Content by scotchex
Posted at 4:16pm on Jun. 24, 2008 How to Fight Environmentalism ...
By scotchex
One trend that concerns me greatly is the rising power of the Environmental movement. I consider the modern environmental movement to be a profoundly immoral and deeply destructive force in today's world. They stand against almost everything I believe in -- like progress, growth, freedom, America, and prosperity.
I have to admit, though, that the enviros have waged an exceptional media campaign. They couch everything in terms of Clean Air and Clean Water -- which nobody opposes -- or Saving the Planet -- which is vacuous and meaningless, but sounds good.
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Posted at 2:37pm on May 7, 2008 The Obama Aftermath: America in 2012 ...
By scotchex
Assuming Obama wins in November, what will America look like in 2012? What actual legislative achievements will he accomplish?
I'm not a fan of the man, I think he's a liar, a racist, a reflexive America-hater, and an all around scumbag -- but I'm trying get a realistic estimate of what changes are likely to take place by 2012. I also know that unpredictable future events could easily change everything.
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Posted at 2:20pm on May 12, 2006 A pro-large-scale-immigration angle ....
By scotchex
I'm sort of working with some ideas here. This is my first diary -- so don't be too harsh.
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Over the long term I want American culture and influence to grow and prosper. I believe in national greatness. And by long term I mean centuries, not decades. And cultural influence can crudely be measured by GDP -- or wealth x population.
In the long run American influence is going to be challenged by Chinese, Indian, and Islamic culture -- each with a billion plus members already. We need a large population in order to hold our own. 300 million won't cut it. I look forward to the day there are 500 million or more Americans. I'd like a billion even. It's a big country with lots of room.
We are rich and will remain so for the foreseable future. But if our population doesn't keep pace we'll eventually lose that influence.
If we look at Europe I think we see a potential future for the US. Europe's cultural zenith came when it had a much greater share of world population and GDP. As population growth has stalled and started to sink European influence has waned.
A large portion of America already has European levels of reproduction. This doesn't look likely to change anytime soon.
Luckily for American culture and influence there is another route to growth -- immigration. The trade-off is that the immigrants change American culture.
We are in the process of Latinizing American culture to some degree. To what degree is unknown, and I agree there is real risk there. The negative aspects of Latin American culture -- high levels of corruption, poor education, fatalistic attitudes, politics of mob protests and strong man leaders -- are quite negative and a risk to our culture.
But we are, I would say, Americanizing the Latinos faster than they are Latinizing us. I think a valid comparison is to earlier waves of Catholic immigrants.
America was and is a Protestant nation in it's culture and ethos. The large waves of Catholics did have quite different cultural habits and attitudes. And they did change America, they likely did push America to the left and brought a more collectivist political culture.
But on the whole American Catholics were assimilated into the dominant individualistic Protestant culture.
I think the same will happen with the Mexicans and other Latin American immigrant groups. The incentives to assimilate, despite the multi-culti crowd, are just so strong.
I'm not dismissive of the risks. I want American culture to prosper, not Mexican culture. I'm a proud cultural imperialist, and generally am fine with American culture out-competing and replacing other cultures.
I'm someone who laments the War of 1812 because without it Canada would likely now be part of America. It would be a more left-wing America due to the francophone influence, but I'd trade that for the extra 30 million people and territory. I still hope we might pry away Alberta and British Columbia someday. I mean, they burnt down our capital, the practically owe us Toronto. :-)
I'm someone who wishes we had negotiated more territory from Mexico in the Mexican-American War - if nothing else Baja California is properly ours. We need more coastline. :-) I look forward to Cuba someday being the 51st state. Or at least a nice resort country.
I hope you see where I'm coming from. I'd like a growing, even expansionist if possible, America.
But native born Americans are losing interest in reproducing. And the other cultures most similar to our own (in descending order - UK, continental Protestant Europe, continental Catholic Europe) stopped reproducing long before we did. We can't grow by importing them like we once did.
So we are taking in the civilizational offspring of Catholic Spain. Which will Latinize us to some degree, it might push the culture left on economic issues to some degree, and perhaps to the right on some social issues.
But come 2050 or 2100 the great-grandchildren of today's immigrants will be culturally American, I believe. They will have attitudes and beliefs broadly American, perhaps somewhat more left than today, but not radically so, not unrecognizably so. It will be American culture and civilization that they are advancing -- not Mexican.
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Well, that's the culturally imperialist argument for continued high levels of Mexican immigration. The benefit is a large, growing population to compete with the other large civilizational powers in the world. The risk is a changing of the national character.
But the risk of not growing is sizable, too. Germany and Japan have historically impressive cultures, but their influence will shrink as their population does. Asia will become more Chinese and less Japanese influenced. Numbers matter. Interest in Russian literature and culture will fade as that society implodes.
At the same time Arab and Islamic culture will grow. It's inevitable with the massive population boom. Hindu culture will grow. Just look how popular yoga is here.
Rome conquered and Romanized the Gauls, but couldn't subdue the Germanic tribes. I think the Mexicans are more like the Gauls than the Goths -- more likely to assimilate and spread American culture than undermine and replace it.
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well, I was just bandying about some ideas there. I know there are risks, I just thought it'd be good to point out some of the long term possible benefits of this natural experiment.
thanks,
Scott
ps. I come across like a liberal often until I lament the treaty of Guadalupe in 1848 for not getting enough territory. Very few gung ho supporters of Manifest Destiny these days.