Oh Really?

It is Shredding Us to Ribbons
“Don’t go changing… I want you just the way you are,” sings Billy Joel. In the
context of the song, as he addresses the love of his life, that is quite a beautiful
statement. He has found compatibility and he finds comfort in finding her every time
he sees her just as she always has been. But note: the two have common ground
leading to mutual respect and affection.

The line quoted from the song and the sentiment expressed throughout the song (by
the way, you can find Billy on YouTube, should you wish to hear the song for
yourself) came to my mind when I heard a radio talk about the wonder and beauty of
multiculturalism. We live in this brilliant society which promotes and encourages
multiculturalism. It is a matter of pride for our nation.

And so, we see in particular suburbs of our cities people from a particular part of the
world flock to a few select shops to buy their groceries, because those shops stock the
peculiar items for their national menus. Not too much wrong with that. Then some
one who is not from that nationality tries to buy items from the same shops. It takes a
long, long time before the purchases have been acquired. The reason? This English-
speaking customer does not speak the language and has to resort to sign language in
his own country to make himself understood, cannot even buy certain goods because
they can only be handled by those who belong to the inner circle of washed hands.

A spiritual leader is interviewed about the desirability to apply the penal laws of his
country of origin to fellow immigrants. They understand those laws better in terms of
justice being meted out and they fit with their religious convictions, so the argument
goes. Representatives of two rival groups from the same part of the world explain that
the way they tore into each other is part and parcel of seeking justice as per their
particular traditions.

Psalm 133:1 celebrates the beauty of people (in this context of course, God’s people)
living in unity; Ephesians 4 exhorts God’s people to find the unity of faith that binds
harmoniously. When Jacob called his sons to his deathbed he highlighted a
characteristic regarding each one of them (Genesis 49). They were all different by
nature, but they did have the common denominator in terms of ethical approaches to
life, they had the plumbline of God. On account of the latter they could be one nation
and be mutually supportive with the multicultural variety which existed among them.
They had a commonly held set of ethical values that bonded them in a successful
political model. As soon as some of the tribes took leave of the constitutional basics
trouble and division arose – even to the point that brother went to war against brother
(Judges 20:35). The nation was shredded to ribbons and eventually self-destructed.

In the global village of today there is much people movement. Many groups of
different cultural backgrounds seek their economic prosperity, political tranquillity,
societal acceptance, and – in some cases – ideological expansion in countries that
allow them to move in, particularly the affluent Western countries. Indeed, there may
be good humanitarian reasons to consider such people to settle and create a future for
themselves and their children.

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The speaker on the radio was gushing about the beauty of receiving all these
culturally different groups in the country. It was such a great enrichment! How could
any one be so bigoted so as to protest the influx that made such a beautifully coloured
tapestry!

It was with a fair measure of interest that I read about Pauline Hanson who called
herself ‘not a polished politician.’ I would suggest that this particular truism was a
major contributor to her downfall at the altar of political correctness. The major issue
in her maiden speech in the House of Representatives (1996) was an attack on
immigration and the Federal Government policy of multiculturalism:

Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to

“ address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any
debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration
policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we
are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per
cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have
their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I
will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I
should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country. A truly
multicultural country can never be strong or united. The world is full of failed
and tragic examples, ranging from Ireland to Bosnia to Africa and, closer to
home, Papua New Guinea. America and Great Britain are currently paying the
price. Arthur Calwell was a great Australian and Labor leader, and it is a pity
that there are not men of his stature sitting on the opposition benches today.
Arthur Calwell said: Japan, India, Burma, Ceylon and every new African
nation are fiercely anti-white and anti one another. Do we want or need any of
these people here? I am one red-blooded Australian who says no and who
speaks for 90% of Australians.

I would suggest that the problem in the formation of the Australian population does
not lie so much with the idea that Asians or any other come in to the country. This is
where I disagree with Pauline Hanson. The problem is one which caused so much
pain in Israel of old. Many non-Jews assimilated very harmoniously into Jewish
society, Ruth being a prime example. But one of the most wonderful statements in the
Bible comes out of her mouth: “Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God”
(Ruth 1:16). She fully desires to become one with the people already there by
adopting their ethical centre (God) and outworking, even though she may have some
different cultural approaches on account of her foreign upbringing.

Where my agreement with Pauline Hanson lies is in the uncritical celebration of

multiculturalism. Putting many different cultures which have all different ethical
approaches to life together and then expect a harmonious society is gullible at best
and evil at worst.

One thing that God insisted on in Israel was that, with all the unique cultural and
temperamental traits of each tribe, a unified ethical centre was acknowledged and

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upheld. Herein lays our problem. Whereas our nation was founded on particular
ethical standards (Biblical ones) as laid down most prominently in the Constitution,
multiculturalism does not demand adherence to the common ethical foundation.
Because there is no insistence on embracing a unified ethical centre for all-comers,
the nation slides into situation ethics (the option of superimposed ethics has been
eroded), quarrels between groups, rivalling partisanism, and a shredding of the nation
into ribbons. The courts will have to deal with many more so-called ‘hate-speech’
complaints as irritation between cultural groups flows over into negative verbal and
physical expressions.

Schools have been given posters depicting particular values that are to be promoted.
The slogan ‘mateship’ became the flagship for this drive. As the saying goes: ‘a text
without a context is a pretext;’ it means nothing – or whatever some one chooses it to
mean. It is a far cry from insistence on the acceptance of the ethical foundation of the
nation by all who desire to live in her. The very God of our original foundation lays
down the principle: A unified nation can only be such upon embracing and upholding
this precious common core of ethical principles.

Multiculturalism uncritically embraced, without the unifying ethical bedrock, is the

shredder which will rip the nation’s heart to ribbons. George William Curtis, an
American writer and public speaker (1824-1893), has the right idea about unified
nationhood, “A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and
woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”

Dr Herm Zandman
7/30/2010