America: Alone But Still Strong

A few weeks ago I learned that, following the necessary tests, I was officially spermless and able to discard all types of birth control thanks to undergoing the big snip. Two kids...that's it, that's all.

Until last night, I considered that good news. But, last night, I began reading Mark Steyn's America Alone. And read it and read it, in growing horror.

It's not Steyn's take on the islamist/jihadist movement that turned my stomach - I share pretty much the same views as he does: that it's a dangerous, hateful, murderous cult and regardless of whether "mainstream" Muslims oppose it or not, it's gradually gaining strength, particularly in Europe.

What got me was his very rational argument that we may very well already be doomed and not just by Islam but by nanny-stateism and demographics. The first is one of the reasons I vote for a right of centre party. I don't need nor do I want someone holding my hand from cradle to grave to make sure I never get a skinned knee or to ensure that if I do that I can wait for about 18 hours in the emergency room before a doctor will look at it.

Demographics, on the other hand, I have to admit I've given short shrift to. I'm aware, certainly, of the demographic tide that would swamp Israel under a one-state solution which is why I so strongly oppose the stupid idea. I know, also, that Canada's birthrate is not sufficient to replace its population and that Russia is gradually becoming a wasteland for humans because not only does it have an unsustainably low birthrate but people are leaving. At least, in Canada's case, people want to move here and not generally from here.

But Steyn showed the problem is much worse than that. More than 15 European nations have birthrates that are not at replacement levels. Of those, many are seeing increasingly high Muslim populations because they're breeders - no question about it. As the European birthrate goes down and the Muslim population goes up, they become gradually more Arab, hence the term Eurabia. All of this I was more or less aware of but I had held out hope that some nations would eventually get their back up and crack down hard on islamist behaviour.

The sad fact, as Steyn draws one to conclude, is that the Europeans will never fight back because there is no will to sacrifice current comforts for any kind of dispute. And, it can't get better because the Europeans are shrinking to smaller and smaller percentages of the population within their own nations.

He thinks Europe is already past doomed; I only thought it was headed there. Sadly, he shows Japan is even worse off (not due to Islam at all, simply demographics) and even the Chinese isn't reproducing at a sufficient rate (that one baby idea is really going to crush them in a few years...imagine a society with 120 men for every 100 women, they'll have enough underused testosterone to act like islamists even if they aren't).

As for North America, Canada isn't in much better shape than most European countries. We have a nanny state that isn't quite Sweden or France but which certainly believes in coddling people and has adopted all of the PC garbage that allows radicalism to foster because we're too timid to stand up to it. Our current Conservativer party needs a majority and at least 10 years to turn this around.

Thankfully, we also have the US to our south. Steyn calls his book America Alone because the Americans are keeping up their birthrates, they understand that it's their society that is better, not Europe's and they're both proud and well-armed. Too many of the current crop of Democrat politicians would like to change much of that, of course, and here's hoping they never succeed.

From my front door, I can see the US, it's about 15 minutes drive to the south and Washington's Mount Baker dominates the view. I can tell you that if it ever comes down to choosing a 10-gallon hat, a rifle and a pick-up truck over knocking my head five times a day in the direction of Mecca, I'm going with the cowboys. Just don't make me drink Bud, okay?