Book Review: Mark Steyn's "America Alone"

I like to read whenever I get the chance. But lately, my only chances have been at the gym where I can sit at one of the bicycle machines and do a 30 to 40 minute aerobic workout while reading some good current event analysis.

The latest book I've been able to finish is America Alone by Mark Steyn. My advice? Go get this book and read it thoroughly. When you are finished with it, send it to someone you know in Europe because they need to read it more than we do.

The premise of the book is that within 60 to 70 years, the United States will be alone in facing Islamic terrorism since Europe will have since become an Islamic Caliphate. Sound far-fetched? Like something out of an apocolyptic movie produced in Hollywood? Read the book and you will see exactly how serious it is.

First, Mark deals with birthrates and what they mean. Right now, Occidental Europeans are not replacing themselves. Their birthrates are far below the rate of 2.1 live births per death needed to effectively replace the population and maintain current levels. As Mark puts it, European couples wait until their late 30's and decide to have "one designer baby." That's one baby coming from two adults. What happens after one generation? Population drops fast.

But not all European groups are below this 2.1 rate. In fact, Muslims are far above it, somewhere between 3.0 and 5.0. So, what happenes to their population after one generation? It grows and it grows fast. Europe is going to lose to numbers. The Muslims will have the numbers while the Occidentals will not.

Other factors come into play too. Europe has made no effort to assimilate their Arab/Muslim immigrants. In fact, Europe has bent over backwards to accomodate them, even to the point of letting them on the welfare rolls and giving them unconditional financial support. The Arab/Muslim response? Take a look at the riots that occurred in France. That is how the Arab/Muslims said "Thank you."

Even when Muslims flatly state outright what their intentions are, the Europeans show no backbone in confronting the obvious threat.

Consider this from Page 197 of the book:

After the carnage in Spain, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed told Lisbon's Publica magazine that a group of London Islamists were "ready to launch a big operation" on British soil. "We don't make a distinction between civilians and non-civilians, innocents and non-innocents," he said, clarifying the ground rules. "Only between Muslims and unbelievers. And the life of an unbeliever has no value."

How can anyone interpret that any other way than for it to mean exactly what he said? Fools might attempt to do so, but the truly wise among us will see the truth.

Finally, here is one more excerpt from Page 200 that describes precisely what situation Europe is walking straight into with their collective eyes wide open:

Bomb us, and we agonize over "root causes." Decapitate us, and our politicians rush to the nearest mosque to declare that "Islam is a religion of peace." Issue blood-curdling calls at Friday prayers to kill all the Jews and infidels, and we fret that it may cause a backlash against Muslims. Behead sodmites and mutilate female genitalia, and gay groups and feminist groups can't wait to march alongside you denouncing Bush and Blair. Murder a schoolful of children, and our scholars explain that the "vast majority" of Muslims "jihad" is a harmless concept meaning "healthy-lifestyle lo-fat granola bar."

See how many fools there are who would quickly side with the likes of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed?

Europe is sliding down a greased pole right now. We can't stop it. Only the Europeans can, but they don't have the courage or committment to do so.

That is why, by the time my grandchildren graduate college, America will be alone in facing the Islamic threat.