American Culture

The following is an excerpt from an essay by William S Lind,a military analyst,who has been influential on the doctinal thinking of the Marine Corps.

Starting in the mid-1960s we have thrown away the values,morals,and standards that define traditional Western
values.In part,this has been driven by cultural radicals, people who hate our Judeo-Christian culture.Dominant in the elite,especially in the universities,the media,and the entertainment industry,the cultural radicals have successfully pushed an agenda of moral relativism,militant secularism,and sexual and social"liberation". This agenda has slowly codified into a new ideology,usually known as multiculturalism or political correctness,that is in essence
Marxism translated from economic into social and cultural terms.

[HDPM]

This paragraph is a gross oversimplification. I agree that there have been some negative forces that have increased in strength since tyhe 1960's, but there have been many positive counter-forces. Also, what the author means by "traditional western values" is unclear. He talks about"Judeo-Christian" values, yet much of the progress in the west and in our country has come from forces that opposed Christian values. The Enlightenment was definitely anti-Church and in many ways anti-Christian, even if the veneer of religion was kept. This guy's analysis is pretty shallow, even if he is sometimes accurately descriptive. I bet he has an agenda that goes against my ideas of what western civilization ought to be.

[Zeno]

"When I hear the word "culture" I reach for my revolver.

-Hanns Johst, German writer. From his Play, Schlageter (1933). (Popularly but wrongly attributed to Hermann Goering).

-Zeno

HDPM
you fail to mention what the negative forces are and
what the positive counter forces are.
If you or any American were asked to name five western values I believe you could do so.So what is unclear?
The Enlightenment may be seen as being in opposition
to some of the teachings of the Roman Church but in what way
was it anti-Christian.
Finally,you fail to tell us what you believe Western
Civilization ought to be.
In sum you say much,but little.

Zeno
Germany in 1933 was not exactly a bastion of democratic
thought or an example of western values.So what is the point
of your comment?

[andyfox]

An excellent example of the reason some consider the phrase "military intelligence" an oxymoron.

[brad]

notice how armed forces are men/women?

even when discussing ww2 casualties.

[Ed Miller]

For one, many of the great thinkers of the Enlightment... such as Thomas Jefferson... were deists and not Christians. Also, the Constitution goes to great lengths to ensure that we have a secular, not Christian, government. Having said that, though, I wouldn't call it "anti-Christian" just "not Christian."

[Zeno]

You stated, "Germany in 1933 was not exactly a bastion of democratic thought or an example of western values".

I submit that almost the exact opposite is true. The Nazi Party came to power through a Western Democracy. Hilter gain the Chancellorship in 1933 through backroom dealings with powerful old Germans once the Nazi party was voted in. Hilter also had the backing of powerful and influential people and institutions including unions, business, and Church parties. Once in power, of course, the Nazi's ended the democratic process, but it was through the western democratic process that they gained influence and eventual control. It is the same way we conduct our own democratic process to this day.

Germany was also a bastion of western values and traditions, having some of the best minds, scholars and institutions in Europe both religious and secular. The Christian underpinnings of its Western Values was a springboard for the Nazi's expanionist warring and the atrocities of the holocaust.

The book, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", by William Shirer is a good start in reading about this interesting phase of western traditions and culture.

The use of terms as Judeo-Christian, Western Cultural Traditions etc is often done to further political agendas, gleen votes, distort history and to influence the mob. And as democratic western values have it, the mob is the bastion of all wisdom and goodness.

That is why I need the revolver.

-Zeno

..Starting in the mid-1960s we have thrown away the values,morals,and standards that define traditional Western
values. ..

Like which ones? A rather vague statement.

..In part,this has been driven by cultural radicals, people who hate our Judeo-Christian culture. ..

Hmmmm.... As it existed back in the mid 60's or today. There have definitely been changes and mostly for the better I might add.

.. Dominant in the elite,especially in the universities,the media,and the entertainment industry,the cultural radicals have successfully pushed an agenda of moral relativism,militant secularism,and sexual and social"liberation". ..

Referring to the previous sentence I guess it was as culture existed way back when. I'm not sure what is meant by moral reletivism. However, I wouldn't want to turn the clock back to the mid sixties on the other topics no way, no how.


.. This agenda has slowly codified into a new ideology,usually known as multiculturalism or political correctness,that is in essence Marxism translated from economic into social and cultural terms. ..

That is a bizarre statement especially "Marxism translated from economic into social and cultural terms" as this statement seems nonsensical to me. We have Marxism "codified into a new ideaology" while we have a predominantly capitalist economic system that if anything IMO has moved closer to pure capitalism if you will since the mid sixties. That doesn't make sense to me.

[brad]

take a college class and youll see. i recommend psychology of women.