE.com effort:

A reader takes offense at my mentioning in my celebration of the Jewish contribution to the American Christmas the obvious trend among some American Jews, but by no means all, toward greater resentment of the culture of the Christian majority. I respond:

Mr Zernik claims this is a:

"… monstrous conclusion which, if it were true, would bring about a major social explosion in this country with disastrous consequences such as we have not seen for half a century."

No, it wouldn't.

There isn't the slightest chance of large-scale Christian pogroms against American Jews. To suggest otherwise is, frankly, a libel on the American people. (The odds of major anti-Semitic attacks in this country unfortunately rise rapidly farther out into the future, as immigration brings in more anti-Semites—which is one reason I work to cut back on immigration.)

The reality is the opposite of what Mr. Zernik suggests. American Jews feel so secure (rightly) that, for example, last year leading Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League orchestrated an enormous campaign in the news media and Hollywood to demonize Mel Gibson for making The Passion of the Christ....

No, the plain fact is that the Holocaust Card is simply played to silence any criticism, no matter how constructive, or even any objective outside analysis, of the important roles that Jews play in American life.

Mr. Zernik needs to ask himself whether living in this George W. Bush-like media bubble where critical perspectives are silenced will be, in the long run, good for the Jews...

For all their intelligence, their tragic track record suggests that Jews have not always been the wisest decision-makers (especially when compared to the much happier history of the single most similar high IQ group, the Parsis of India).

For instance, the House of Representatives voted 423-0 last week for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-FL) proposal to ask President Bush to declare January to be "Jewish History Month."

As you know, February has long been "Black History Month." But is it truly prudent for American Jews to engage in such blatant one-upmanship over blacks in their long-running battle over who has been the most oppressed?

Allow me to speculate on what African-American reactions will include when they hear about January becoming Jewish History Month:

  • "How come the Jews get a month with 31 days while Black History Month only has 28 days?"

  • "How come Jewish History Month comes before Black History Month? Are they trying to say Jews come first and blacks should ride in the back of the bus?"

  • "The Jews are just trying to diss Martin Luther King's Birthday."

Of course, unlike in the 1960s, when many Jews were shopkeepers in black neighborhoods, most Jews are now physically insulated from black resentment. But this move is still unwise—and it reflects a distressing recent tendency among American Jews to let self-pitying nostalgia get in the way of clear thinking about upcoming threats.

Or, similarly but more substantially, (and much to the distress of Steven Steinlight), American Jews tend to be enthusiasts for the current mass immigration system—even though it is both admitting anti-Jewish terrorists like the Egyptian who got in on his wife's Diversity Lottery Visa and then shot up the El Al counter at Los Angeles International Airport in 2002, and also gradually reducing Jewish political power.

Unfortunately, Jewish attitudes toward immigration today appear more driven by nostalgic emotion about their Ellis Island forebears than by rational calculations about the future. (Exhibit A: the current designated enforcer for immigration enthusiasts, Tamar Jacoby.)

It is obvious that the War Against Christmas waged by heavily Jewish organizations like the ACLU appears to be rooted in resentments of perceived past slights more than on any intelligent assessment of what is good for the Jews now.

And attacking the Christian majority at their single strongest point—their wonderful holiday of joy to the world and peace on earth to men of good will—will likely turn out to be ill-advised.

In the long run, if Jews would allow gentiles to offer constructive analyses like this, they could avoid a lot of grief. [More]


My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

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