![]() ![]() In the course of a remarkably distinguished academic career, Samuel Huntington has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to realism. “There is rising opposition to immigration among ordinary Americans and, if Huntington is any indication, among academic observers as well,” concludes Wolfe. Huntington also calls “white nativist movements” a “possible and plausible response” to the rise of minority culture, teetering on the edge of racist rhetoric. It ignores the several waves of immigration that give America its unique national character today, and dismisses the possibility that today’s immigrants – Mexican Americans in particular – are willing to assimilate and be patriotic about their adopted country. While he may be correct in his assessment of the American public, argues Wolfe, Huntington’s description of America as historically unified in racial and religious terms is an oversimplification. Huntington’s main argument claims that the general American public is against the openness of the current immigration laws, and that immigrants undermine the “Anglo-Protestant” American spirit. It is this “moralistic passion” that clouds his powers of analysis, according to Wolfe. However, in Huntington's latest book, Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity, he delves into the issue of immigration to America with unprecedented ardor and nostalgic sentiment. According to reviewer Alan Wolfe, Samuel Huntington’s distinguishing characteristic in previous books has been detached pragmatism. ![]()
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