A House Divided
Writing in the American Thinker, the brilliant Herb Meyer points out that we are no longer debating the War-the greater war against Islamic Jihad-in terms of strategy, but in terms of whether we should fight for Western Civilization at all.
Never in our past was this at issue (except maybe during Vietnam, and even then the majority of Americans merely disagreed with that particular fight)and the loss of confidence in our way of life bodes ill for our future survival. A house divided cannot stand, according to Lincoln, and we have become divided between those who believe in Western Civilization and those who do not. How long can we stand with the barbarians at the gates, and with us divided internally?
Never in our past was this at issue (except maybe during Vietnam, and even then the majority of Americans merely disagreed with that particular fight)and the loss of confidence in our way of life bodes ill for our future survival. A house divided cannot stand, according to Lincoln, and we have become divided between those who believe in Western Civilization and those who do not. How long can we stand with the barbarians at the gates, and with us divided internally?
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 5:21 AM
2 Comments:
From Meyer's essay:
Now we can understand why our conversation about the present conflict has become so fierce, so bitter, and so partisan. Today, there is a significant contingent among us who do not believe that Western Civilization is worth defending, or that our operating system deserves to survive. Those who subscribe to this perception - and they include quite a few of our elected officials - are so focused on the flaws, shortcomings and imperfections of Western Civilization that they are blind to its achievements. So while some of us are debating how to win the war, others among us want only to stop the war. This is why we are not so much talking among ourselves about what to do, but rather talking - shouting, really - past one another.
On Christmas Day, we had dinner with our neighbors, whose son--one of the thirty-somethings, ranted against Western civilization. He has been so ranting since last 1987, when he returned home from college on his semester break; at that time, he was a college freshman, the product of private Christian education in high school. But once he got to college, he repudiated everything he had been taught. As an adult, nothing has changed for him. He continues to denounce capitalism and, truly, does live a very spartan life in keeping with his hippie philosophy.
How many are there like this young man? Far too many, I think. And more and more like him have been churned out from our educational institutions over the past several decades.
Is it any wonder, then, that we are so divided?
Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that Western civilization will be ultimately defeated. But I fear that we will dawdle and dawdle until our backs are up against the wall.
That is entirely too true, AOW!
The Leftists in the educational system have managed to coopt the moral high ground, convincing many youngsters that our way of life is unchristian and immoral, all the while railing against Christianity and morals. That is, of course, why history is a backwater studies; if kids would learn how things were before the ascendency of the West they would better appreciate what good our civilization has done. Slavery, human sacrifice, pedophilia, cannibalism were all stamped out by Christendom/Western Civ, but do these leftists give any credit whatsoever to the West? Famine and starvation were the norm until the coming of free enterprise and Western innovation, but do we receive any thanks? We have idiots who think that the state of nature was a paradise, and evil white corporate men stole this from all mankind. `Thou shalt not covet` has become a virtue to the left.
A point on your hippie; the only reason that he can live his simple agrarian dream is because there exists an entity known as the United States, which guarantees him the freedom to live this way and guarantees his security. Why did Americans settle Texas? Because it was empty, since the Mexicans had never been able to secure the region. Pioneering was DANGEROUS, because any evildoer could creep up on you and slaughter you for whatever you had. In modern America, people drop out of society all the time with no fear because there are men with guns who guard this land, and who will hunt down the evildoers who would kill a hermit or pioneer. This kid is swimming in cream thanks to the civilization he so despises. He would be imprisoned or killed in a less kind system. He also knows he can go to a doctor at any time, can find food if his own efforts fail, can communicate at will, etc. In a state of nature he would have none of these options; nature is merciless.
Serfdom was entered into voluntarily at first; why? Because without the defense of Rome the small farmholders were at the mercy of any thug who came along. A couple of Viking raids stealing your children would make you go to the local rich guy for help! Yet this foolish young friend of yours thinks things are so bad here!
I agree AOW; we`re backing up to a mighty high wall, and the suffering which will result from our indulging in such childishness will be extreme.
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