[Nowhere Man]

I have had the feeling for a long time that Western society has lost the will to survive, and I fear that the only thing that will revive it is loss of everything first. This could take another 50 years or more. It’s almost like mass hypnosis. We don’t even see reality anymore.

I think there will be some point where the people themselves, with or without saction by the "powers that be" in whatever country they live in, will take action themselves. Think of "Death Wish III" or "Outlaw Josey Wales" on steroids and en masse. It will not be pretty but if the leaders do not see the errors of their ways, it will be the only way Western Civ will survive.

[expat2]

I agree. The Anglo-Saxons have a history of taking a lot of $hit for a while, and then saying "That's enough!" and reacting very strongly. Just ask the Germans and the Japanese. Kipling said it in his poem "Et Dona Ferentes", e.g., the last verse:
Build on the flanks of Etna where the sullen smoke-puffs float
Or bathe in tropic waters where the lean fin dogs the boat
Cock the gun that is not loaded, cook the frozen dynamite
But oh, beware my Country, when my Country grows polite!