Speaking truth to the dominant culture

“A Jewish fable relates that a man stood at the gates of Sodom and cried out against sin. He implored men to repent and change their ways. As things got progressively worse, he continued to cry out his warning. When it looked absolutely hopeless, a passerby asked him why he still bothered. He answered, ‘I used to cry out so that men would change their ways. Now I cry out so that they won’t change me!’”

From a review of Robert Knight’s The Age of Consent.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 07, 2003 02:10 AM | Send

Comments

A wise, and true, fable. Those who don’t see, and don’t cry out against the destruction ravaging our society will be carried along with it. Without realizing it, the debased character of a sick society becomes their own.

Even for those who try to be truly traditionalist, who try to keep faith with those who went before, this is a sobering thought-experiment:
Think about how you dress, how you speak, how you amuse yourself. Think about your habits, and the quality of your education. Then imagine meeting your own father as he was in 1950. What would he think of you? To the extent you are reflective of today’s culture, he would probably find you slovenly, perhaps even libertine. (I am not positing some Puritan man of 1950, merely someone fairly reflective of that - already declining - culture). Now, think about meeting your great-grandfather as he was in 1900, and ask the same question… HRS

Posted by: Howard Sutherland on September 7, 2003 3:12 PM

Good question, HRS…

“Can traditionalists really hope to win the culture war and restore morality and traditional values while marinating themselves in the cultural assumptions and practices of the decadent left?”

- Thomas R. Eddlem, “Out-FOXing Conservatives”, June 18, 2001, The New American

( http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2001/06-18-2001/vo17no13_fox_print.htm )

Posted by: Will S. on September 7, 2003 6:09 PM

Will S.,

Thanks for the post. Murdoch is a cultural pornographer who too often gets a pass from conservatives because he bankrolls neoconnery. HRS

Posted by: Howard Sutherland on September 7, 2003 6:12 PM