According to BabyCenter.com, the tenth most popular name for an American baby boy is now Muhammad. But don’t listen to the idiots who warn that this is bad for America. It’s actually good.
For a start, Muhammad is only part of the tale here. The conclusion of that tale tells of a country that is diverse but still bound to multi-sectarian unity.
Note that the eighth most popular baby boy’s name is Elijah, a Jewish name. The third most popular boy’s name is Noah, made famous for building an ark. Sourced from the Abrahamic faiths, these names speak to the incarnation of the American national motto: E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one.
We should be proud of this because this incarnation is unique, positive, and stable.
The vast majority of people can go to the same workplace or sports game or social occasion or whatever and get along — or at least not be motivated towards an exchange of animosity on the sole basis of religious identity. The vast majority of the country is patriotic and determined to leave a better country for their children than what they inherited. Even now, with all our present political discord, our society remains vibrant and peaceful.
This is not the case in most of the world.
The Abrahamic faiths exist in an often tense and even warring relationship in Europe and the Middle East. Consider the rise of anti-Semitic politics in Britain, prejudices of segregation around the French banlieues, or the violent sectarianism of Iran and ISIS. It’s easy to claim that America is the most racist nation, but our social mobility remains the envy of the Earth (read the penultimate paragraph here), and we have walked the walk when it comes to coexistence, unlike most of the world, which remains homogeneous in terms of both race and religion.
The basic point is this: whether Muhammad, Elijah, or Noah, America is strengthened by the diversity of our people and our sharing of values. We’re doing pretty well, thanks to that, and we should be proud of it.
