I, predictably enough, like Buchanan. I am glad his quixotic presidency quest is over and he is back to where he does most good, being a pundit.
I would agree that the rejection of the Euroconstitution shouild not be viewed from a conservative prism. Their house is falling apart and they are in disarray. The common denominator is de-Christianization, but I am not convinced Buchanan understands it as clearly as Weigel does.
The uniqueness of the tragedies of the 20 century -- which I, and Weigel, enumerated several times, -- militates against your assertion that this one is just a normal ebb and flow of history. Here is one anecdote to illustrate. During the battle of Somme the British Expeditionary Force attacked the German positions under the incorrect assumption that the preceding artillery fire disabled the German infantry and shredded the wire entanglements. It did not: their ordnance could not cut wire, and the Germans nerved themselves to hunker down in their bunkers and re-emerge on the firing line as soon as the barrage was over. BEF marched on, and got stuck in the uncut wire. The Germans brought up the machine guns and wiped a good portion of them out. The rest struggled to retreat. At this point, the German infantry held their fire, letting them retreat and pick up the wounded. This was contrary to all military sense, as the retreating Brits lived to fight them another day. It was not a case of individual soldiers surreptitiously holding fire, it was the decision of the commanding officers. It was a plain act of Christian charity.
The Great War was remarkable for the little civilian damage as well, as you know. This was the last war fought according to the Christian principles. The cause of that war was, of course, insufficient, but the methods were still reminiscent, at times, of medieval chivalry. It is impossible to imagine any military commander during the Second World War to spare lives of enemy soldiers; in fact, little distinction was made between the combatants and the civilians by all sides.
This is what we lost, and this is why death is at the door.
I also liked him once, and even voted for him in the primaries. Those days are long gone, and he has since become only a shadow of his once vibrant leadership. Hopefully he will remain a pundit, and as such is at least entertaining if not educational.
Their house is falling apart and they are in disarray. The common denominator is de-Christianization,
I guess I'm still trying to find that linkage. Weigel shows a drop in organized religion in Europe at the same time as a drop in the growth rate projections. To somehow tie the two together without a definitive cause and effect relationship is what I am seeking. For example, it's a known fact that virtually all rapists and other sexual predators are fans of pornography. Some erroneously then conclude that pornography is a cause of such behavior. Clearly it's not as tens of millions of others view pornography without any such adverse effects.
But those who want to ban pornography will try and establish that link.
Another example is the pro choice crowd. When violence is perpetrated against doctors and clinics, they want to blame the whole pro-life movement because the few such criminals have all been members of the movement. Poor linkage.
At this point, the German infantry held their fire, letting them retreat and pick up the wounded. This was contrary to all military sense, as the retreating Brits lived to fight them another day. It was not a case of individual soldiers surreptitiously holding fire, it was the decision of the commanding officers. It was a plain act of Christian charity.
I agree that it was a plain act of human charity if not Christian charity. But the atrocities committed by both sides in the Great War are well documented. In fact the Canadians and Australians were most apt to engage in atrocities against the enemy.
In every war in the 20th Century you will find such stories, both of atrocities and of humanitarianism. The first Geneva Convention was in 1864 and was the first real attempt to govern and spell out humanitarian treatment. It came about because of the seemingly inhumane wars that were being fought and how non combatants were being treated--hardly in a Christian fashion.
Don't forget two of the most egregious Christian efforts were the Crusades and the Inquisition, both of which the Vatican apologized for.
Today civilized nations try and conduct military operations in the most humanitarian manner possible. It may be related to Christianity, but Europe seems to be the most sensitive to humanitarian conduct today, and yet Weigel and Buchanan have written them off because of their de-Chrianization, which does seem somewhat inconsistent.