04/30/12

 “It’s never the doctors or the scientists at the gate.

It’s always the barbarians.”

I stole this one. From a guy who sells a book and some other stuff he claims will help folks survive the coming end of western civilization, as exemplified by the crumble of the good ole US of A. I guess this guy figures that once we fold, what passes for civilization in Europe and those few other hangers on out there will join us in our death rattle. And then we all slide back into the abyss.

Historically, most successful civilizations of any merit outdistanced themselves from the barbarians of their time. They did it by overachieving, and they simply out-competed their, ah, competition. They worked harder, built more and better, originated and excelled. The folks living in these civilizations benefited mightily from this situation.

And then eventually, each advanced civilization succumbed to its own success, and the barbarians returned and pounded on the gates until the civilization fell, and mankind backslid for a while.

Ah…Western civilization. It was pretty cool while it lasted. I liked it. And I’m not alone. There are actually millions of people out there who benefited from and enjoyed that thing we call civilization. And if folks are to be judged by the power of the enemies they overcame, good ole Western civilization beat down some pretty fierce and nasty folks to put us on top for a while.

Of course it never lasts. Not once in the history of mankind has one civilization held onto number one for more than a blink of an eye. One by one they all fell. And the barbarians, who while they may change names to protect the innocent, never really change, were always there waiting at the gate for their chance to overcome once again. Like rust, barbarians never sleep. And like the inexorable gravity, the force downward eventually overcomes whatever good tries to flutter ever upward.

You can now watch a TV program, what they like to call reality TV, wherein some company builds survival shelters so incredibly wealthy folks can wait out the apocalypse, with armored walls and air cleaners and the necessities of wine cellars and a large screen TV. Apparently, somebody thinks that one of the more important achievements of western civilization is that which one can view on a large screen TV. And that it is worth saving.

You’ll notice I keep talking about the barbarians at the gate, fierce enemies just waiting for their moment to attack. But what really happens when civilizations crumble isn’t so much the barbarians who lay siege and by weight of force and ingenuity destroy any civilization at its best, but instead consider an enemy which simply has to lay the straw upon the camel’s back. The reality is that the only way the barbarians can catch up is when the civilization slows down, or in our case, drops into reverse. Civilization dies from within, not from without (?). We teeter, and the barbarians simply give that last little shove, and down comes humpty dumpty, and that’s generally messy. And when folks finally realize where they screwed up, it’s too late to put the egg together again.

And what, you might wonder, is the sign that we have slowed down to the point of regression that will inevitably lead to our collapse? Consider the American Revolution. Remember the saying, “Let George do it”? Those folks who didn’t show up when needed to fight for their own freedom, for they either preferred living under the oppression of a despot thousands of miles away, or they simply didn’t care if they lived under the oppression of a despot, regardless, they used to say that. Freedom meant little to these people if it also meant duty to others who live for freedom and responsibility for one’s own life. They didn’t chose to accept discomfort, or some risk. Let George fight the British. Let somebody else do the work. Freedom wasn’t worth the effort to these folks. Fortunately, George didn’t need one hundred percent participation, for had that been necessary the king’s face would still be on our coins. But he did need a fair number to show up. When that fair number dwindles, and the sit on their hands folks predominate, the egg is already cracked.

When freedom isn’t worth the effort, the barbarians win.

When you teach generations of children that the things that elevated their civilization to greatness, and the things that netted them their wonderful lives, were in fact the things that our predecessors did wrong, and that we should be ashamed of our success, then we stop trying. 

And then the barbarians win. 

When short term profit or the acquisition of power sells out your own civilization, the barbarians win.

When the notion that our civilization thrived and surpassed its competition because it offered opportunity to anyone willing to try becomes instead complacency and entitlement, the barbarians win.

The famous intellectual and philosopher Ann Landers once noted, “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” 

And when politicians promise to give folks this or that so they won’t need to work, they are not only lying, but they are asking the citizens to surrender their civilization and their freedom to a culture of dependency. 

Then the barbarians win.

Now you might wonder if we will shortly surrender to the Chinese or to the twelve century religious fanatics.  Heck, it don’t matter. There’s lots of rabble at the gates. Don’t ask who will take over; ask instead why we slowed down, why we stopped trying. 

The politicians sold you easy street. The short term profit cheaters sold you out. The barbarians didn’t win. We let them win, because we let those politicians and short term profiteers run our lives and give away our freedom.  Wouldn’t ya think people would wanna wake up to this now, not later when it is too late? Just askin’.