Monday, June 14, 2010
Melting Pot ? You bet not
The reason is that in the entire team of 11 people, more than half are of African origin. I believe that the team should be a reflection of the national character. Buying talent, while it perhaps guarantees success, does little to define the national character. And if you think national character is a fuzzy and confused concept, look no further than Japan. They say in Japan that you cannot become a Japanese - you have to be born one. Anyone living in Japan for a significant length of time will find resonance in that view.
Here's an example through a joke.
(Heaven in Europe is a place where the British are the policemen, the French are the cooks, the Germans are the engineers, the Italians are the lovers and the Swiss run the place.
And hell is where the British are the cooks, the French are the engineers, the Germans are the policemen, the Swiss are the lovers and the Italians run the place.)
Basically, if the trend in Europe of immigration continues, then the old Europe Hell-Heaven joke might not be funny in a few decades. Basically i am raising a question on nationality and ethnicity. My point is that barring a few countries like the US, which have no culture to speak of (in the historical sense) every nation is characterized by a ethnic group. That ethnic group might have more progressive values as time goes by but will probably have an enduring set of characteristics that typify them.
And here is the issue. As countries have higher immigration, and the concept of citizenship is more immigration-led rather than being born into an ethnic group, we will find an increased dilution of the national character.
Mind you that does not mean that we are moving to a 'golden mean' as predicated by Pundits. The US did not become a "melting pot", it became a "salad". In an alien land, people don't assimilate but they cling on to their national characteristics more tenaciously than ever.
So the current French football team is a Joke.
