Eshin Direct

No doubt many of you will have woken up to the news today of the success of France’s far right candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in securing second place in the first round of the French presidential elections.

It is a cause for concern that much of the media in the West will be focusing on. It will die down and it will flare up again in the subsequent rounds. Why is there this cause for concern in the Western media? The simple answer is that it happened before. I think, and please forgive my memory of dates, in 1936 in Germany. That election brought Hitler to power.

We have cause for concern when the far right comes into power. As too, should we be worried when the far left moves into vogue. The middle ground has never been the easy one and it only promises to get harder.

I am not suggesting that Le Pen is destined to become a next Hitler. He has opinions on the immigration and he has opinion on racial issues. He is entitled to them under a free society. I would, in principle, agree with him on some of the immigration issues. Countries are in existence to protect the interests of their citizens, whether they be black, white, yellow or brown. They are there to protect against outsiders.

This has been the fate of human kind for millennia. Instead of hordes of barbarians sweeping into Rome, or Angles and Saxons invading Britain, the weapons of choice have changed from swords and arrows to appeals to the “humanitarian” side of us with visa’s and appeals. People have always sought to gain a better life and if the West is where they’ll find it, they will keep on coming. Yes, something, does indeed have to be done and governments are charged with this difficult task.

This approach and point of view is nationalistic and not racist. We will be told time and again that this is not the same. While true, communism is, in theory, a good thing. Islam, too, is a peaceful religion. But the reality is often different.

Nationalism and Socialism rode the same horse to power in 1936 for the Nazi’s. They were idealogies that were sound but twisted into what became the scourge of Europe. Should we be worried with Le Pen’s success?

Yes, we should. While Le Pen is not destined to win this presidential election, as the right, centre and left will conspire against him, his wins are indicative of the same spirit that gave Germany its power and robbed France of it at the start of the Second World War.

The general apathy to voting that many in Europe feel is wrong. Voting must be one of the most important civic duties that a citizen has and yet it is not exercised or it is wasted. To fail to exercise it is to condone the admittance to power of undesirables. “I did not vote for Hitler” is not an excuse. It brought him into power by non-obstruction.

Likewise, a vote used in protest without thought is also wrong. “I voted left, but not Jospin’s left.” was stupid. It means that now, many leftists will not have the opportunity to vote for a left candidate. “Vote Labour to expel the Tories from power” is equally as stupid, and it happened. Not belittling the Tories or Labour, why vote Labour? Did many who voted even bother to look at their manifesto or what principles they were riding on?

Europe is not going to plunge into a crisis and we shouldn’t expect to see French soldiers falling from the sky into Europe’s other nations. Le Pen will no doubt be celebrating tonight while Immigrant communities and ethnic minorities will not sleep easier tonight or for the next while.

France and its citizens are free to vote who they like into power. It’s their choice and to deny them that is wrong. But those who wish to oppose the French election of Le Pen to the presidency (as I said, unlikely) consider the vote that you, as a non-French person, have.

The power of economics. I, for one, if France votes in Le Pen as a candidate, and if he doesn’t keep a reign on his Far Right bulldogs, will be boycotting French produce. Trouble is, I’m not a consumer of French produce as it is now. It’s hardly going to make a diffence. (And no, despite popular opinion, I do not wear copious amounts of perfume).

Empower yourself.

On a side note, does anyone find it interesting that a party that advocates against immigration, especially with France having a high Arabic immigration rate, doing so well in light of the “war against terrorism”?

Tags: Political Rants