Angela Merkel Speaks Truth to Multiculturalism

„When Chancellor Angela Merkel said multiculturalism in Germany has «utterly failed», the commentariat revolt was swift, and way off the mark. Merkel was accused of pandering to her right-wing constituency and lurching right in the face of rising anti-Muslim sentiment. Unjustly accused, she has delivered a refreshing, no-nonsense message that Germany, and other Western nations, should take to heart. (...)

For immigrants, Merkel’s message is that they should take advantage of new opportunities. In other words, they need to integrate, learning German as a first step to breaking out of their cultural isolation. That doesn’t mean rejecting their own roots, but it does mean thinking of themselves as full-fledged members of German society. If the door is opened wider, they need to walk through it.

That’s the deal the United States offered generations of immigrants, including my parents. They never forgot their Polish roots, and they insisted that my sisters and I speak Polish at home. But they fully expected and wanted us to become Americans, which we did. We saw no contradiction in any of this.”