I share your bias in favor of immigration, Dan. My sister-in-law is from Uganda, my deceased good friend came from Ukraine, the lovely lady we've gotten to know at the Panera counter came from Bulgaria, I've had students whose folks made it here from Morocco, Indian, Vietnam...you get the idea. There are innumerable immigration success stories, truly life-affirming tales of hard work and courage that I would never be able to muster up. We're often dealing with the most vulnerable people in the world. And we've been here in the states, or Western Europe, simply due to good luck. I mean, Dan, you and I hit the lottery of life don't ya think? Antibiotics, air-conditioning, annual physicals, women's rights, freedom of the press and expression, the rule of law. And we were just born into this good fortune. But where do we go from here you ask? I have a few thoughts.

Everyone must value conversation and be willing to accept facts that are unpleasant, that undermine closely held political and religious views. Politicians must lead, and not put fingers to the wind. Journalists must report the truth and law enforcement must follow the rule of law. In Britain, fearful of being accused of racism or Islamophobia, the police didn't vigorously pursue criminals (Rotherham and Cologne are two enormous examples). 

We need to do a better job sorting asylum seekers from economic migrants. In Europe, Murray stated that perhaps 60% were in the latter category, often from Eritrea. And you have to feel for those simply fleeing horrid prospects for a better life. It would be morally reprehensible to take no one, and it would be impossible to allow everyone into Europe, or here of course. For wouldn't it cease to be Europe? And the rights of the citizens of the host country have to be paramount, and the politics demand this. When the electorate is ignored, they vote for some very unsavory people to do their bidding.

The world needs to share the burden. By virtue of their proximity to Africa and the Middle East, Spain, Greece and Italy were inundated by daily flotillas. Most then pressed on to more desirable destinations.  Germany and Sweden brought in disproportionately high numbers of immigrants. Eastern Europe pretty much closed its borders. The Saudis, bastards that they are in the royal family, didn't allow anyone in. Japan allows virtually no one in yet they receive virtually no blowback from the world. 

We know that it's far, far less expensive to house these people in neighboring countries. I recall Murray saying it was about 10% of the cost of bring them to Europe. Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have been funded by wealthy countries to shoulder this burden. Temporary asylum might also be considered but the reality stressed by Murray is that once you are in Europe, you stay in Europe. 

Islam is the elephant in the room. And I do think as a religion, it's unique in that its tenets often make their way into law and all aspects of the culture. Christianity and Judaism, thankfully, have acclimated to modernity through long reform processes. I hope Islam will be able to follow a similar path, but that's something that Muslims will have to work out. But as I said, it's foundational laws make this incredibly difficult. Apostasy is grounds for capital punishment in that faith. It takes incredible courage to even question parts of the doctrine. 

Who knows, perhaps Mick is right. Perhaps it's all sorting itself out, and in a non-violent, fair-minded way that preserves the local culture yet incorporates the best parts of the new citizens. Douglas Murray has almost 400 pages which strongly disagree with this position. I sure wish Mick would pick the book up as he's in a better position to judge the arguments than we are.

I'm not sure which Sam Harris/Douglas Murray podcast you listened to as there are a couple. Forgive me if I sent you to the wrong one. The one that really digs into his book is this one:

https://samharris.org/podcasts/is-this-the-end-of-europe/

Hope I've addressed your concerns, Dan. As often is the case, my questions far exceed my answers. 

Peter T.