Schweiz, Schweiz, Über Alles!?

Nationalism really sucks. It is unfortunate that xenophobia is a fundamental characteristic of human beings. There's little doubt the attribute was carried down for millions of years from the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, which brings up the following question: can it ever be eradicated? Almost certainly not, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight it.

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Swiss Fury at Foreigners Boiling Over
Grisly Attack on African Underscores Race Issue In a Harsh Campaign
By Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, October 9, 2007; Page A10

...One of the world's oldest democracies is at the center of Western Europe's most divisive political debate: to embrace an increasingly globalized, multicultural society or to retreat into social isolation in an effort to preserve eroding traditional identities.

Across Switzerland, anti-foreigner and anti-Islamic attitudes have become so pervasive on the streets, in politics and within governmental institutions that the United Nations, European Union, Amnesty International and Switzerland's own Federal Commission Against Racism have expressed alarm in recent months.

The theme is dominating the campaign for national parliamentary elections Oct. 21 and is crystallized in a controversial campaign poster showing three white sheep kicking a black sheep off a Swiss flag above the slogan, "For more security."
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