COLUMN: An Unsaintly Camp

From Gregory Pavlik's "Idols of the Theater," Fall '93 From Gregory Pavlik's "Idols of the Theater," Fall '93 In 1973, Jean Raspail wrote arguably one of the most important works of fiction for Western readers at the end of the twentieth century – The Camp of the Saints. And believe it or not, it's also readable and accessible to a wide audience. The Camp of the Saints is about the voyage of an armada of cargo vessels that set sail from the Ganges in India making their way to Europe, "the land of milk and honey." These boats filled with a million Third World citizens are followed by waves of other equally pathetic fleets. Their ultimate destination, as it turns out, is the south of France. Most of the book examines the reaction of the French to the imminent arrival of the one million Third World immigrants. What happens? It doesn't really matter – the book is a work of fiction. But the more important and implicit question is: what would happen if this exodus occurred over several decades? As it turns out, the French abandon the south. France, in a day's time, ceases to be French. All of the cultural and historical attributes are irrelevant to the invading hordes. Then they turn their new home into a land much like their old home. Maybe it's not so much the environment that shapes people after all. The parallels between The Camp of the Saints and the American situation are stunning. It is impossible to read about the armada's journey without being reminded of images of Haitian boat people, many with nothing but HIV, sailing toward our own shores. The cries of the incumbent political and cultural elite are the same; we are exhorted to let our filthy, disease ridden neighbors land on our shores in the name of racial equality and the universal brotherhood of man. And don't forget the spectacle of tens of thousands of boat people recently arriving from China, crammed like sardines in a giant floating tin can. Each and every one eager to enjoy the prosperity that the West has created. Someday, maybe we will pause to ask about the price of our generosity. The flight of the French to the North is echoed in the white flight from the wastelands that were once our great metropolitan centers. But just as all of France fell to ruins, Long Island won't be a safe place from which to pontificate against racism in a country whose future is tilting toward a transformation into one giant Camden. Maybe it's time to take a good, hard look at America's Third World problem. But of course, we can't. That would be racist. Everyone knows that a given culture is a product of the history and experience of a given people. That's why American schools used to teach kids about George Washington and about England and Europe. That's why it takes a demographically large and unapologetically dominant group, sharing a common experience that they can relate to, in order to form a stable society. But for some reason, we're not allowed to say this. In the name of some abstract and nonexistent equality among various peoples, Americans have decided to turn their civilization over to whichever group is smart enough to grab the reigns of power. Of course, no other group is going to be stupid enough to believe in this equality, so when they do take power, out goes the West, and in comes the expression of their own culture. Snoop Doggy Dogg for Mozart. Menchu for Hawthorne. "It only seems right that we should make allowances for past inequities," the argument goes. Except maybe things are going a little too far. What if we can't hold on? This is exactly where the book is at its best. The egalitarian philosophy is exposed as the philosophy of Western suicide. Racism, as Raspail points out, used to be "a simple expression of the races' inability to get along together." It was the acceptance of a Hobbesian tension, a "war of all against all" for dominance when forced together. Now, it's been transformed into a "war cry, a call to arms, a crime against humanity and the dignity of man." The truth is, you can only excuse ignorance in adults for a limited amount of time and for a limited number of errors. Eventually error ceases to be merely well-intentioned idiocy. After a while, it begins to look willfully malicious. Eventually, egalitarians have to begin to develop a sense of self-hatred, and as they flagellate themselves, they hasten their dispossession. The theme of the book is at times overwhelming, primarily because it lays reality on the line, unclouded by apologetics. If America is going to be a country that retains its European heritage in culture, political structures, philosophy, and religion, it is going to be in the hands of men and women of European extraction. Given the opportunity, other peoples will replace that heritage with what they identify as their own. You live in West Philadelphia. Drive through it. Is that what you want? Frankly, our government policies appear to be what a friend calls a programmed revolution for the Third- Worlding of America. Our immigration policies have already destroyed California. I was there three times over the last year, and parts of the Golden State do not differ much from Tijuana. Now, don't bother to shoot off a letter judging me to be a racist by the very standards I am calling into question. If I may quote Bacon, "I can not be fairly asked to abide by the decision of a tribunal which is itself on trial." Read the book – there are at least four copies in the Penn library. I don't think that you can really gauge where you stand until you are face to face with the situation. Gregory Pavlik is a senior Materials Science and Engineering major from Delran, New Jersey. Idols of the Theater appeared alternate Tuesdays.