Commentary
It would be challenging to find a civilization anywhere that has provided more to its inhabitants than the modern West, offering freedom of choice, prosperity, security, and a wide range of cultural opportunities, from Bach to hip-hop to “
Ghost Chickens in the Sky” just a click away. However, it is also difficult to find one that is less self-assured and mentally, morally, or militarily resolute. What has happened to us, and what can we do about it?
The attempted suicide of the West is painfully evident. As Avi Abraham Benlolo recently
wrote regarding Hamas, “By attempting to force Israel into a ceasefire with a madman with an end-of-time plan, the international community reveals an utter weakness that is undermining western civilization.”
Even now, reading Jean-François Revel’s 1983 work “How Democracies Perish” about the shortcomings of Western Cold War policymakers can evoke anger. Self-criticism is a strength of the West.
While self-criticism is a crucial aspect that leads to success, it can sometimes feel like a weakness, especially in today’s world where
the best lack all conviction and the worst are filled with passionate intensity.
There is a quote from Karl Jasper’s “The Origin and Goal of History” in Curtis R. McManus’s work “Clio’s Bastards” that highlights the perpetual disquiet of the West and its inability to be content with fulfillment.
On the family front, we are heading towards a demographic disaster that not even an influx of immigrants with different values can prevent. Politicians seem focused on exceptions and neglect the universal.
Economically, instead of cherishing the free-market bounty and using it to assist those in need, we are bombarded with
apocalyptic rhetoric about mobs destroying prosperity.
In terms of security, politicians boast about aiding allies while weakening our military and turning a blind eye to disloyalty. They deny rising crime rates while disarming law-abiding citizens.
When it comes to our heritage, we remove statues of historical figures and rename landmarks, seemingly ashamed of our accomplishments in abolishing slavery and embracing diversity. Why do we despise ourselves for living up to our ideals and praise those who oppose them?
In reflection on the Cold War era, Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky remarked on the distorted sense of liberalism in American context.
Despite the challenges, there is hope. A conference titled “Decline of the West: Our Fate or Our Choice?” aims to address these issues and seek solutions. The goal is to stand firm against threats to liberty and decency, believing that liberalism is not dead.
It is essential to carefully choose and defend our ideas in the face of adversity.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
