France's government is virtually clueless in its understanding of the nature of the problem of rioting Muslim 'immigrant youths' and hence, how to properly respond to it. With each ensuing attempt by government officials to grovel and pander their way out of their quagmire, it becomes ever more apparent that they have no clue as to what cultural forces underlie it. Only Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy shows signs of insight, and the rest of the French establishment consequently seeks to marginalize him.

Their empty rhetoric of appeasement, combined with a fanatical commitment to avoid reality, leaves them flailing in futility while the insurrection rages on and their streets continue to burn, albeit with fewer cars but more schools ablaze.  Consequently, the situation will not permanently abate, even if over time the insurgents tire of their nightly escapades, and the violence temporarily subsides. The social disorder that ultimately fuels the rioters will remain at a high simmer, and can certainly be expected to erupt on a continuing if irregular basis.

Unfortunately, though the character of the American people has for centuries been fundamentally different from that of the French, a social class largely sympathetic to French views and proclivities has wormed its way into control of many of this nation's most influential institutions. From academia to the media, to the highest levels of the State Department and CIA, America is being bombarded by social, cultural, and religious philosophies that are every bit as intellectually vacant as anything being uttered by the panic—stricken French.

Reviling the nationalism that swelled throughout the nation in the aftermath of 9—11, such individuals now seek to convince America that impending threats from militant Islam no longer exist, and perhaps never did. Thus America is subjected to their relentless repetitions of Islam as a 'religion of peace,' and now, 'love.'

Though among the hopelessly myopic, this may seem like the sort of conciliatory rhetoric that should heal any wounds or discord among differing cultures, reality consistently reveals an entirely different effect.

Islamists the world over have unabashedly voiced their intention to spread their religion through any and all available means. And by far their best strategy is to infiltrate societies through the cracks manifested in them whenever their societal foundations are eroded and undermined.

During the past four decades, American liberals worked tirelessly to wear down and ultimately destroy any vestige of this nation's worthy heritage, along with the philosophical and spiritual 'glue' that has bonded it together. By now, in 2005, a gaping wound has been inflicted on the American culture, through which any number of encroaching maladies may enter and proliferate.

Consider, as just one example, the relentless manner in which the ACLU has sought to expunge any mention of the nation's Judeo—Christian heritage from the public arena. As a result, long—standing American traditions such as the observance of Christmas are no longer protected by the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, every bizarre 'religious' rite, regardless of how primitive or pagan, enjoys a growing pretense of 'constitutional' legitimacy. Can this society, founded as it was on such basic Judeo—Christian principles as the Ten Commandments and the 'Golden Rule,' hope to prevail when its social fabric is increasingly being rent and unraveled in this manner?

Certainly in America, as in France, no large migration of outsiders can reasonably be expected to assimilate into a culture that is systematically being discredited and eradicated before them. It is wholly unrealistic to presume that the individuals who make up such an influx will hold a culture or its laws in any higher regard than the institutions that historically and officially define it.

It is increasingly obvious in this nation that laws have ceased to be a means of upholding society at large, and are now applied selectively and capriciously. Ultimately, when justice fails, those in power pick and choose which laws to invoke, generally in pursuit of a personal or political agenda.

So it stands to reason that illegal immigrants, whether from Mexico, the Middle—East or anywhere else, no longer have reservations about breaching the borders, acquiring false identities, and accessing innumerable government services, with an absolute disregard for laws they might violate in the process. Nor can they possibly become a stabilizing force in the midst of the tempests of social upheaval.

America needs to recognize the danger of the incursions facing it, as well as the complicit role played by the malignancy of liberalism, and its ability to neutralize the nation's defenders in the morass of 'political correctness.' Otherwise, if those on the left prevail, our nation will ultimately fare no better than the French.

Christopher G. Adamo is a frequent contributor.