fall of the Iron Curtain and the death ofrnlong-time premier Marshal Tito, the decompositionrncommenced.rnToday, Yugoslavia is a fraction of itsrnformer domain, comprising the republicsrnof Serbia (which includes thernKosovo region) and Montenegro. Croatia,rnSlovenia, and Macedonia have seceded.rnUnder the current truce, Bosnia-rnHerzegovina is a federation of thernRepublic of Srpska and the Muslim-rnCroat enclaves demanded by the UnitedrnStates. Yugoslavia, as constructed by therncommunists, was to be the consummaternmulticultural nation, cemented by thernfraternal bonds of socialism. But Yugoslaviarnfailed to forge these bonds,rnending instead in a savage war betweenrnethnic rivals, primarily because communismrncould never progress beyond socialistrnseizure of industry and commerce.rnPrivate ownership of homes and propertyrncontinued, social regimentation neverrnsupplanted families, and citizens maintainedrntheir religious faith. The peoplernof Yugoslavia refused allegiance to a nationrnformed with the objective of supplantingrntheir values.rnToday in Bosnia-Herzegovina, wernfind an uneasy truce being policed byrnthe United Nations under U.S. hegemony.rnThis truce was prescribed by thernDayton Accords after the United Statesrnarmed the Croatians and the Muslimsrnand bombed the Serbs’ key installations.rnOne effect of the war was the displacementrnof refugees from ethnically mixedrncommunities. While tragic, this doesrnpresent the opportunity to resettle thesernrehigees along the ethnic lines they prefer,rnremoving the continuing irritant ofrnintermingled peoples who are not likelyrnto live peacefully together. Unfortunately,rnthe United States is backing the returnrnof refugees and the goal —oncernagain—of a multicultural state.rnThe United States has demonized thernSerbs for “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia,rnwhich is what all three parties—Serbs,rnCroats, and Muslims—were effectivelyrnpracticing. With roughly equal casualties,rnall were equally victims. Yet thernSerbs have accepted the most refugees,rnmainly because they are the only onesrnwho do not persecute those of mixed ethnicrnmarriage or descent. The crowningrnirony is that the United States is proppingrnup Slobodan Milosevic, a formerrncommunist who has undertaken neitherrnprivatization nor free elections, and whornwas one of the original belligerents. Inrnthe American view, Milosevic now isrn”cooperative.”rnPerhaps the best lesson that Americansrncan learn from Yugoslavia is thatrnthere is no such thing as a multiculturalrnnation. Certainly what has made thernUnited States a great nation is its culturalrnheritage. The talents which immigrantsrnbrought to America from various culturesrnblossomed in the context of ourrnculture.rnWe are a product of Western civilizationrnand Christianity, both of whichrnevolved in Europe. Our own derivationrnof this civilization emphasizes individualrnrights and responsibility, strong familyrnbonds, limited representative government,rnreligion separated from state, arnstrong sense of community, free enterprise,rnprivate property, the rule of lawrnand reason, and a common languagernwith which we communicate this culturalrnheritage. To be an American citizenrn(or, as an immigrant, to aspire to be one)rnis to join these cultural bonds, not importrnalternatives. The only real alternative isrnthe eventual dissolution of America —rnwhich, if history is any guide, will likelyrnoccur under conditions of savagernhostility.rnSpecifically instructive are the circumstancesrnin Kosovo and MuslimrnBosnia. Kosovo is the heartland of OrthodoxrnSerbia. Today the region is predominantlyrnpeopled by Albanian Muslims,rnthe result of immigration fromrnAlbania and victory in a war of reproduction.rnThe Albanians have retained thernlanguage, customs, and religion of theirrnmother country, and most observersrnagree that Kosovo will eventually be annexedrnby Albania. At the rate that thernMuslims are reproducing, Bosnia willrnsoon find that Muslims have replacedrnthe Orthodox Serbs as the majority. Notrnsurprisingly, the Muslims want a stiongrncentral government for the confederationrnthey soon will dominate.rnThere is a lesson here that those of usrnwho live close to our national borderrnshould heed. Texas was effectively annexedrnby Americans whose languagernand culture were alien to Mexicans. Today,rnTexas has a reverse demographicrnshift due to immigration and reproduction,rnand our politicians are pandering tornthe Hispanic constituency by encouragingrnthe preservation of a foreign languagernand culture.rnAlthough most Hispanics, both nativebornrnand immigrants, want to be integratedrninto American society, “Anglo”rnpoliticians play on their gut feelings ofrnnationalism and downplay the importancernof proficiency in the English language,rnboth of which will limit their socialrnand economic progress. Over thernlong term, this could lead to an increasedrndesire for separatism and a reversalrnof allegiance to our country.rnThe government which governs culturernleast, governs best. But to the extentrnthat government gets involved in culturernthrough the schooling and assimilationrnof immigrants, the vast majority of Americanrncitizens want our government to defendrnnot some multicultural alternative,rnbut rather our cultural heritage and thernborders which guarantee the peace andrnprosperity this heritage has created. Thatrnsame vast majority, including the vastrnmajority of Hispanics, strongly opposernthe imposition of a multicultural Americarnby a self-appointed cultural elite.rnDavid Hartman is the chairman ofrnthe board of directors of The RockfordrnInstitute.rnThe Face of Battlernby Wayne AllensworthrnSaving Private RyanrnProduced by Steven SpielbergrnDirected by Steven SpielbergrnScreenplay by Robert RodatrnReleased by Paramountrnand DreamWorks SKGrnIf you visit the American cemeteriesrnnear the beaches at Normandy—rnthere are two of them—you may pick uprna booklet describing the landings of Junern6,1944, as I did over 15 years ago. Underrnthe listing for “Omaha,” the anonymousrnhistorian wrote thatrnthe 1st U.S. Infantry Division landedrnhere from 6.30 . . . however,rnthere was a rough sea at the foot ofrnthe cliffs. The first assault sufferedrnheavy losses… the beach had notrnbeen cleared of anti-invasion devices,rnand the tide was rising…. Arnfew assault groups reached the toprnof the b e a c h . . . . The Pointe durn46/CHRONlCLESrnrnrn