More Than Bluebirds in the SkyFrom a popular English World War II song: There'll be bluebirds over The white cliffs of Dover, Tomorrow, just you wait and see. There'll be love and laughter And peace ever after Tomorrow, when the world is free. The shepherd will tend his sheep, The valley will bloom again, And Jimmy will go to sleep In his own little room again. There'll be bluebirds over The white cliffs of Dover, Tomorrow, just you wait and see. A long half-century ago, my mother and father — along with millions of other English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Americans, Yugoslavs, Russians, Greeks, Canadians, Africans, Australians and other heirs to the Christian West, along with surviving Jews, Indian Hindus and even hard-edged French atheists, risked and often sacrificed their lives to defend their (our) way of life from the Nazi menace. It was the great ferocious struggle of their lives. And we — their heirs — have frivolously prospered in the peaceful and secure aftermath of their exertion. Where once our parents marched through the mud, jungle, sand or urban bombscapes of world combat — asking nothing, offering all — and prevailing, gaining glorious victory, we, their diminished progeny, whine that the world has not given us enough of a living. But into every generation, a storm must come. And as we boomers slide toward our incontinence and as our children approach their young-adult vigor, the new barbarism reveals its menace to our civilization. Every week has its own largely ignored example of the coming struggle. Two weeks ago, the story came from a town with a college that has been a leading force in the advancement of Christian civilization for 900 years: Oxford, England. Once again, something more than bluebirds threatens English skies. It seems that authorities at the Oxford Central Mosque have requested permission to use loadspeakers to blast the call to prayer five times a day from atop their minaret across the town that has heard for the past 900 summers, falls, winters and springs only the bells of the local churches. Unsurprisingly, the Church of England's bishop for Oxford, the Right Rev.
Perhaps surprisingly, two Englishmen stepped forward to oppose the proposal: professor Allan Chapman, an Oxford University historian, and Charlie Cleverly, the rector of St. Aldates Church in the heart of Oxford. "I don't have any problem with Islam, but don't force it on the people. I'm a liberal; I want to be inclusive, but I don't want to be walked over," stated the professor. The Anglican rector of St. Aldates was a bit more blunt: "It is common knowledge, though few will say it, that radical Islam has a program to take Europe, take England and take Oxford. In this strategy, some say the prayer call is like a bridgehead, spreading to other mosques in the city." As if to support this politically incorrect assertion, Inayat Bunglawala, the assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain rejected the complaint dismissively, asserting that the "call to prayer will be part of Britain and Europe in the future." A week later, England's ruling class again displayed its unfitness to rule. In Manchester, England, the Greater Manchester Police rejected the application to join it offered by Craig Briggs, who had just completed four and a half years with the 3rd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. He seemingly was qualified but for one shortcoming. He has a tattoo on his lower arm that spells out the shocking name: "ENGLAND." He was formally informed that "Home Office policy precludes applications with tattoos … which may cause offence and/or invite provocation from the public or colleagues." Informally he was told, "Unfortunately, some people feel intimidated by the word England." And I thought only Nazi swine (and in olden days, the French) were intimidated by the thought of England. England, in her tolerance, has admitted into her midst — and given succor — those who loathe her. But more loathsome yet are the natural born Englishmen — most in high places — who have forgotten the simple truth of another World War II song: "There'll always be an England, And England shall be free, If England means as much to you As England means to me." Tony Blankley is executive vice president of Edelman public relations in Washington. E-mail him at TonyBlankley@gmail.com. To find out more about Tony Blankley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
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