Sign of the Times

A Welcome Home?

The Royal Anglian Regiment, marching on Waterford High Street for a homecoming parade in the UK, was met by a raving band of Muslims who accosted them with offensive placards and vitriolic epithets. While the obstreperous Muslims were vastly outnumbered by hundreds of patriots waving the Union Jack, the striking images of the ferocious Muslims nevertheless struck a chord deep in British and, indeed, Western society. That such displays of rage, cultural defiance and hatred unfolded in broad daylight on "friendly soil" as it were, shook Brits to the core. Some questions to ponder: What are these people, clearly not in the least interested in assimilation, doing in England? We're used to seeing such demonstrations across the Middle East, but on the shores of England? What is happening to Europe? What kind of transformation is on the horizon for the Continent? Will England even be recognizable in fifty years? What does this "protest" say about the enfeebled, emasculated state of Western society? How much of this can be blamed on the ravages of multiculturalism, demographic suicide, atheist humanism and political correctness? (Writers like Henri de Lubac, George Weigel and Mark Steyn have written extensively and convincingly on such issues.) If these pestilences had been resisted, rather, defeated, wouldn't the West be in a much better position to defend itself, from a cultural standpoint, against the onslaught of Muslim radicalization? The soldiers are doing their part to defend the homeland but what are the locals doing on the home front to ensure that there is a patrimony worth fighting for in the first place?


Alun Hicks wrote this impassioned editorial in response to the outrageous Muslim protests. Hicks is the father of Capitan David Hicks, who was killed in action in Afghanistan. His reflections are right on the money and should serve as a clarion call for UK politicians and citizens at large. Hopefully Hicks' words, like his son's sacrifice, will have far-reaching, positive consequences for the West.

Like many people, I am proud of my country. We live in a democracy, one which we have been through centuries of war and bloodshed to establish. It's not perfect, but by and large we are, I think, a free, supportive and tolerant land - indeed you only have to ask yourself what would happen if a similar protest were mounted abroad, in a Muslim country, to appreciate the extent of our hard-won freedoms.

And so, as both a citizen and the father of a dead soldier, I feel we need to confront these people and these views face on, with no shilly-shallying, or liberal hand-wringing - there has been enough of that in this country.