Perhaps the assumption that we are the “world’s greatest civilization” is not entirely correct? The most commercially successful might be a better label.
Need to look in the mirror. The abortions, the homeless, the drugs, the crime . . . and then there’s the national debt, identity politics, media propaganda, government lies and secrecy . . . the corruption and incompetence of the Biden years, the lawfare, the censorship, Covid, the wars . . . trans-mutilations, low test scores, terrorism, pernicious reverse racism - let me leave it at that.
Lots of good too, big pockets of it - but, in general, would you rather raise kids in 2025, or 1960?
I acknowledge every one of the problems you identify. Nevertheless, my assertion can be justified by the "wisdom of the crowd". Watch people voting with their feet. The world's migrants can choose nearly 200 countries to which to move. Why do they choose North America, Europe, and Oceania more than any other? We must have something to offer.
". . . how could the world's greatest civilization be defeated by [fill in the blank, it would be a reasonable question for any number of things]?"
As Mark Steyn puts it somewhere, European/Western societies have become so self-critical, and the sense of identity that they impart to their people so thin, that one could be forgiven for getting the impression that these societies are just dying to surrender to someone, anyone.
(Steyn suggests, some Islamists see this reality and ask, not entirely unreasonably, Why not us?)
“A universal preoccupation with rights...... is fatal to the public peace & individual happiness.” I myself have argued in this essay that imagining that there are political solutions to all our discontents is one of Progressivism’s great delusions.
Graham, sounds like you would enjoy reading Patrick Deneen's book, Why Liberalism Failed. He makes precisely this point.
Many of these psychological problems could be cured by a competent drill sergeant. Also, one might want to read Kipling’s classic poem “The Gods of the Copybook Headings.”
Thank you for a The best laugh in a week when I need a good laughs : "Have you ever thought of bottling it up?" It's so clever. I'm chuckling ten minutes later - that's therapeutic.
""Strap yourself to the tree with roots"... "You ain't goi0ng nowhere"
I recommend the late, much lamented, English Conservative Philosopher, Sir Roger Scruton on the matter of "human rights" (quotes deliberate), which he divides into "natural rights" and "claim rights", the latter now being the prime constituents of human rights, and in reality, as much weapons used to crush natural rights - such as "trans rights", or the nonsensical "right to a family life"
Well spotted! I decided not to attribute that line from Down in the Easy Chair because, coming so early in the article, I thought it might confuse things.
And Yes to the late, greatly missed Roger Scruton.
Loved the Basement Tapes since I first heard it as a bootleg ?50? years back. Dylan’s tales of Old America, the Old Testament, and parables galore. Have you read Greil Marcus’ wonderful “Invisible Republic”, on The Basement Tapes?
If not, a must read (just pulled it off my bookshelf for a long overdue re-read!
Do you know of the other version....the one taking a swipe at The Byrds and with crazy lyrics like: 'Genghis Khan and his brother Don could not keep on keeping on......'?
BTW. Am re-reading Invisible Republic. Am always wary of recommending books to other people as we all have such different tastes, but this is a wonderful dip into the world of music that went into the Basement Tapes; a whole chapter on perhaps my favourite song on the album - Lo and Behold; and the next on Harry Smith’s extraordinary Anthology of American Folk Music (a Smithsonian production, they have a wonderful collection of old American stuff!).
Quite why old American folk (for lack of a better word) hits me so much harder than ours, I know not. After all, much Appalachian music comes from Irish, Scottish and English roots. And the first record I bought (well, my father bought it for me) was Tom Dooley, by Lonnie Donegan - 50s skiffle groups basically grabbed what you might call white American blues and country and made it there own. 1958, so I was six - here’s the tale behind it
Well done. The issues seem so complex and entrenched it’s hard to see solutions. All the incentives seem to intentionally lead people in the wrong direction (I do like the drill Sergeant idea) lol.
You nailed it! I suspected shenanigans going back to "political correctness" in the 1980s. As a young man I was fearful of the early indoctrination tactics of the left. ("e.g.: Columbus was evil taught in history classes.") Music was an avenue of manipulation and deceit. I live in Music City, and country music has adopted all the woke sentiments and tactics.
PS Country is not my musical preference but I am surrounded by it. I like the old country outlaws but that's about it.
In the early 1970s. I was a college psychology major. We were told that there were too many psychology majors, and most of us would not find work in that field.
Several years after I graduated, I noticed that more and more problems were becoming "illnesses" that required "therapy." I guess the excess psych majors found a way to create jobs for themselves.
'To be conservative is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss'
Seems an odd mixture to me. Some of these qualities do seem sensible and ones I can relate to: facts; convenience; present laughter. But the rest are to me indications of timidity (tried over untried) and how do we know what is 'actual' if we don't investigate the possible and will those things that are near to hand be more useful or interesting than those that are distant? There also seems to be a lack of curiosity.
Hello John. Yes, I think you have a point....I've had similar questioning thoughts about this oft-cited quotation. To take a sympathetic view of what Oakshott meant, perhaps the operative word is "prefer" - ie as opposed to "confine oneself to"?
My question is, how could the world's greatest civilization be defeated by crybullies?
That's a good question....it's one that my whole Substack has - in a roundabout way - been trying to answer.
Perhaps the assumption that we are the “world’s greatest civilization” is not entirely correct? The most commercially successful might be a better label.
Need to look in the mirror. The abortions, the homeless, the drugs, the crime . . . and then there’s the national debt, identity politics, media propaganda, government lies and secrecy . . . the corruption and incompetence of the Biden years, the lawfare, the censorship, Covid, the wars . . . trans-mutilations, low test scores, terrorism, pernicious reverse racism - let me leave it at that.
Lots of good too, big pockets of it - but, in general, would you rather raise kids in 2025, or 1960?
I acknowledge every one of the problems you identify. Nevertheless, my assertion can be justified by the "wisdom of the crowd". Watch people voting with their feet. The world's migrants can choose nearly 200 countries to which to move. Why do they choose North America, Europe, and Oceania more than any other? We must have something to offer.
"Why do they choose North America, Europe, and Oceania more than any other? "
Because even though the West is now a shadow of what it was, it still seems better to the ignorant masses in other parts of the world.
Collective guilt.
". . . how could the world's greatest civilization be defeated by [fill in the blank, it would be a reasonable question for any number of things]?"
As Mark Steyn puts it somewhere, European/Western societies have become so self-critical, and the sense of identity that they impart to their people so thin, that one could be forgiven for getting the impression that these societies are just dying to surrender to someone, anyone.
(Steyn suggests, some Islamists see this reality and ask, not entirely unreasonably, Why not us?)
“A universal preoccupation with rights...... is fatal to the public peace & individual happiness.” I myself have argued in this essay that imagining that there are political solutions to all our discontents is one of Progressivism’s great delusions.
Graham, sounds like you would enjoy reading Patrick Deneen's book, Why Liberalism Failed. He makes precisely this point.
Thanks Sean...I did discuss the book in my essay Has Liberalism's Flame Burned Too Bright?
https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/has-liberalisms-flame-burned-too
Those preoccupied with "rights" are usualy seeking privileges.
Many of these psychological problems could be cured by a competent drill sergeant. Also, one might want to read Kipling’s classic poem “The Gods of the Copybook Headings.”
Thank you for a The best laugh in a week when I need a good laughs : "Have you ever thought of bottling it up?" It's so clever. I'm chuckling ten minutes later - that's therapeutic.
Thank you Pauline....it did the same for me at the time!
It's funny because it's true!
more sense in this essay than I've seen in political discourse in the lamestream media in the last thirty years combined.
Well thank you Mitch...what a great compliment!
We really need a differentiation between gender dysphoria and trendy dysphoria.
And of course trendy dysphoria is the really persistent problem.
Great article and quotes!
Thank you
The culture changed so that everyone now wants to be different rather than part of the whole. W.S. Gilbert pointed out the problem with this:
"If everybody's somebody, then no-one's anybody."
""Strap yourself to the tree with roots"... "You ain't goi0ng nowhere"
I recommend the late, much lamented, English Conservative Philosopher, Sir Roger Scruton on the matter of "human rights" (quotes deliberate), which he divides into "natural rights" and "claim rights", the latter now being the prime constituents of human rights, and in reality, as much weapons used to crush natural rights - such as "trans rights", or the nonsensical "right to a family life"
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22ROGER+SCRUTON%22+AND+%22HUMAN+RIGHTS%22&t=brave&ia=web
Well spotted! I decided not to attribute that line from Down in the Easy Chair because, coming so early in the article, I thought it might confuse things.
And Yes to the late, greatly missed Roger Scruton.
Loved the Basement Tapes since I first heard it as a bootleg ?50? years back. Dylan’s tales of Old America, the Old Testament, and parables galore. Have you read Greil Marcus’ wonderful “Invisible Republic”, on The Basement Tapes?
If not, a must read (just pulled it off my bookshelf for a long overdue re-read!
Thanks....I'll take a look.
It’s a delight, I can assure you! As are Marcus’s other books
Do you know of the other version....the one taking a swipe at The Byrds and with crazy lyrics like: 'Genghis Khan and his brother Don could not keep on keeping on......'?
BTW. Am re-reading Invisible Republic. Am always wary of recommending books to other people as we all have such different tastes, but this is a wonderful dip into the world of music that went into the Basement Tapes; a whole chapter on perhaps my favourite song on the album - Lo and Behold; and the next on Harry Smith’s extraordinary Anthology of American Folk Music (a Smithsonian production, they have a wonderful collection of old American stuff!).
Quite why old American folk (for lack of a better word) hits me so much harder than ours, I know not. After all, much Appalachian music comes from Irish, Scottish and English roots. And the first record I bought (well, my father bought it for me) was Tom Dooley, by Lonnie Donegan - 50s skiffle groups basically grabbed what you might call white American blues and country and made it there own. 1958, so I was six - here’s the tale behind it
https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2019/10/29/legend-behind-north-carolinas-most-famous-murder-ballad
Anyway, the Basement Tapes are a deep deep well!
Yes - think I have all the various official and other Basement Tape releases...happy to share!
Well done. The issues seem so complex and entrenched it’s hard to see solutions. All the incentives seem to intentionally lead people in the wrong direction (I do like the drill Sergeant idea) lol.
You nailed it! I suspected shenanigans going back to "political correctness" in the 1980s. As a young man I was fearful of the early indoctrination tactics of the left. ("e.g.: Columbus was evil taught in history classes.") Music was an avenue of manipulation and deceit. I live in Music City, and country music has adopted all the woke sentiments and tactics.
PS Country is not my musical preference but I am surrounded by it. I like the old country outlaws but that's about it.
When I was teaching, just prior to Columbus day, some Latino students asked, "What did Columbus do for us?"
I replied, "He got us a day off from school."
They had no answer.
Brilliant! And right on. I've been trying to think which of my social circle I could send this to, however, and alas, I come up with only a few names.
Thank you anyway Patricia
In the early 1970s. I was a college psychology major. We were told that there were too many psychology majors, and most of us would not find work in that field.
Several years after I graduated, I noticed that more and more problems were becoming "illnesses" that required "therapy." I guess the excess psych majors found a way to create jobs for themselves.
'To be conservative is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss'
Seems an odd mixture to me. Some of these qualities do seem sensible and ones I can relate to: facts; convenience; present laughter. But the rest are to me indications of timidity (tried over untried) and how do we know what is 'actual' if we don't investigate the possible and will those things that are near to hand be more useful or interesting than those that are distant? There also seems to be a lack of curiosity.
Hello John. Yes, I think you have a point....I've had similar questioning thoughts about this oft-cited quotation. To take a sympathetic view of what Oakshott meant, perhaps the operative word is "prefer" - ie as opposed to "confine oneself to"?
Ah, remember well "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"....great song, great use of the phrase!
Been years since I have read Hitchhiker’s Guide - went and pulled it from my library. This is a great article - insights are spot on.
Thank you Lauriann. Hope you will free subscribe to Slouching Towards Bethlehem.... where you'll find lots more insightful articles.