Monday, April 10, 2006

When tolerance turns into intolerance of the intolerant

Maybe I'm being judgmental, but the Chicago Tribune reports that the Dutch are now requiring an entrance exam, which seems pretty intolerant to me:
The Dutch entrance exam, which became mandatory last month, has been praised by politicians who believe it is a good way of screening out people who are not suited to live in the Netherlands.

But it seems that the Dutch are doing this because they are afraid of the intolerance of Muslim lifestyle and this measure is one of many "symptoms of panic and anxiety." But I guess my question would be, does this really work? While I would agree that there are certain customs of certain Muslims that should be banned, such as honor killings or female circumcision, but it seems that the article portrays a general sense: If you don't embrace our counter-conservative culture, you aren't good enough for us. In the wake of all the immigration marches in our country and around the world, the Dutch government seems to be showing its colors with such an act of patriotic elitism. Tell me again why the progressive European movement is so awesome?

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