The question of whether Islam is compatible with modern Western society is one of the most contentious issues of our age. While millions of Muslims do live peacefully and productively in Western democracies—especially if they don’t fully practice their faith—the issue is not necessarily whether individual Muslims can integrate successfully. Rather, it is whether the foundational doctrines and legal principles of orthodox Islam are fully compatible with the core values upon which modern Western societies are built. On balance, there are strong reasons to conclude that significant tensions exist and that they are not compatible. Modern Western societies are generally…
Author: wanker
Have you ever given your state flag much thought? If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t. In fact, many people probably couldn’t even pick their state flag out of a lineup. That doesn’t mean they aren’t important. In fact, they’re important enough that there has been a movement to replace many of them, usually with something bland and less representative of their respective states. That is a charitable interpretation. One could argue that the changes were done to erase history. Many state flags remained unchanged for decades; other states adopted new designs, and others are debating whether their…
On the United States’ 250th birthday, I ran across a link to the country’s first national anthem, “Hail, Columbia.” While the current anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” is probably more inspiring, “Hail, Columbia” arguably captures our history, who we are, even better. Some people, on occasion, talk of changing the anthem to the insipid “America the Beautiful.” Other alternatives proposed are Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Our Land,” written in 1940, or Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” made famous by Kate Smith. While the latter is beautiful and poignant, having really come to fame when the dark clouds of World War…