Victor Davis Hanson // National Review
Cultural suicide used to be a popular diagnosis of why things suddenly just quit.
Historians such as Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee cited social cannibalism to explain why once-successful states, institutions, and cultures simply died off.
Their common explanation was that the arrogance of success ensures lethal consequences. Once elites became pampered and arrogant, they feel exempt from their ancestors’ respect for moral and spiritual laws — such as the need for thrift, moderation, and transcendence.
Take professional sports. Over the past century, professional football, basketball, and baseball were racially integrated, and they adopted a uniform code of patriotic observance. The three leagues offered fans a pleasant respite from daily barroom politics. As a result, by the 21st century, the NFL, NBA, and MLB had become global multi-billion-dollar enterprises.
Then hubris ensued.
Discussion (4)
Join the conversation. Logged in subscribers avoid the Captcha verification and get priority commenting approvals. No vulgarity, links, or code allowed.
Here is an idea to help fight the culture war. The only obstacle is getting this idea distributed to the 60M patriots that are still alive. If only 10% spend $1000 each, 6M patriot individuals will mobilize $6B Preach BEYOND choir! SaveUSA & western civilzation Pay non-patriots whom U know for online courses U choose from the 15 non fed funded online courses: Start with Land of Hope at Hillsdale.edu Award $100 if they pass course tests in 7day Add $5 to $100 to discuss with U within 7days of passing test. Vary $ amounts & period of days to suit U & your non-patriots Donate $20>Hillsdale NoFed$ means authentic history, not 1619 Far less $ than the fed funded schools that indoctrinated them into non-patriots! RUSH & all Salem radio hosts could add this idea to his radio spots for Hillsdale or PragerU. Or email to their listeners & CFP's like Dave Ramsey to set up Incentive Trusts for patriots with $50,000 or more!
Dear Professor Hanson, Through your lucid writings you have become a national treasure. You are a patriot whose contributions to our country are priceless. May your prescient words be heard and listened to. God Bless you Raul J. Fernandez A concerned citizen from Miami Beach, Fl.
Love your perspective and clear communication of complex ideas. I have a very minor observation. A summer of cultural suicide is only suicide if those doing so identify with the culture. The activities you wrote about are more accurately characterized as "genocide" because the rioters and their patrons do not identify with the culture they are destroying. Cultural suicide is committed, however, by those who identify with the culture and remain actively silent.
Grouchy, Old-man Vic is at it again....the sky is falling, civilization is at an end....the world Old-man Vic prefers (even if it was never real)....is ending. Of course, it really isn't. At the same time Old-man Vic supports, explains away and promotes the moral depravity that is DJT. Go figure...