Posted on 12/18/2025 6:16:37 AM PST by texas booster
History suggests civilizations fall when complacency, debt, and tribalism replace unity, discipline, and reform—prompting fears the West may be nearing a familiar decline.
Western civilization arose in the 8th century B.C. Greece. Some 1,500 city-states emerged from a murky, illiterate 400-year-old Dark Age. That chaos followed the utter collapse of the palatial culture of Mycenaean Greece.
But what reemerged were constitutional government, rationalism, liberty, freedom of expression, self-critique, and free markets—what we know now as the foundation of a unique Western civilization.
The Roman Republic inherited and enhanced the Greek model.
For a millennium, the Republic and subsequent Empire spread Western culture, eventually to be inseparable from Christianity.
From the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf and from the Rhine and Danube to the Sahara, there were a million square miles of safety, prosperity, progress, and science—until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD.
What followed was a second European Dark Age, roughly from 500 to 1000 AD.
Populations declined. Cities eroded. Roman roads, aqueducts, and laws crumbled.
In place of the old Roman provinces arose tribal chieftains and fiefdoms.
Whereas once Roman law had protected even rural people in remote areas, during the Dark Ages, walls and stone were the only means of keeping safe.
Finally, at the end of the 11th century, the old values and know-how of the complex world of Graeco-Roman civilization gradually reemerged.
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
Contemporary Americans do not believe that our current civilization could self-destruct a third time in the West, followed by an impoverished and brutal Dark Age.
But what caused these prior returns to tribalism and loss of science, technology, and the rule of law?
Historians cite several causes of societal collapse—and today they are hauntingly familiar.
Like people, societies age. Complacency sets in.
The hard work and sacrifice that built the West also creates wealth and leisure. Such affluence is taken for granted by later generations. What created success is eventually ignored—or even mocked.
Expenditures and consumption outpace income, production, and investment.
Child-rearing, traditional values, strong defense, love of country, religiosity, meritocracy, and empirical education fade away. ...
Reform and Renaissance historically are more common than descents back into the Dark Ages. But the medicine for decline requires unity, honesty, courage, and action—virtues now in short supply on social media, amid popular culture, and among the political class.
An excellent article by Prof Hanson. Taking the long view of Greek history.
FR Index of his articles: Victor Davis Hanson on FR
Town Hall: Victor Davis Hanson on Town Hall
American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness
His website: Victor Davis Hanson The Sword of Perseus
One of his sponsors' website: The Daily Signal
Please let me know if you want on or off this new VDH ping list.
As a reminder, Professor Hanson has asked that we do not post the full article of his writings. Thank you for following the link to finish his article.
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Been to a DemocRAT run city lately?
Can?
It has.
Civilizational collapse is the rule not the exception.
Hanson has fallen into the trap that has caught many conservatives.
He is opposed to tribalism—which means he refuses to join a tribe.
When you refuse to join a tribe then all the other tribes stomp you.
Consider the undeniable fact that all over the earth there is a resurgence of volcanic activity. In Italy, two volcanos are more active than in a long time. The city of Naples is threatened as never before.
Something is in the process of change.
We do not know how it can or will end up.
What tribe would you have Mr. Hanson join?
What decline? Isn’t everything going on like our ancestors. It’s not like a fourth of the world population will be killed followed by a th8rd more. God wouldn’t let that happen without warning us.
Each person gets to decide for themselves what tribe they wish to join.
I’m joining the gibbmedat tribe if they’ll have me.
We worship stupidity and mock intelligence and knowledge.
It is already upon us and will only get worse.
They certainly can! Civilization is a very thin veneer over savagery and superstition. It doesn’t take much to strip it away.
Sad but true.
That’s right.
Hey, Morlocks! To the caves!
I’m joining the fucarewe tribe.
Now available with lattes and TikTok videos.
I disagree. VDH made it clear which "tribe" he's part of. Hint: it's not a DNA or race-based tribe. It's a culture. From the article:
Salad-bowl tribalism replaces assimilation, acculturation, and integration of the old melting pot.
In other words, he wants us to get back to assimilation toward or western culture, which is how we used to do immigration. The western culture of Judeo-Christian values is the "tribe" VDH is promoting.
Please get on board with this concept. The 4th great awakening clearly started a few years ago, most people don't see it because we're in it. Be like our predecessors in prior great awakenings and focus more on culture change than on skin color. I get it, it's easy as a white man to reflexively jerk back against the Dims' constant anti-white mantra and tell them that whites bring the most good to the table. But if we're honest, what whites did for culture in the past few centuries came about only when we got closer to God (the prior great awakenings).
When blacks got closer to God in the 2nd great awakening and even changed their sexual habits to doing only their wives, God heard their cry for abolition of slavery. As Thomas Sowell wrote, for a century after abolition a higher percentage of black kids were raised by both parents than white kids raised by white parents. In other words, at least as far as sexual habits and raising kids goes, for a while blacks were still committed to doing things God's way. Where I very respectfully disagree with Dr. Sowell is the catalyst that ended this good behavior. He puts the blame solely on political changes like the welfare society. I have problems blaming a spiritual decline on non-spiritual catalysts. I blame the sexual "revolution" and the fact that whites bit into it hard (today about 1/4th of white kids are raised in single parent homes), but blacks bit into it way harder (2/3rds of black kids in single parent homes).
We will not win the spiritual battle by being tribal like you wish. We will win the spiritual battle only if we take the mindset of being unashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). For it is in the gospel that righteousness is revealed (v. 17). Even in the middle of a world that denies the existence of God (v. 18-23), thus got into heterosexual hedonism (v. 24-25), which led to gay hedonism (v. 26-27), which led to even more sins (v. 28-32).
Our western culture was in that death spiral centuries ago. We were in the first sexual revolution, which included gays openly holding hands walking around in London. The first great awakening during the 18th century took us out of that.
When a gang of third worlders are chasing you down the street yelling “we are going to get ya whitey” just remember to show them your copy of the Bible.
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