Regarding your previous comment on being and immigrant way back - this made me want to check into my past, and my ancestors were all from this (or sometimes the neighbouring) country. The question on immigration is quite different to US and European citizens.

I want to come back to those three points because I've got a very different experience with them.

Financially: the current influx of refugees / migrant is putting a huge strain on our state budget. Almost all of them aren't working at this moment - yes, we have to keep in mind that the process of becoming a citizen takes one or more years. Still, they are currently fully dependant on government spending when it comes to housing, food, education, health care and 'living money' (to spend as they like).
Because of EU regulation we're only allowed to have a 3% deficit - meaning we have to cut back on social securities for the elderly and students. I've looked into rapports about refugees in Europe and quite a few articles and tbh, they don't lie.. It's putting an enormous strain on our budget. This used to be different with previous influxes, in where the migrants did many low-paid jobs.

Culturally: yes! Immigrants do bring a lot of culture with them and we've enjoyed this a lot here with the Italians, Spanish, Germans etc. However, this is because they bring a similar culture, one that just differentiates on 'details' and general less important aspects such as speech, expression and religious (Christian) branches. They usually take 2 or 3 generations to merge into the main culture. Now we're faced with much bigger cultural differences.. Some freedoms which we've accepted for decades are intolerable in the foreign culture. Instead of the foreign culture 'enriching' the host culture, it's making the host culture adapt itself to the guest culture.

Socially: what I see is not so much an abandoning of their own culture. As just mentioned, the cultures don't easily merge - not surprising when looking at their markup. Also, we're witnessing a polarisation in society. Some have faith in the idea that this will work out over time and some have had bad experiences: cut back on social security, houses being redistributed or being unsafe in public (as I can confirm myself).

Because the media coverage of certain topics is so ubiquitous, we may feel like our personal boundaries are being threatened when they are actually not. — Bitter Crank

Exactly. I used to consider myself as more of a cultural libertarian, however, since these issues are getting more and more attention in the media, I feel as if it's being pushed. As you said, the number of Americans actually being transgender and the amount of media attention the bathroom issue has been getting - is a great example. The world is 'on fire' and we seem to be looking for problems within our own society to explore / emphasise / push .. causing people to take a stand. And because our boundaries aren't (in most cases actually) threatened, we're inclined to think; 'Meh, why not, everybody deserves rights'. But what would happen if these issues would actually reach us before we were urged to take a stand? Wouldn't we be a bit more critical about them? Or take a bit more time to figure out the consequences?

Everything in life involves some acceptance of risk, but we usually don't think about it. When we do, that risk seems emotionally
unacceptable, but if we objectively look at the benefits, it may be worth
considering. — swstephe

Sure, I believe that some tolerance might have helped us in the past. But how about today? We're experiencing an influx of many different cultures that are still dealing with issues which we have already dealt with.. What do you think we have to win from this? Because I see very few cultural, societal or financial gains at the moment.

Maybe there is a different trend at work here. — swstephe

...

Doesn't that mean social tolerance is being reduced? — swstephe

It could very well be the case that this isn't really about tolerance (if that's what you're talking about). It might just be some issues that are being pushed with the idea of keeping the political engaged population occupied. Because who knows what happens when they dive into the more complex matters of international relations, government corruption or the course of their country.

There is a psychological tendency to paint history as virtuous and beneficial. — swstephe

Yes, and I'm not trying to make it sound as if everything used to be better. But my point is that we have to be aware of where we are right now, because it seems that the current trend is that all progression is actually good. Over the long run we risk losing many of the things that - for instance - provide us freedom.

me too! And political issues are so sensitive for some to talk about.. Many people won't even listen and just shut you out. I could ramble about this for hours lol

:)
Btw, I think that the revolution is already happening. It's been simmering for quite some years and with all the distractions also come new opportunities such as alternative media. Ignorance is declining as the people are waking up. Less and less people are trusting mainstream media - which never discusses the real issues and is providing most news with a false narrative. The problem is that we need more people wake up and above all to speak out.

Sorry but I have to comment on that last line.. "Please bear in mind that everyone can read what you're saying." - that is exactly one of the biggest problems in our society these days. No privacy, public shaming, bullying (calling someone racist etc.) - this all causes people to censor themselves and that is not only harmful for a discussion, it's also very dangerous.

As you said "radically change the entire practice of living" - today that would require a revolution. Both in a political sense and in our consciousness. I think this is partially already happening. You can see it in the nationalist and culture-aware movements. These movements can form a great vehicle for bringing awareness to the bigger crowds.

Until we realise what we are, we can never become anything. - 100% Agreed! I think the problem is the biggest within my generation (the spoiled, unaware millennials). We have no idea where we came from, and are only focused on where we’re going — which is not specified; the only way is forward.

How do you think we can make ourselves more aware of who we are? How can we get people to realise that the acceptance of certain acts or rights can/will eventually be our downfall? Again, this may sound somewhat pessimistic, but when you think about it.. A culture can only exist and survive when it’s well aware of its history and traits.

I see a diminishing of this in Western / liberal culture but an uprising in Islamic culture - which is increasing itself in the West. I have many muslim and Middle-Eastern friends, and I see a certain pride in their eyes when they talk about their culture and religion. Good for them, but consider the demise of Western culture.. Our culture and worldview is shifting - rapidly. If we don’t find out what makes us, us, and make people aware of that, we will lose our way of living and culture.

Take for example this article on Salon:
http://www.salon.com/2015/09/21/im_a_pedophile_but_not_a_monster/

Salon is a populair, progressive website with about 11 million unique visitors a month ( https://www.quantcast.com/salon.com#trafficCard )

What stood out to me in this article was the tone. Being a pedophile is being described as something that in fact victimises the person in question. Also, notice the links being made to 'being gay'.

I'm aware that what I'm trying to get across might seem a little far-fetched or frightening, but I'm thinking about it in a bigger picture. In the ongoing 'struggle' for tolerance and rights for certain groups. Please note, I have absolutely nothing against people living their life without harming anyone. I just think it's important to think about the longterm consequences of the changes that are being pushed.

I agree that you can’t be tolerant to an idea. I think of tolerance as a scale, a measure of how much deviant behaviour you’re willing to put up with. Ideas can fall into the area of one’s intolerant part of the scale.

With ideas it’s most important to extensively outline the consequences of it. What we see happening now is more and more ideas [progressive ideas] many of which most people used to be intolerant to - become actions, tolerated actions. I’m very interested in this shift, but mostly worry about it tbh. For example, women were given the right to vote around 100 years ago. There was a hard fought struggle, but “we” made it. Where are certain groups of people fighting for today? We’ve got LGBT rights (most of it), we’ve got quite a lot of religious tolerance.. and what I’m seeing in the most frontrunning progressive media outlets now (which are basically a glimpse of the future if we continue our social and cultural developments like this) is for example pedophilia. Now it’s mostly discussed as an idea and the “pedophiles” are seen as a group whose ‘rights’ are currently not recognised. When the idea of pedophilia is turned into action, one can see the most horrible, evil things happening we now know. I think that over 90% of people would agree with me on this. However.. the same thing was said about homophilia a couple of decades ago.

There’s two points that concern me.
First, when discussing ideas which are currently being discussed as to whether they’re tolerable or not, we must consider what happens when they become actions. What actually happens to the peoples involved and society as a whole? Ideas often have a more romantic feel to them, while actions display hidden bitter truths.
Second, where does this end? It seems to me that many have become blinded by the idea that we must be tolerant. And that we all eventually will be. Where is our line in the sand? Are we going to draw one that actually holds and can thus also be applied in the future?