History tells us that a civilization or an empire has six stages of evolution.
- Age of pioneers and/or explorers
- Age of conquests seeking new land and resources
- An age of commerce and agriculture ( and now technology)
- An age of influence and class diversification
- An age of affluence, education, intellect, and healthcare
- An age of decadence and loss of values [i]
Some civilizations reach their peak of power, then collapse and remain in decline or even disappear. Others thrive for thousands of years. What accounts for the difference and what does it matter to the U.S.? Does our civilization have what it takes to survive? With the United States seemingly at the height of its power and at the start of a new presidential term, Americans are increasingly concerned and divided about where we are going. How long can America remain ascendant? Where will we be as a nation 10 years from now and beyond? To save America and the world, we must rebuild the traditional culture of America, return to our traditions, values, and upgrade morality.
A collapse in a society can be characterized by the loss of cultural identity. These collapses can be caused by natural disasters (floods, fires, earthquakes, etc.), pandemics, prolonged warfare, pestilence, famine with a depopulation of the society. A collapsed society or culture may revert to a more primitive sate, absorbed into another society, and disappear completely. [ii]
In Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe, the author offers a sobering assessment of modern Europe and raises unsettling questions about the future. “At any time, the loss of all unifying stories about our past or ideas about what to do with our present and our future would be a serious conundrum,” Murray writes. “But during a time of momentous societal change and upheaval the results are proving fatal. The world is coming into Europe at precisely the moment that Europe has lost sight of what it is.” Most significantly, Murray questions whether Europe is still Christian. He cites the absence of any mention of Christianity in the European Union’s new constitution, written in 2000, despite the efforts of Pope John Paul II and his successor. The EU instead wraps itself in high-flown rhetoric about “human rights” without any acknowledgment of their source.
Murray traces this crisis of identity back to the late 19th century, to two seminal events. First, the textual criticism of the Bible, originating in Germany and spreading throughout the West, undermined the Biblical foundation of Western Christianity. The second seismic blow occurred simultaneously, with the development of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Whereas it had been a foundational belief that a divine, awe-inspiring plan was behind all of civilization, it suddenly was widely held that science — not faith — held all the answers.
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