The Camp of the Saints

TRIGGER WARNINGS:  In which we ask questions about culture and immigration.
For John, BLUF:  What should our immigration laws say?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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NB:  This item was lost in my archives, from 12 November 2015.  I was prompted to resurrect it because Opinionator Michael Cohen mentioned it in his OpEd in The Boston Globe, this weekend.  The article is "The GOP has become the party of white nationalism".

I think Mr Cohen's OpEd is kind of flat.  It ignores that Mr Trump is a Progressive.  That Republicans across the nation are embracing and supporting "minorities".  I give you Kamara Kay, here in Lowell, who we supported for State Rep in the 18th Middlesex District.  Kam is an active member of the Lowell Republican City Committee.

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Here is the original Blog Post.

And they came upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city.

Revelation 20:8

The Camp of the Saints
Jean Raspail
Paper Cover:  316 Pages (I read the Kindle version)
Publisher:  Social Contract Press
Language:  English
ISBN:  978-1881780076
Copyright:  1994 (Original, in French, 1973

An interesting book, which looks at the impact on France, in 1973, of a massive migration of Indian Hindus, on ships, down the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and up the West Coast of Africa, entering the Mediterranean via the Straits of Gibraltar and then falling on the South Coast of France.  Much of the discussion is about how France, anticipating the arrival of a million migrants, sees itself responding to this influx into a nation of 52.6 million people.

For context, this is five years after the May 1968 uprisings in France.  The events were severe enough to lead to President Charles de Gaulle fleeing the country and the 1968 college students becoming known as the 68ers.

One famous participant and leader was then college student Daniel Cohn-Bendit (aka Danny the Red), who later was found to be an advocate for pedophilia.

So, it was a strange time.

When the book came out in 1973 there were claims of racism, but I think race is a cover for the question of what is Western Civilization and is it worth saving. The author is obviously disappointed in the Catholic Church and its clergy. That said, there is symbolism from the Book of Revelation. And, he is down on the Secular Humanists. He alludes to the question of if a brave new world without western capitalism and its sinews can work, but doesn't develop that theme in detail. This book keeps popping up, due to the refugee crisis in Europe, with its spillover in the US and Canada. For instance, Naval War College Professor Mackubin Thomas Owens talks about it in National Review, "Camp of the Saints, 2014 Style?".  The sub-headline from the 2014 article is "A 1973 French novel eerily prefigures our current immigration mess."

The theme of the book is based on a moral quandary: What steps will a liberal society take to preserve its way of life? Is liberal society too humane and compassionate to protect itself from those who would undermine and destroy it?

Collin, thanks for the support. If I were a European, I'd be truly worried about the number of Muslims entering the Continent. As some point, ISIS will infiltrate this group after they feel it's reached critical mass, then begin their fun and games. I believe a major crisis is on the horizon, and I don't know how we'll cope with it. But it's coming, regardless. On the other hand, we seem to have enough non-Muslim madness to keep us focused in the meantime. Charles

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff