The Crisis of the West and the Decline of Culture

Gwendolyn Taunton :

The Crisis of the West and the Decline of Culture

Ex: http://www.primordialtraditions.net/

"Of all that is written, I love only what a person hath written with his blood. Write with blood, and thou wilt find that blood is spirit". - Nietzsche

We of the Western world are rapidly forgetting our own culture– for the majority of people the history ofEurope begins and ends with World War II. The phenomenon behind this rising knowledge void is a topic worthy of study itself, for it is not an isolated random incident, but rather a strategy born of ressentiment and revolt against the status quo of the past. The principle cause of the continuing decline of the Occident in world status is born from the fruit of rebellion and the impact of this attack on culture in Western countries will continue to grow until the core of the problem can be satisfactorily resolved.

In this regard the root cause is easily traced back to an earlier source, and I purpose that the current decline began not with a slow disintegration, but was rather born from an arrogance of excess, for all excess inevitably creates decadence - the interior degeneration which begins from within as any civilization begins to erode.

Prior to the advent of modernity, a classical education followed by a sojourn atOxfordorCambridgewas deemed to be the most prestigious educational route. We find here a remarkably different scholastic climate than that which is reflected in current academia; in this era we find education firmly under the rule of the aristocrat - the cultivated man, well versed in Latin, resplendent with knowledge in Classical Literature, and with all the hubris of a Classical Grecian Hero, for like all pride this was to result in a great downfall. This ‘ideal’ scholar of the era, did not indulge in practical form of study or work, for it was deemed ‘unseemly’ for a gentlemen of this standing to participate in work of such a nature. Education and refinement were held to be proof of their status over those who studied work of a more practical nature. They then chose to stigmatize those who worked and studied in these areas – namely the scientists. It was the aristocratic scholar whom excluded the ‘impure’ scientists to work and study in separate areas and separate institutions – regulating them into an enforced lower class of academia, devoid of any respect or recognition.  Prior to the 1900s, science was not deemed to be suitable for the proper education of a gentleman, and the subject faced a great struggle to gain any form of parity within the curriculum. And it is with this original persecution that the downfall of the humanities and culture begins, for all revolution is born of persecution, the master class was destined to be overthrown…and in turn excluded.

C.P. Snow initiated the backlash against the academic disciplines of arts and humanities by publishing his ‘The Two Cultures’  - a series of lectures which call for an outright revolt in academia against the humanities and arts disciplines. Snow had a deep antipathy towards ‘literary intellectuals’ partially based on his personal experiences. In his later works, Snow would even go so far as to refer to literary intellectuals as what he describes as “Natural Luddites”. What Snow heralds is the advancement of a “industrial-scientific revolution’ which he believes is polarized against the work of literary and cultural intellectuals. Gaining popularity and support quickly, this work came to be regarded as seminal literature of modernity – with disciples of Snow appearing in almost every corner of tertiary level academic institutions, the days of the classical scholar he so despised were abruptly becoming numbered.

Now the full consequences of this have come into effect - humanity, the qualities which make us truly human - are regressing. The height of social etiquette is Facebook, the pinnacle of drama - YouTube, and Twilight reigns supreme in literature. Fools use blogs as tools for slander an act like apes on the internet instead of cultivating honor and respect. We have become mindless uncultured automatons who  have no interest in self-betterment or anything noble. Spirituality has become a vessel for organizations to promote esoteric/religious secrets which have no content but are rather employed for unscrupulous authors to justify their sexual fetishes and every core of true faith has ripped screaming form the womb of the Goddess. 

Our highest form of art? A vomit of color on canvas - a moment of 'self expression', a release of emotion, but without the talent. Sculpture?A pile of spray painted socks in the corner of the room. Music? A single drum beat on repeat and a little boy crying 'Baby'. The degradation of the arts has cost us severely; we must now live in a world bereft of beauty. The degradation of the humanities in turn has created a generation of people whom lack the fundamental higher qualities which make them human - their highest aspirations are food, sex, and consumerism.

How do we rectify this, solve the riddle of a world where art and culture are being siphoned away? There is a simple solution - we continue to create. We draw our pens, our paintbrushes and our instruments and we weld them not as tools but as weapons. The pen is mightier than the sword and music charms even the most savage beast - in world where culture and the arts have been reduced to the lowest valued elements in society, we do the most rebellious thing possible.

We show them what we can do.