[Joe 6-pack]

Sir Kenneth Clarke was a British Art Historian who led the effort to safeguard the collections of British Museums during WWII; his son later became a Conservative MP. In 1969, Clarke put together a BBC series and companion book titled Civilisation and talked about the underpinnings of the west in what was a clear, unabashed celebration of the greatness of western culture. In defining civilization, I think he sums up why it's so important for the radical left to undermine patriotism, cultural values and western exceptionalism. He writes:

"Of course, civilisation requires a modicum of material prosperity – enough to provide a little leisure. But, far more, it requires confidence – confidence in the society in which one lives, belief in its philosophy, belief in its laws, and confidence in one’s own mental powers. The way in which the stones of the Pont du Gard are laid is not only a triumph of technical skill, but shows a vigorous belief in law and discipline. Vigor, energy, vitality: all the great civilisations – or civilising epochs – have had a weight of energy behind them. People sometimes think that civilisation consists in fine sensibilities and good conversation and all that. These can be among the agreeable results of civilisation, but they are not what make a civilisation, and a society can have these amenities and yet be dead and rigid."

Following Marx's lead, the left has assailed and chipped away at all of the above. Making people feel insecure and anxious not only makes them look for security in others and willing to cede their liberty, it also breaks down and undermines civilisation as a whole.

[Borges]

It's inaccurate to say Marx hated the West. His stuff is an outgrowth of the Ideal of Man's ‘Infinite Perfectibility’ which comes right out of the Enlightenment. In doing so it of course denies Original Sin.

[Noumenon]

Many on the Left follow a destructive meme that owes its origin, substance and methodology to Antonio Gramsci, Herbert Marcuse, Saul Alinsky and the Cloward-Piven duo. There are many others, but these four are the most toxic – and yes, evil – of the lot.

The other meme is that of the dehumanization of humanity itself - the reduction of humankind to things, animals or machines. Look to Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, B.F. Skinner, Dr. Peter Singer and the current crop of so-called ‘bio-ethicists’ for that particular chain of thought. You can hardly ask for something more insidiously evil than that.

Converged and combined, these two streams of thought have served those who have committed the most monstrous crimes in history – These are the killers without conscience.

The book that I am presently writing suggests that the emergence of the will to power as the driving force behind those who have committed those crimes – the slaughter, enslavement, torture and impoverishment of hundreds of millions. As I see it, ideology matters little to those whose desire to control Mankind – it’s merely the horse they’re riding on the eway to dominus terra firma.

We have not seen the end of these monsters, nor will we. The desire to control others – and to harm others – without consequence appears to be ‘black code’ that’s written into our DNA. Modern ideology, that is, all of the modern totalitarian ‘isms’ – communism, socialism, and so on – provide the perfect environment for that ‘black code’ of the will to power to prosper and flourish. This is one of our great human failings, an aspect of our tragic nature that must always be recognized, fought and destroyed, if only for a little while. But for that, we’d be out among the stars by now.

I highly recommend two recent works by Chantal Delsol: Icarus Fallen – the Search for Meaning in an Uncertain World and The Unlearned Lessons of the Twentieth Century – an Essay on Late Modernity. The insights she presents are compelling and fairly leap off the page. The points of disagreement that I have with this author’s works are honest and thoughtful ones. Her European perspective often misses what makes America so unique among the world's civilizations, but is does provide valuable insights as to just why the lights are going out all over Europe. Even so, those points in no way invalidate the main themes of her works.

[Jim W N]

Yes. Ultimately, it's a spiritual issue and a spiritual battle.

Our country began in the worst of conditions in so many ways. One of many examples is Jamestown, this county's first settlement, which was almost wiped out by a mysterious plague. Washington's strategy in the first part of the Revolutionary War was...retreat. Valley Forge, what probably should have been the end of the war, instead miraculously created an army that the greatest military power on earth couldn't defeat. In the battle of 1812, the British had overrun and burned down an abandoned Washington D.C., when a storm came through that was so powerful, it drove the troops back to wherever their base of operations was.

This country was founded by praying Christians whose faith and whose God saw their way through the toughest of times. I know personally that faith in the Lord is why I can trust Him in my efforts and not man or government.

We've moved far from the "In God We Trust" people we used to be and are susceptible to the subtleties and snares of opportunists who hate America and America's values of Life, Liberty, and Happiness. Do we still have Divine Providence on our side? Are we still the home of the brave and the land of the free? I think these are the underlying issues that will decide our fate.