June 21, 2005

• Today, I want to talk about France.  I want to talk about France because I think too many of us are oblivious to events outside our country.  This is especially so when we are in the States.  The US is such a big country and so many things happen that we are too busy praising or criticizing anything that happens within the US, and we rarely dare to look outside if there are any problems in any other country.

  
  

  Discrimination and intolerance to religion and other cultures.  Surely we have had our share of such problems in the US, and indeed we still have such problems.  I do not usually say this, but if you read on, I think you will understand:  I'm glad there is such an organization like the ACLU in the US.

  
  

  First of all, the problems we face are 1) a possible Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, 2) racial profiling, 3) hate crimes against minorities.  Luckily, however, there is currently no explicit national law that blatantly discriminates against a certain group.  Yes, I know some of you out there will have your arguments about how one law certainly does attack the civil rights and liberties of a minority group, but please be reasonable for now.

  
  

  France has enacted a law that bans headscarves that Muslim women wear and any other obvious religious symbols from being worn in public, state schools.  The law is explicit and direct, and needs no assumptions or extrapolations.  France, a country known for its Revolution that supposedly affirmed the rights of all humans, has enacted such a law.  France, a country that bore many thinkers that helped bring about the Enlightenment, has enacted a law that many of the thinkers of that period would have been enfuriated with.  France, a country that thrives on bashing the United States, has done something that would be virtually unthinkable in the US.

  
  

  So ladies and gentlemen back in the US, do we, at this point in time, have such a law that openly denies one's rights as much as this?

  
  

  This law is more horrid than you think:

  
  

  There is the fact that this ban applies only to students in state schools ranging from elementary to high school.  Yes, that does mean that students attending private schools may wear these religious symbols, whatever they may be.  But here is the problem.  Maybe you have already noticed, but kids that can go to private schools can wear these religious symbols.  What about those that cannot pay the tuition?  Yes, this system definitely singles out the poor.  The fact is, a large portion of the Jewish community in France is relatively well-to-do, so can send its children to private schools.  Thus, they will not have any problem wearing their caps to school.  The Muslim community, however, is not as lucky.  One can only come to think that the French government has not only singled out the poor, but also have targeted the Muslim community.

  
  

  An argument supporting the ban claims that this law would influence the children from not wanting to wear these religious symbols, which would result in a more homogeneous French population.  This argument obviously has a gaping hole, since if a government is truly aiming to create a homogeneous population, they would ban all religious symbols from being worn by anyone.  Remember, they only ban them in public schools.

  
  

  There is also the feminist argument that claim that girls should not learn to be submissive in a male-dominated society.  This argument, though reasonable from a feminist standpoint, is ridiculous when it comes to deciding national policy .  Such an over-arching policy should not be influenced so much by such a small and radical portion of society. 

  
  

  Finally, what is the most surprising to me, is that the liberals in France supported this ban.  Liberals, so well known for their upholding of individual rights, have supported such a ban.  How could this be?  Surely there are incredible tensions building up between the Jewish and Muslim community in France, but why support such a ban?  A country that prides itself in its proclamation of Human Rights should not have gone through with this. 

  
  

  I used to say with joking hatred that the French are a bunch of hypocrites.  But now, with this law, I cannot but think that I may have been saying what is true all along. 

  
  

  And, if I may say, as a conservative that believes preservation of tradition is important, I believe the wearing of religious wear and symbols are a vital part of tradition of that particular religion.  From that point of view, I cannot hide my disgust for the above mentioned French law.

  • 9:24 am
  • 1 Comment