Dymphna of the Gates of Vienna, who was one of the conservatives whose whereabouts I inquired about here, has given me - only a few days later - more reason (proof) for my concern. She has posted an interview Ayan Hirsi Ali recently had with the LA Times, and added her own commentary. It is an astonishing revelation by one of the most prominent anti-jihad conservative bloggers. There is nothing conservative about what Dymphna has written. Here a quote from Ali's interview that merited Dymphna 's commentary.
Ali, who is eligible for American citizenship in three years says:
America has the advantage that when you become a citizen, you pledge loyalty to a Constitution that’s about ideas and not about ethnicity. Because of that, Americans do not feel shy about teaching new Americans why citizenship is important, why patriotism is important, pride about the Founding Fathers. That’s an easier sell than taking pride in the history of France, for instance.To which Dymphna adds:
Heh. Another Francophobe here.That's it. A foreign ex-Muslim comes to her country, derides her country's history and culture, and reduces it to an abstract concept, and all Dymphna could do was agree with a chuckle.
In my recent trip to NYC, and even in my travels across New York State and Pennsylvania, I was struck by the uniqueness of what I saw. Nothing like NYC could grow out of a Canadian culture, try as people might with Toronto. All the farmlands at the bottom of hills and forests are so uniquely American (and admittedly Canadian – there are still a lot of resemblances between these two countries), with their distinct red barns, the tall round silos, and the carefully cultivated very large farms which are like comforting oases in valleys below the giant mountains. But the difference in size is still tremendous between Canada and the U.S., and the farmlands are a testament to this (and of course the NYC monoliths). Even the mountains are bigger!
I find it astonishing that immigrants to the U.S., and of course here in Canada, keep stressing - self-servingly, I am now sure - that there is no "culture" here, that everything is a blank slate up for grabs by anyone who crosses the shores.
I'm surprised that someone like Dymphna fell for this. But, wasn't that my point all along?
