Integration Down Under?

In regards to Moslems must integrate?
=============================

Moslems must integrate? Why? With what? Rampant hypocrisy?

Today, in Australia, the mostly wealthy remnants of a white European colonial prison outpost are suddenly struggling with the dilemma of why one Australian citizen, who broke no laws, is rotting away in a legal-limbo in an American fort in Cuba, while others are to be shot in Java for hard drug smuggling. All Australian immigrants should ponder on the past crimes committed to allow them to live here in a place that can provide a reasonable quality life and freedom.

Of course the many angry aboriginal Australians incarcerated in a gaol may disagree with their status on the bottom of the pecking order, say compared with other indigenous ‘owners’ of natural wealth – e.g. say Saudi Arabia, New Guinea, East Timor. All somewhere ‘over there’ on the other side of the imaginary ‘dotted-line’. They were the original owners and therefore should be, if we apply logic, like the many Sultanates of ‘Anywhere Else’ and be living the good life at the top on the return from their natural capital.

Yes, this "lucky country" exists because of its extensive natural resources and the legacy of its European invaders doing their best to protect the rights of everyone as much as their own – except Aboriginals and Asians on the gold fields. And of course we cannot forget the first Muslims to come here and set up a transport system, the Afghans and their camels.

People come to this country wanting economic and social benefits and rightly reject the worst aspects of its so called culture: drugs, prostitution, racism, political toadyism, crass capitalism. Many Australian artists, the real cultural custodians, agree and immigrate to other places for long periods just to stay sane.

I agree, John Howard should ask himself: "What do I represent?", and "What does this country stands for?"

The answer for me is change. It stands for a change from the past to a better future with less certainty and without government frigidity. This "integration" word, and the even more obnoxious ‘"must" word, need to be challenged. We simply need to live in peace and respect each other. New culture will emerge from this.

As far as I’m concerned Howard and his ilk represent a passing parade of increasing irrelevance. Imaging a future without old coots limping down the street once a year marching to war drums and bugles, pretending that they were much more than foreign mercenaries deployed during a period of post colonial meltdown. Without crap fast food and ugly obesity, without rampant crime and polarised obscene wealth and poverty, and with natural democracy without all the hype and fear-herding of the establishment plutocrats.

Then Australians might be able to celebrate diversity rather than fear it. What we need to fear is a cultural "tone-at-the-top" that thinks it is ok to suppress public debate on cocaine use in the AFL (and its associated obvious links with organised crime); destroy 20,000 year old works of art; buy our own NW gas from Singapore; and use every public institution to mop up the spare capital sloshing round the bilge with nothing better to do.

What Muslims should do is: get economic clout; show tolerance; focus on common values; root out tribal practices that abuse children and women and greatly offend others; and join the national party. Much the same applies to the Jews, Christians, those of no faith, and the multitude of others.

Someone once said that the difference between theory and practice was that in theory they are the same, but in practice they are different. We should all fix our own back yards and then the whole would look after itself.

We all must integrate with reality. Let us all sit and watch quietly as these young Australian people, some white, some Asian, are shot at dawn in Indonesia for trying to smuggle some of the vast surplus of the Afghan opium crops that have exploded since the invasion of Afghanistan by Bush Blair and Howard.

Then ponder, just how the 200-300 million Moslems that live closer to us here in the West [Australia] than Singapore and Sydney might want our grandchildren to integrate with theirs. We must integrate? Why? With what? With whom? Beware rampant hypocrisy in the cloack of fear! And yes, remember the plight of David Hicks in Cuba.

(note: also relates to http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=93&ContentID=5678 and http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=51&ContentID=382)