Too Dumb and Not Picky Enough

How amazing that you follow a blog for almost a year thinking that someone is very similar to you in thoughts – and then you realise with one comment that it was overly presumptuous on your part. Despite the fact that you can probably agree on 99.9% of what had been written, it only takes one response to jolt you into thinking that another person is not so similar at all. The response to my comment is rather typical. Never mind the fact that some people prefer to place certain qualities in their mates as higher importance than attributes such as race and religion. Such interfaith couples are too dumb and not picky enough, and so deserve all the inconveniences that come along with it.

In essence, it is a micro example of relations between people of different faiths. Often you think, given similar circumstances (maybe oh, agreeing on types of music, ideas about politics, rampant consumerism etc) that people would be able to get along. 99.9% shared DNA notwithstanding, or even shared 99.9% of opinions, clearly the fact that two people believe in a different God remains deeply polarizing.

Another reason why I chose to respond on my own blog instead of replying to the response there was partly because of this article that landed in my inbox. To me, the issue is not so much religion as much as it is a case of ‘old-timers’ vs. ‘newcomers’. Some Swiss may still regard the Muslims as immigrants in their country and insist on the newcomers following the Swiss way of life and customs. On a micro scale, that seems to make sense – as they say, “when in Rome...”

But on a macro level, integration efforts are more likely to result in a win-win situation for both. The Swiss gets an injection of more people to contribute to their society (economically, civil sphere etc) and the Muslims are able to receive a better welcome in a new land they want to call home. It is hard to fault some of the Swiss for reacting in this way when they feel like their way of life is being threatened, just as hard as it to expect the Muslims to give up their own customs. Why shouldn’t there be co-existence?

If one values freedom of religion and diversity, the Swiss ban on minarets was indeed a shameful result. Perhaps they think, “This is my land and I have a right to my opinion. If you want to live on my land, you live under my rules”. It does portray a certain image of the people who voted for the ban.

Similarly, how a host treats or respond to their guests in the blogosphere says much about them. Some are more welcoming, while some do very little to advance understanding between different people. If on a micro level, a thoughtful response proves to be so hard for some hosts to manage, it is little wonder that the same plays out on a global scale.