Is Western Civilization On the Brink?
Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, 6/27/20
No
man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a
part of the main.
So wrote England’s John
Donne in 1623. From a family of great Catholic faith, through a wild period of debauchery,
on to a spiritual conversion, Donne became in the final period of his life the
Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Of this former playboy it was often said, “If
Donne’s path could be altered, so could that of any other rogue in England.”
Though he became famous
as a poet and essayist, Donne, like many other European writers, is now
essentially neglected. Even his contemporary, Shakespeare himself, is
de-emphasized. The author of “Lord of the Rings,” Tolkien – though not his books
– is also diminished. Tolkien’s Christian faith bothers the critics. Alas, even
“Narnia” author C.S.Lewis (your children and grandchildren know about “Narnia,”
even if you don’t) is out of favor at his beloved Oxford University.
What’s happening to
western literature and western civilization generally? From what did western
culture spring? Not geographically or ethnically, but philosophically. What
ideas, principles, or values brought Americans – white, black, and brown – more
freedom, opportunity, groceries, and more equality before the law than any
other nation or culture ever known to mankind?
What we call western
civilization wasn’t birthed in Philadelphia. It was planted in ancient Greece,
sprouted, believe it or not in ancient Rome, and moved toward full flower in
Europe well before 1776. As far back as 1215 King John of England learned that
kingly power had limits and was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a precursor of
our U.S. Constitution.
Western civilization,
from the 300 BC streets of Athens, Greece to present day Main Street USA has brought
delivery from political darkness that still marks so much of the eastern world.
Western civilization with its personal liberty, freedom of expression, art,
architecture, monuments, inventions, free enterprise, commerce, and
representative democracy has not perfected westerners, but it has freed them from
monarchy and automatic poverty because of one’s birth.
Yet in spite of such
blessings and greatness, more and more American academics, corporate heads,
religious leaders, and elected politicians are faulting western civilization,
especially white Americans, for “inequities” and “systemic racism.” Siding with
radical socialists, they argue that western civilization is at heart morally
defective. Examples abound: the “1619 project” (please look it up), the almost
total disappearance of western civilization studies at America’s most famous
universities, the Jesse Jackson-led chant at Stanford University, “Hey, hey, ho,
ho, Western Civ has got to go,” the assignment of DWEM’s (Dead White European
Men) to a class worthy of scorn, and of course the destruction of statues. (Now
there’s a “hate crime” if you believe in such, for which culprits go unpunished.)
Self-loathing is the
air that far too many Americans now breathe. Daily another athlete,
entertainer, CEO, minister, or politician envisions a noose or apologizes for
something they never did. Fawning apologizers cannot explain the success of
Barack Obama, Oprah, and countless other blacks. Liberal guilt has become white
guilt. Those who don’t feel or profess guilt are deemed racists.
All of this mania
amounts to a new tyranny. That tyranny
demands that we “understand” the looters and monument defacers and their
attitude toward the police.
Other than that of
Alveda King, guilt-ridden whites seldom hear the black voices who appreciate
America and western culture. That’s because the media denies them a platform.
Burgess Owens, Shelby Steele, Candice Owens, and Thomas Sowell are all blacks
who have rejected the bandwagon of self-loathing “white privilege.” How often
are they on television?
I have never taught from or seen a college or
high school American literature textbook that didn’t contain the great writings
of the former black slave, Frederick Douglas, the black poet James Weldon
Johnson, and many others. The many contributions of blacks to our nation are
acknowledged and celebrated everywhere, except by those who wallow in
fashionable self-loathing. Note to all “white privilege” subscribers: all the
killing of blacks in Chicago isn’t coming from whites.
John Donne wrote
further in Meditation 17 above, “Any man’s death diminishes me for I am
involved in mankind; therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it
tolls for thee.” In other words, all lives matter.
Does the bell now toll
for western civilization? What would a Westless world look like? We are getting
an idea now. Right from our streets. From a socialist who almost won the
Democratic nomination for President. From transnational, corporate globalists.
And from the lips of blue-state and blue-city leaders who never liked America
very much in the first place.
Roger Hines
6/24/20