Menace in Europe - Claire Berlinski

I have never heard of Claire Berlinski before. But Instapundit Glenn Reynolds interviewed her and the podcast automatically appeared on my Mac (and iPod). She is a sharp and articulate journalist. We will hear more from her.

Europe's problems are our problems, unfortunately. Europe made a mess and dragged us into World War I. 70 years ago and one month Hitler invaded the Rheinland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. And the US had to mobilize the entire country and lose millions to save Europe again.

But, even though that is true, we have to be concerned. Europe's wounds cause risk to us

- Unassimilated Muslim immigrants allow/cause radical Islam to establish itself and support terrorism

- Plummeting birthrates threaten Europe's prosperity. It gets worse:

- long-repressed destructive instincts are suddenly reemerging

- the death of religious faith has created a hopeless, morally unmoored Europe that clings to anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and other dangerous ideologies

What caused this? WWI and WWII. Germany participated in acts of insanity for 13 years and it has not recovered from the horror and shame for what it did. It has embraced pacifism. But Germany is large and prosperous and therefore influential in Europe and has ambitions. But they can't reconcile the conflict between what they want and their shame.

And... The Death of Christianity severed the moral foundation and resulted in hopelessness.

She has a new book on the problem: Menace in Europe.

Here is a sample of Berlinski's excellent work, "Paris Burning, Once Again." She just returned to the US after living in Paris. When packing up in Paris she hired movers to help her while the students were blocking the streets protesting against the law that would increase job opportunities for the young. The movers were Muslim immigrants and were disgusted by the well-off students protesting a law that was needed, not for the sons and daughters of the upper middle class, but for the young immigrants and other lower class who now have no job opportunities.

And, even worse, France is not governable. The sophisticated President and Prime Minister were helpless to stop riots in the streets from dictating national policy. The well-off students won, but the unemployed lost. Just when more flexibility was needed in employment, the students fought for the status quo - the status quo of high unemployment, up to 50% among young immigrants.