In the aftermath of the heinous murder of twelve Frenchmen, including two police officers, in Paris by Muslim extremists, a curious phenomenon has been spotlighted regarding French relations with its Muslim population.  There are actually “no go” zones in several cities in France where sharia law is the governing instrument and police are not allowed to enter.

An article in the Washington Times outlines the effect of the establishment of these mini-states within France, which has served to intensify the alienation of Muslim youth from the rest of French society and instill the notion of the superiority of Muslim culture over Western culture.  By giving incentive to Muslim immigrants to not only resist all assimilation, but to establish a separate country within a country, the French have effectively allowed the Balkanization of their homeland, which will alter it forever – and not for the better.

It is fine to allow diverse cultures to exist within a free society as long as they can exist peacefully side by side, recognizing a common legal and political system that represents everyone.  But it is suicidal to encourage a multi-tiered society where one has no reason to recognize the legitimacy of the laws of the host country.  This is also reflected in the United States, where there is move to assure immigrants who are here illegally that there are few or no repercussions for violating the law or disrespecting our borders.  In the case of France, they are now faced with a violent element within the country's borders that will eventually have to be cleaned out and that would probably now entail house-to-house fighting to regain control of the neighborhoods already ceded to radical malcontents.

Political correctness is the enemy of reason and common sense, and it can result in fatal consequences if allowed to become the knee-jerk reaction to forces hostile to Western culture, democracy, and freedom of speech.  We in America had best realize this danger now, since we are steadily creating a situation here that resembles the fracturing of society taking place in Western Europe.  Respect is a two-way street, and if the host country does not demand the same respect it offers to immigrant cultures, then it does not deserve any respect of its own.

Victor Keith writes from Burbank, California and can be contacted at victorakeith.com.