The Infectious Ideas That Threaten A Civilization

Western Civilization has had a significant and transcendent positive effect on humanity and the world. In the sciences, art, culture, and the structure of government and social mores, the West stands out as a testament to human progress and achievement. But there is now a concerted and calculated effort to diminish the West’s many contributions and see its demise.

For the last 247 years, the effects of the West have taken center stage in world events, and have influenced the lives of billions of people. But its value has slowly been eroding over the last several generations in America. Since the 1960s and the inception of the sexual revolution and civil rights movement, voices of protest and change have sounded throughout the land, in defiance of America's traditional values and Judeo-Christian heritage.

In the minds of a segment of the population, America and Western values and principles are antithetical to what they believe are acceptable norms. Governmental, religious, and educational institutions, as well as capitalism, have become targets of the detractors of Western values. Their aggressive agenda seeks to divest the American system of its traditional doctrines and practices, and replace them with progressive leftwing socialism, and or Marxism.

Ground zero for this movement is mainly in education, college and universities. Students are captive in the domain of leftist progressive professors and are indoctrinated into a world of radical anti-American theory. Many of these professors are themselves the product of the 60s and 70s, and rebelled against the system at the time. There are other factors that contribute to this movement: politics, big business, celebrity culture, the entertainment industry, and other suspects.

In his book “The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense,” Dr. Gad Saad discusses what he considers are the factors involved that will eventually lead to the death of a civilization. Dr. Saad establishes his theory by making a comparison with an individual’s visit to a physician for a medical checkup.

There are specific critical signs the physician will look for, to establish a baseline and determine the overall health of the patient, such as blood pressure, cholesterol count, weight, etc. Dr. Saad then applies a similar approach; the factors of course will be different in determining the health or fate of a civilization. He then spells out specific “ideological pathogens” - postmodernism, social constructivism, radical feminism, cultural relativism, identity politics, political correctness, and victimology.

The doctor explains how these pathogens come together to influence the path a civilization is on, and whether it sustains and continues, or ends in destruction. 

* A civilization dies when it does not take pride in its foundational values, especially if those values once served as a beacon of light to all nations.
* A civilization dies when it is passively conquered by hordes of legal and illegal immigrants who have no interest in adopting the host nation’s foundational values.
* A civilization dies when its key institutions of excellence - academia, science, medicine, business, and law - are no longer pursued using meritocratic ethos, but rather are rooted in the adherence to diversity, inclusion, and equity.
* A civilization dies when its supposed apolitical institutions become ideologically corrupted.
* A civilization dies when parents are labeled by their government as domestic terrorists, when said parents object to sexualized and gender-neutral curriculum, and to drag queen story hour.
* A civilization dies when Jew hatred becomes a condoned and open form of bigotry, as it is now rampant.
* A civilization dies when it tolerates belief systems that are antithetical to its core, and foundational values and principles.

In past writings, I have discussed the storied history and evolution of Western Civilization. It was also my contention that its birth can be traced back to the advent of Christianity. The Church was altruistic and a source of knowledge, both spiritually and in the sciences and arts; it financed numerous endeavors. But all this history and the progress made over the centuries is threatened by ignorance and hatred, by people who have no concept of what their anti-Western values and traditions can result in, and that is disaster.