ODM Daily Inspirational Devotional Messages Bible Verse and Prayers ODM
Anderson and Cleese Challenge the Multiculturalism Myth
John Cleese’s views on multiculturalism, Christianity and criticism are resurfacing, offering a provocative challenge to assumptions about immigration, cultural identity and the West’s Christian foundations.
A three-year-old clip featuring John Anderson talking with John Cleese is re-entering the multiculturalism debate.
The two-minute segment covers Cleese’s thoughts on immigration, assimilation and the preservation of culture.
Cleese sees multicultural ideology as problematic because there are core differences between cultures.
These differences create difficulties when it comes to imported cultures coexisting with the host country. Some are even too difficult to resolve.
Cleese told Anderson, “The trouble with multiculturalism is you want to have a core of things that people agree on, and then all the details can be fixed.”
Multiculturalism, Immigration and Integration
Offering an example, Cleese said, “If you believe that, say, allegiance to a god is effectively in the real world more powerful than allegiance to the constitution of a country, then that’s a conflict.
“I don’t know how you resolve that. I would say if you feel that, then don’t come to a country that has a completely opposite view, because there are many countries that have your view.”
Cleese said he would then ask this person, “Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable there?”
In agreement, Anderson replied, “And maybe if you destroy the culture of the country that you’ve come to, everyone loses.
“Not just the people who have enjoyed that culture, but the very people who have come to it looking for something better. You can undo it.”
“Yes,” Cleese said, “you can be too critical of it because you want to change something before you’ve really had time to absorb what the real feeling and truth about the country is. I do think that’s right.
“I do think it’s fair to say to people,” he added, “well, if you really don’t like so many aspects of this country, wouldn’t you be happier finding another country that agrees with your views more.
“Rather than coming to one that agrees less, which you want to change, although it’s not what the history of that country has led to.”
For Cleese, who was raised on “when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” immigration is about integration.
Looking back on history, immigration was defined by people searching for a better life somewhere else.
As Cleese argued, “Immigrants usually immigrated because they weren’t doing that well in the country they came from. Most of them came out of desperation.”
Christianity vs Bureaucratic Religion
Anderson’s wider chat with the Monty Python star also dove into Christianity and Western culture.
Here, Cleese said, “Christianity is too difficult. I mean, what Christianity asks of its followers is enormously difficult, and I think most people can’t take it quite seriously.”
Quoting G.K. Chesterton, Cleese said, “‘It’s not that Christianity has failed. It’s just that it’s never been tried.’ And I think that’s the problem about it.
“The other problem is if you’re around Jesus and the disciples, you’re getting something from them which is transforming.
“If 600 years later, you’re getting the power seekers in the church running it like a bureaucracy, you’re not getting anything like that at all.”
Responding to Chesterton’s claim that the abandonment of God creates a vacuum where humanity believes in anything, Cleese said, “It depends on what you mean by God.”
The actor and comedian didn’t dismiss God. Cleese simply stated, “I believe there is something out there. I like the Alcoholics Anonymous people who call it a higher power.”
On Christianity and the current state of the Western world, Cleese remarked: “I think once you lose a religious underpinning, then you’ve got to go to something else.
“I have this nasty feeling that people go to money. The money becomes the meaning of life, and that’s such a joke when you consider Christ did not say ‘blessed are the rich’, right?”
Cleese rightly criticised prosperity teaching and, on brand, thought literal-mindedness makes Christianity ridiculous.
He is as sceptical about the Puritans as he is critical of today’s modern-day Marxian Woke circus.
Perpetually Offended
The Anderson-Cleese conversation included an insightful take on how culture has replaced the ability to listen to criticism with an inability to laugh at itself, and a readiness to take offence.
If criticised, we have two ways to respond.
First, claim victimhood and cancel the critic. Second, ask whether there’s any truth in the criticism.
Anderson framed the options in a question, adding that he would choose option 2. Cleese responded, “Well, that’s what a real Christian would do.
“Instead of immediately batting the criticism away, he would think, is that true? Is that true of me? How true is it?
“Not: is it true, black or white, true or untrue; to what extent is that truth? People find it very, very difficult to do. They don’t really want to be criticised.
“The mistake Woke people make is to say that all humour is critical, not puns; they’re not critical, but any kind of Fawlty Towers humour. Any kind of film or stage humour, because you don’t laugh at perfect people.”
“If someone is kind and wise in general,” Cleese explained, “there’s nothing funny about them; it’s when they fall below that and become greedy or lustful or spiteful, that’s when they become funny.”
“So,” he asserted, “all humour is critical, but the question is, how is the criticism conveyed?”
Cleese’s Warning About Britain’s Christian Heritage
At 86, the British comedian still isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
On X, Cleese has been relentless in his opposition to mass immigration, the dechristianisation and apparent Islamification of Britain.
As he posted on 16 March, “The UK has always been based at the deepest level on Christian values, regardless of dogma.
“Despite the many mistakes made by churches, for centuries, British people have been influenced by Christ’s teaching.
“If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain any more.”
Cleese restated something very similar again in August.
Affirming that Britain is a Christian country, he wrote, “At the deepest level it has Christian values, not so much in theology, but in fundamental behaviour. Decency.
“These values do not have the underlying authoritarianism of Islam, which threatens to force people to convert.”
The Anderson-Cleese interview took place in 2023 when the Monty Python legend was on his “An Evening with the Late John Cleese” tour of Australia.
ODM Daily Commentary
Let’s be honest: John Cleese is saying what millions of people are thinking but are too afraid to say. Multiculturalism, as it is currently practised, is not working. It is not about integration. It is about fragmentation. And it is destroying the very cultures that welcomed immigrants in the first place.
The article from The Daily Declaration revisits a 2023 conversation between John Anderson and John Cleese. It is a provocative challenge to the sacred cow of multiculturalism. Cleese argues that there must be a core of things that people agree on. If allegiance to a god is more powerful than allegiance to the constitution of a country, then that is a conflict. And it cannot be resolved.
Cleese’s solution is simple: if you do not like the country you have come to, if you want to change it fundamentally, then perhaps you would be happier somewhere else. There are many countries that share your view. Why come to one that does not? Why destroy the culture that others have built? And why undo the very thing that attracted you in the first place?
Anderson agrees. If you destroy the culture of the country you have come to, everyone loses. Not just the people who enjoyed that culture, but the very people who came looking for something better. You can undo it. And that is what is happening.
Cleese also speaks about Christianity. He quotes Chesterton: “It’s not that Christianity has failed. It’s just that it’s never been tried.” He notes that Christianity is difficult. It asks a lot. And most people cannot take it seriously. He distinguishes between Jesus and the disciples and the power-seekers in the church who run it like a bureaucracy. He is sceptical of prosperity teaching. And he criticises literal-mindedness that makes Christianity ridiculous.
Cleese’s comments on offence are particularly sharp. He says that if criticised, we have two options: claim victimhood and cancel the critic, or ask whether there is any truth in the criticism. A real Christian, he says, would do the latter. They would think, “Is that true of me? How true is it?” People find this very difficult. They do not want to be criticised.
Cleese also explains humour. He says all humour is critical. You do not laugh at perfect people. You laugh at people who fall below that and become greedy or lustful or spiteful. The mistake Woke people make is to say that all humour is critical and therefore bad. But the question is not whether humour is critical; it is how the criticism is conveyed.
Cleese’s warning about Britain is stark. He says the UK has always been based on Christian values. Despite the mistakes of the churches, British people have been influenced by Christ’s teaching. If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain any more. He says these values do not have the underlying authoritarianism of Islam, which threatens to force people to convert.
The comment section offers a reflection: Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon as slaves, but they did not assimilate with that religion. Otherwise, we would not have the account of how great and powerful YHWH is. Whatever society a believer lives in, the ability to remain faithful releases God to prove His Almighty power over all other gods.
So here is the challenge: speak the truth about multiculturalism. Defend the Christian foundations of the West. Learn to laugh at yourself. And refuse to be silenced by the perpetually offended.
Cleese is right. If you destroy the culture you came to, everyone loses. It is time to say so.
Keywords: John Cleese, John Anderson, multiculturalism, immigration, assimilation, cultural identity, Christianity, Western culture, G.K. Chesterton, Christianity never tried, bureaucracy, prosperity teaching, offence culture, criticism, humour, Fawlty Towers, Woke, Britain, Christian heritage, Islamification, Christian values, Daniel, Babylon, faithfulness, YHWH
