On many Americans’ bucket lists is a European vacation to see the continent’s almost frozen-in-time architecture, with buildings and cathedrals older than the United States itself still standing.
As a traveler to the continent for nearly a decade, however, I’ve witnessed the social shift in population demographics and cultural norms since former German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her benevolent slogan to the developing world during the 2015 migrant crisis, “Wir schaffen das!” — “We can manage this!”
In tourist areas, we’re usually fed a highly curated version of a given city, but even this attempt to modify the reality of Europe’s great centers is failing.
Today, in Paris (and other grand cities), you’re being hustled by African migrants to buy their overpriced trinkets near the Eiffel Tower, and much of Western Europe has accepted that having your valuables taken from your pockets by criminal migrants shouldn’t come as a surprise.
In London, a place most Americans think of as the Anglosphere’s cultural hub, the British are the minority, at 36.8% of the population.
Sections of the city resemble Islamabad, with more than 400 registered mosques in Greater London and at least four boroughs permitting the broadcasting of the call to prayer.
While in Vienna this month, I stayed in the Favoriten district, which aesthetically reminded me more of my travels throughout Turkey than it did a city known for classical music, art and the Holy Roman Empire.
During a taxi ride, our Austrian driver mentioned how hundreds of years ago, Islamists attempted to violently conquer Vienna. “Now, they do it peacefully,” he said.
Vienna’s population has shifted throughout the decades due to European Union mobility and the post-2015 migrant influx, making it a city with 40.2% of its population foreign-born.
Despite Merkel’s call for altruism, there were clear winners: the countries that stood against her and the EU’s demand to indiscriminately accept migrants, at risk of introducing cultural clashes and security issues.
Visiting Prague and Budapest was a considerable vibe shift, as it felt safer, and there was a consistent message of cultural preservation and appreciation.
These were people proud to be Czechs and Hungarians; that sense of pride is difficult to come across in Western Europe.
I didn’t see an abundance of people wearing fanny packs across their chests as a deterrent for pickpockets, and we weren’t chased down by unsavory characters to buy their trash products.
Hungary and the Czech Republic, members of the Visegrád Four, were maligned as xenophobic for wanting to maintain cultural cohesion and being realistic about the ramifications of importing into a country hundreds of thousands from vastly different backgrounds and without resources to take care of themselves.
The European Union has taken a similar stance to Democrats in the United States, foolishly believing it can simultaneously save the world and fill employment shortages with cheap labor without any negative repercussions to the native population. Instead of an influx of jihadists, Americans imported a wave of Tren de Aragua terrorists as a result of Joe Biden’s open-border approach.
European leaders used phrases like “cultural enrichment,” but this was really about economic enrichment, the same as in the United States.
Jean-Claude Juncker, then European Commission president, stated in his 2015 State of the Union, “Let us not forget, we are an aging continent in demographic decline. We will be needing talent. Over time, migration must change from a problem to be tackled to a well-managed resource.”
Travelers like me went to Europe because it was already enriched by its own culture, laced with historical significance and beauty.
Similarly, I’ve visited places like Turkey because it has its own unique cultural influence and incredible hospitality.
But it’s considered insulting only to say Istanbul needs more “cultural enrichment,” not London.
European leaders attempt to convince their citizens it is possible to become a multicultural, cohesive nation like the United States, when our nation is far younger, larger in size and more malleable than theirs.
When people come to America, they more often than not buy into becoming Americans by rejecting most of their old customs to adhere to ours.
Legally migrating to America was seen as difficult, meaning only the people who were willing to painstakingly go through the process were the ones who really appreciated what we had to offer culturally.
Relaxed immigration policies produce a population of people who want to either siphon financial resources to send abroad or only stay as long as they can replicate their homeland.
Over the past decade, I’ve watched much of Europe disappear culturally, and some are cheering on their own demise or don’t care that it’s happening.
I’ve made friends with Europeans from various nations, and there is this persistent act of being purposefully anti-nationalistic, essentially demonizing their nation whenever given the chance.
People who don’t appreciate where they’re from and find ways to downplay their historical significance won’t fight to preserve it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if, in my lifetime, those old Gothic churches are taken down as they conflict with the new natives’ desires.
Adam B. Coleman is the author of “The Children We Left Behind” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
