The second day of the Danube Institute’s Family Formation and the Future conference started with a keynote address by Political Director for the Prime Minister of Hungary Balázs Orbán. He started his speech by highlighting the cultural significance of the location of the event, the historic Castle District of Budapest. He used this as an example of the sentimental belonging one feels for their homeland.
He then went on to highlight the success of the right-wing Fidesz administration during their 15 years in power in Hungary. ‘Many battles have been won, but what for?’ he posed the poetic question.
He answered by stating that ‘meaning equals responsibility,’ as in it is the responsibilities that we take on that give meaning to our lives. In the context of the theme of the conference, he presumably was speaking of the responsibility of bearing and raising a child. Then, he declared that ‘meaning and purpose are connected to our relationship with others,’ further elucidating that point.
Mr Orbán also pointed out that even the Old Testament calls on people to ‘be fruitful and multiply’. Alas, the new liberal redefinition of family has served to hinder that mission. In Hungary, liberal activists even use the motto ‘Family is family,’ which, as he pointed out, is a meaningless tautology that only proves that they do not really understand what family is. He also highlighted that the liberal values these activists are championing, such as individual freedoms, are, in fact, rooted in Judeo–Christian tradition.
The speaker also proudly talked about the Hungarian Fundemental Law, adopted in 2011, which ‘is unique in the world in that it includes the country’s historical values,’ as he put it. Those values include the protection and appreciation of the family, which resulted in a 33-per-cent increase in marriages and a 50-per-cent decrease in abortions since, Mr Orbán shared.
The keynote address was followed by a panel discussion with Fellow at the Manhattan Institute Heather Mac Donald; Executive Director for the Center for Immigration Studies Mark Krikorian; Former Deputy Assistant to President Donald Trump Theo Wold; and Senior Fellow for the Hungary Foundation Daniel Whitehead. Simon Hankinson, a Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, served in the role of the moderator.
Mr Hankinson spoke first. He highlighted that despite what the liberal mainstream wants to tell you, there is a correlation between immigration and crime rates. In Europe, he shared, a 1-per-cent increase in immigration leads to around a 3.5-per-cent increase in homicide rate on average, and the 15-per-cent foreign-born population commits 40 per cent of violent crimes. In Italy, for example, foreign-born immigrants are 17 times more likely to commit a violent crime than a native.
Ms Mac Donald also talked about crime statistics. She pointed out that while Hungary’s homicide rate is 0.774 per 100,000 people, in the United States, it is 7.7 per 100,000 people, ten times as much. It is even higher among black people, 28 deaths per 100,000 people. The majority of these homicide cases are gun deaths. She highlighted gang violence, in particular drive-by shootings in urban areas, as a pressing issue.
Mr Krikorian talked about how increased immigration leads to lowered fertility rates among the native population. He explained this is partly due to increased levels of immigration driving up housing costs.
Mr Wold explored a very similar topic. He talked about how Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the IMF have both argued in the past that only immigration can secure the demographic and economic future of Western countries, but he believes that that is not the case at all. In fact, mass immigration raises the cost of housing and public education. In the latter case, teachers often have to overcome language barriers, which makes the teaching process that much harder for every student. He then called on us all to ‘bolster the nation state, patriotism, and the community.’
Mr Whitehead echoed similar sentiments. He argued that progressive policies are often just disguised malice; and the left prioritizes immigration over raising native fertility rates because ‘their affection is transferred to those that are least like them.’
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