Friday, February 08, 2008

The Decline of Western Civilisation

This comment by Matt Helm at Captain's Quarters is one of the most profound things I have read in a long time:

In many ways, Williams is representative of the primary problem facing the West: A lack of pride in our culture because of perceived feelings of guilt over the legacy of colonialism and imperialism. This masochistic, and I would argue nihilistic sense of guilt has been promulgated by proponents of multiculturalism since the 1960s and has settled upon Western culture like a burial shroud. The sad truth is many Western intellectuals and thinkers do want to see the destruction of our culture and society. They do want to be punished for the 'sins' of Western imperialism. They do want to die at the hands of "the oppressed." The problem is, they want to take the rest of us with them! If the West is going to survive as a cultural and civilizational entity; if we want to pass on our values of freedom and liberty; if we want our children and their children to enjoy a Bach cantata, to read Voltaire, to play Mass Effect; if we want to keep who and what we are, then we are going to have to get over this guilt and accept ourselves for who and what we are. We have to accept that Western culture did do some horrible things--just like all the other cultures throughout history. So, what do we do? We learn from our mistakes and move forward--not wallow in our guilt. Contrary to what the multiculturalists would have us believe, the West is not evil--in fact, I'd contend that, warts and all, Western civilization has contributed the most benefits to the human condition than all the other cultures put together.