A Culture of Decadence

John Love 

After the second World War, life for the average white middle-class American was better than it had ever been before. Technology was advancing at a breakneck speed, giving the average American access to inventions like the refrigerator, washing machine, and television. Nearly every average standard of living metric was at an all-time high, from diet and physical health to the strength of family and community networks. Life was good. However, much has changed since then.

Today, I believe we live in a culture of decadence, and I know I am not alone in feeling this sentiment. Many people, including New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, now believe we live in a time characterized by “economic stagnation, institutional decay, and cultural and intellectual exhaustion”. I believe a few core assumptions spawned during the so-called “good times” have invaded our cultural psyche and led us down a path to our current age of decadence.

Technological Advancement and a Cultural Decline

As previously mentioned, technology was advancing at a record pace in the post WW2 boom era. This brought many goods to the world. Life spans advanced greatly due to the advancements in modern medicine and food technology. Time spent doing household chores was greatly reduced by the dishwasher and washing machine, freeing up women to do less menial activities and jobs. However, with these benefits come some negative side-effects.

When technology advances so rapidly, our culture often has a hard time keeping pace. For example, take the case of television. Until 1973, a town in Canada codenamed “Notel” did not have access to television due to its isolated mountainous geography. Right before television was introduced to the town, Dr. Tannis MacBeth conducted a study comparing it to analogous nearby towns that did have television, with Notel as the best possible control group on the effects of television. The results speak for themselves; Notel residents showed higher IQs, less aggression, and more self control and empathy. 

Two years after television was introduced to the town, MacBeth returned to Notel. The change was apparent. Before the introduction of TV, the town had a strong sense of community, with regular sports matches and community dinners. After TV was introduced, the number of and demand for these events had diminished, as the new default norm after work was to go home and watch TV.

The Rise of the Pursuit of Pleasure 

The trend towards television is just one part of a general societal shift towards the emphasis on, and glorifying of, pleasure. This can be easily seen in the content made for the youth and teens. Before this period of decadence, the youth loved stories and magazines about great feats, ingenuity, and exploration, shown in the popularity of the western genre in America, and publications like Boys of the Empire abroad in the old British Empire. However, these traits of valor and bravery are no longer seen as what is desirable by the younger generations, with the new end-all-be-all being more along the lines of Dazed and Confused; sex, drugs, and just having a good time. After all, “if we’re all going to die anyways, shouldn’t we enjoy ourselves now?”

Disordered Judgment 

This feeling of nihilism and self-pleasure is in part driven by the decline of organized religion in the USA and the west as a whole. However, that does not keep the now churchless people from using and corrupting parts of Christianity’s teachings in pursuit of a new meaning in life. One of the most famous teachings of Jesus is “do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1 NIV). So famous is this teaching that it persists in the minds of people even after they stop practicing their faith, who then interpret it as a decree against judgment of all kinds. We therefore act in a laissez-faire manner towards others, treating doing such as love and judgment as hate. All actions are good besides those seen as uniquely evil; Nazism, racism, and the like.

However, doing this ignores the rest of, and original meaning of, the passage, which says “how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:4-5). This advice holds true not just to the faithful, but to all. Anyone honorable and just should look for the flaws they hate in others, then look for those same flaws in themselves. This allows us to improve ourselves and gives us greater empathy for the plights of others. However, people trend towards one of two extremes. Some refuse to judge others, citing a supposed lack of objective morality. Others easily judge others but refuse to judge themselves, believing themselves to be superior to those without any sense of objective morality, leading to nothing but vitriol and anger. 

This lack of healthy judgment does not just cause a stain on the behavior and mannerisms of an individual, but a negative impact on society at large. Postmodernism largely can be derived from this dismissal of objective fact and casting judgment, instead favoring subjectivity and skepticism. This intellectual stance is inherently meaningless and illogical, as it believes that multiple truths are possible, which is easily disprovable by allowing the ideology to interact with the real world; relativism in the fields of science, engineering, and technology would make the world unlivable. Because of our lack of ability as a society to judge, we find it hard to reject this very flawed stance, and thus it continues to be prominent in intellectual spheres. This results in the promotion of obscurantism, the decline of art and culture, and difficulty in the expansion of analytical or empirical knowledge.

To Conclude

One may read all this and be quick to place the blame on the generation that first went through these changes, the Baby Boomers. However, we have not done anything to change since then, only going further into these negative practices. Instead of watching television for many hours a day, we now spend hours each day on social media, isolating ourselves even more from others and the outside world. The media we consume is depicting more degenerate scenes than ever, such as in the hit show Euphoria. We still lack the ability to judge others and to improve ourselves. We are still a part of the same “macro generation”.

In order to break this cycle, we must strive to improve ourselves. Instead of scrolling social media today, go for a walk, call up a friend, or read a good book. Don’t seek leisure or pleasure as an end of itself, strive to be the best man or woman you can be. Only then will you have taken the plank out of your own eye. Only then can we end this culture of decadence.

We Need to Look Out for Our Future

John Love

As individuals, we oftentimes struggle to comprehend our actions past their immediate impacts. This often can cause negative impacts further on down the line. Some effects can be relatively minor. When faced with a good meal or a tasty sweet, we will eat past our limits, satisfying our taste buds in the moment, only to regret it by feeling bloated, or seeing a higher number on the scale. However, some effects can be much greater. Many Americans (75% to be precise) have retirement savings that fall short of even the most conservative of savings targets, and (21%) don’t save at all. So too can vary the effects of short-sightedness as a nation.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit”. Some attribute this quote to the Ancient Greeks, some to modern motivational speakers, but the one thing all can agree on is that the sentiment rings true. Western societies of old were renowned for the ability to look beyond their own current short-term benefit for the greater good of their societies in the long run, as seen in the cathedrals of medieval Europe which would take hundreds of years to complete. However, nowadays, we have collectively decided to stop looking out for the needs of the future in order to satisfy the wants of the present.

Sacrificing Long-term Investment for Short-term Gains

Shareholder capitalism is the driving economic system in the USA and much of the modern world. In such a system, corporate leaders are legally required to operate companies in a way to maximize value for shareholders, meaning those who have purchased a share of the company. This usually takes form by the company executives doing anything they can to keep share (stock) prices high and growth metrics consistent. While the system allows for great short-term results for investors, it can oftentimes be to the detriment of the company’s employees and customers, or even to the detriment of the company itself. 

If a company makes a profit, it would be logical to assume it would be best for the company to reinvest its profits back into itself, in order to continue to achieve profits in the future. However, that is often not the case. Corporate leaders are under such great stress to keep share prices high, meaning they oftentimes have to cut back on investments in R&D, employees, or capital expenditures, all of which would help the company succeed in the long-run. This has not always been the case. Financial markets used to be seen as a way to easily create long-term investments in sound businesses. However, as these markets have grown more complex in modern times, the growing number of financial intermediaries has started to see investments in the market as a sort of paper asset; something meant to be traded in the short-term, not invested in the long-term. This new kind of trading makes some, including the intermediaries, quite wealthy in the short term. However, this kind of trading is also a zero-sum game, sorely lacking in long-term wealth creation.

The Debt to GDP Ratio: a Marker of Economic Health 

As financial markets have matured and grown more complex in the USA, so has the country’s debt to GDP ratio. The ratio, defined as the total government/sovereign debts of a country to its GDP, or economic output, is usually a bellwether for the health and performance of an economy. For example, a study done by the World Bank shows that countries with a debt to GDP ratio of more than 77% are expected to go through economic slowdowns and recessions. As of 2022, the ratio in the USA is over 120%, as seen in the graph below.

Traditionally, the debt to GDP ratio has remained quite low in the USA, only spiking in times of large government spending, mainly in times of war or financial recession. These instances of spending make sense in the short and long term; one cannot fight or win a war without spending big on the armed forces, and fiscal spending and loose monetary policy can help a struggling economy bounce back. However, both of these come with a caveat. Once the war or recession is over, spending must go down, and taxes must go up.

While America has been good historically about maintaining a low federal debt to GDP ratio, it has not been nearly as good since the 1980’s. In response to the recession, inflation, and oil crisis of the 1970’s, Reagan was elected president under a platform of lowering taxes in order to help the American economy recover. This resulted in the annual federal budget deficit growing from $41 billion in 1971 before his presidency to $212 billion in 1985 after his first term in office. 

By this time, the American economy was booming again, meaning that spending should be cut and taxes should be raised in order to maintain a stable debt to GDP ratio. However, that has not been the case. Besides Clinton’s second term in office, every over American president has seen an increase in the debt to GDP ratio. Spending continues to increase during each recession (from $161 billion in 2007 before the Great Recession to $1.41 trillion in 2009 after) but even when policy is tightened, it rarely ever results in a budget surplus, just less of a budget deficit.

Utopia vs Reality

Why would American politicians engage in such reckless fiscal policy? The answer is quite simple. Americans, as with all other people, hate to pay taxes. Additionally, Americans love government benefits and programs, such as medicare, social security, and infrastructure. These beliefs, while compatible in a theoretical utopia where scarcity does not exist, are not compatible in the real world. However, it is unlikely that any presidential candidate would be elected on a policy of making their voters’ lives worse, even if only in the short term. Instead, Republicans run under a policy of decreasing taxes (with negligible spending decreases), while Democrats run under a policy of increasing spending (with negligible tax increases). Both yield the same result in regards to the debt to GDP ratio. 

These problems mentioned are far from the only instances where we prioritize short term benefits of long term successes. We prioritize increases in home value over home affordability through restrictive zoning policy, helping retirees maintain home values at the expense of the young looking for a place to live. We raise our children in ways that keeps them protected and sheltered, but causes them to flounder in the real world. It’s in our personal lives, our culture, and our elected governments.

To Conclude 

When looking towards the future, we have two choices. Either to continue to try to benefit in the short term at the expense of either our future or future generation’s futures, or to bite the bullet now; to do things that may harm us in the short term, but will greatly benefit us many years from now. We can stop structuring our financial markets in their current predatory forms, which seek to leech from companies instead of investing in their futures. A potential solution to this would be structuring shareholder voting rights in a way that makes them dependent on the length of time they have held their shares, instead of just by the number of shares they currently hold. We can stop supporting politicians who care more about getting elected than the economic health of the nation. We can look out for the needs of the future instead of the wants of the present.

Why the West is Wealthy

John Love

Have you ever wondered why Mexico is so much poorer than the USA, despite sharing a border? Or why Asia, despite having such a great population, is poorer than the west? You’re not alone. Historians, economists, sociologists, and politicians have been asking the same questions for centuries, and have had many theories about why over the years.

In the past, theories have centered largely on differences in race, with Africa and Asia being doomed due to their supposed racial inferiority. However, as time passes, this theory has been discredited with the failures of societies like Nazi Germany, and the sucesses of Asian societies like Japan. Today, the theories and reasons for differences in the wealth of societies can be boiled down into three different categories; geography, culture, and institutions.

The Geography Hypothesis

The geography hypothesis postulates, in short, that countries’ successes are bound by their geographies more than by the cultures, leaders, or institutions within. The most famous work supporting this hypothesis is likely Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize winning Guns, Germs, and Steel. In this book, Diamond rejects the idea that culture, institutions, and actions by specific leaders are what have determined the course of history, instead believing that where the countries are, and the resources they contain, are the main determinants of a nation’s future success. The most famous example given within the book, and one that is growing increasingly prevalent today, is that cold nations are destined to be more successful than warm ones. 

Diamond argues that warmer, equatorial areas have many negative factors, including tropical diseases and worse farmable foods (such as rice, maize, and bananas). Compare this to colder areas further from the equator, which are relatively free from diseases, and have crops that contain more protein and are easier to farm and store (such as barley, wheat, and flax). Additionally, warmer areas tend to cause physical laziness, as anyone who has lived through a Texas Summer can attest to. In colder regions, one could not afford to be lazy during the Summer months, as hard work and collaboration was required to be able survive the harsh Winter months.

When looking at a map of the world today, his first hypothesis, that cold nations fare better than cold ones, seems to ring true. Countries such as Canada, the USA, western Europe, and the Nordic Countries have some of the highest GDPs per capita in the world, especially when compared to some of the warmest and poorest countries in the world. For example, the USA has 86 times the GDP per capita of Burundi. Even within the USA, the northern states have tended to fare better economically than the southern states, with the wealthiest state in terms of GDP per capita being New York, with a GDP per capita of over twice that of the poorest state, Mississippi.

This hypothesis, while tending to be true in the modern day (with some exceptions. Russia has a GDP per capita of $27,044, compared to Qatar’s $85,300), doesn’t hold up as well over history. Throughout history, the wealthiest countries per capita have varied greatly. For example, around the time of Christ, Iraq had an estimated GDP per capita (in 2011 dollars) of $1225, while the Netherlands had a GDP per capita of $600. Nowadays, the Netherlands has a GDP per capita more than 3 times that of Iraq. This isn’t cherry picking data either; warmer nations in the Middle East and Mediterranean consistently had greater GDPs per capita than colder nations in western and northern Europe until at least the middle ages. What caused this to change? Why did these nations lose their economic advantage? One potential explanation can be found in the differences between these nations’ cultures.

The Cultural Hypothesis

Proponents of the cultural hypothesis believe that properties of cultures, most often their religions, social values, and family ties, are the main determinants to whether a nation is financially successful or not. Proponents of this hypothesis argue that some cultures are better at promoting fiscal responsibility, hard work, and the acceptance of technological advancements.

A tenant of the cultural hypothesis is that different cultures are better at adopting technological advancements, thus allowing those cultures to excel in the long-run. An example of this can be found in how different cultures across Eurasia reacted to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Within both China and the Muslim world, their societies turned insular, with study of Confucian texts or the Qaran being treated as more important than the study of the real world. This led to both cultures, who had been at the forefront of worldwide scientific development, falling behind. The west, on the other hand, adopted Thomas Aquinas’s idea of Natural Theology; that reason and the study of the Earth, God’s creation, is of the utmost importance. This led to the west eventually surpassing the rest of the world scientifically, and beginning the industrial revolution first. 

Perhaps the most famous example of the cultural hypothesis in action is the so-called “Protestant Work Ethic”. Coined by German sociologist Max Weber, the concept asserts that Protestant ethics and Calvinist doctrine helped lead to the prosperity of western civilization. In Protestant doctrine, hard work, education, and frugality were thought to be among the most important applications of being a steward of God, something Weber argued was not present within the pre-Reformation culture of Catholic Europe. This, in turn, helped to launch the spread of capitalism among the countries of western Europe, leading to the prosperity in those nations in the modern day. 

When looking at a map of Catholic and Protestant nations, this tends to hold true in broad strokes (the USA and Canada are wealthier than Latin America and northern Europe is wealthier than Mediterranean Europe). However, Weber’s concept is not without its critics; some Catholic nations are wealthier than nearby Protestant counterparts, and some academics argue capitalism first emerged before the Reformation in northern Italy. Additionally, one can argue that it is not the culture that led to capitalism that is important and leads to wealth, but the laws and institutions of a capitalistic society.

Institutional Hypothesis

The third of the main three hypotheses, the institutions hypothesis, postulates that the differences in ways societies organize and set laws are the main influences on the differences in prosperity between nations. Proponents of this hypothesis point to the fact that countries who are very similar geographically and culturally can have vastly different economic institutions and outcomes.

An example of this can be found in the differences between North and South Korea. North Korea, with its centralized economic planning, lack of markets, and lack of property rights, has become very impoverished, especially in relationship to its main neighbors, South Korea and China. South Korea, on the other hand, has excelled economically since adopting its laws protecting property and other free market policies. Before the two countries were split, both halves of the Korean peninsula had similar cultures, and both still are similar geographically, with both nations being dominated by mountainous terrain.

Another example of different institutions impacting the economic success of nations is the economic outcomes of former British colonies compared to former Spanish colonies. British colonies, namely the USA, Canada, and Australia, are all world powers and economic juggernauts. This can be argued to be due to English Common Law being the foundation of these countries’ legal systems. This system of laws helps to protect the civil rights and property of those living under the law, helping citizens living within these nations, as well as increasing investment by increasing stability. Many other former British colonies, such as Egypt and British India (including Bangladesh and Pakistan), while being poorer compared to the previously mentioned British colonies, are still wealthier in terms of GDP per capita when compared to many of their neighbors. This difference from their former colonial peers can be argued to be due to both countries having eliminated some facets of English Common Law, such as strong property rights, for at least a time after their independence.

Former Spanish colonies, on the other hand, are much poorer compared to their English counterparts. These colonies were designed not as economic engines, but as extractive economies, much to the detriment of the modern-day economies of these now nations. In addition, governing power came largely from the foreign Spanish crown compared to the more concentration in the local residents of the colonies under the English system. This caused Spanish colonies’ decision making abilities to be hamstrung, and limited economic growth. Furthermore, without English Common Law to set a baseline for individual and property rights, former Spanish colonies have not been able to set up stable market economies without threats of military dictatorships or socialist regimes.

Which Theory is Right?

This list of theories is by no means a comprehensive list. There are many more examples to support the hypotheses of each of these theories, as well as additional theories (such as the Great Leader Hypotheses, in which great figures in history determine which nations are prosperous. Think Alexander the Great, Confucius, or George Washington). I personally believe that each of these theories has its merits, and none are the sole contributing factor to why some nations are more prosperous than others.

In some cases, such as the natives of the New World, the lack of good geography and fauna made a prosperous civilization extremely difficult to come by. Very few domesticated animals and poor accessible mineral resources made an urbanized civilization hard to create, meaning that very few natives would have been exposed, and thus gained immunity, to the diseases which wiped out much of their population. In other cases, the culture of a nation can hold it back, such as the historically passive Hindu culture and caste system of India, which allowed for very little social mobility. And in even other cases, the institutions of a nation can hold back a great geographic position or culturally strong people, such as how communism held back Eastern Europe from prospering. When analyzing why a country is successful, try to look at the whole picture, not just a few of the factors, to understand what could have gone right, or what could have gone wrong.

Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin Comes to Trinity

This year’s Flora Cameron lecture at Trinity University became commemorative with the unfortunate passing of Flora Cameron Crichton on March 2 of this year. Before her passing, Crichton was able to select Doris Kearns Goodwin as the speaker for the lecture. Goodwin is a presidential historian, political commentator and award-winning author/biographer. She spoke on her book Leadership in Turbulent Times, a New York Times bestseller on March 27 in Laurie Auditorium.

“Little could I have imagined how relevant that title would be today,” joked Goodwin at the beginning of the lecture. However, she switched to a more serious demeanor and contemplated a question that she is often asked: ‘are these the worst of times?’ “The answer history provides is no,” said Goodwin in answer to the question. She pointed to and referenced many American Presidents, but focused on Lyndon B. Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt. She highlighted the “turbulent times“ that all these men faced, such as the civil war and industrial revolution, and stated that “each one of these situations cried out for leadership, and each of the four men was peculiarly fitted for the time.”

Goodwin shifted her focus to the qualities that make up leaders. She pulled a Teddy Roosevelt quote in which he said, “most success comes when people develop ordinary talents to an extraordinary degree from hard sustained work.” This she acknowledged as being a key to success but not a universal key to leadership. She made a list of qualities that are almost universally applicable, “humility, empathy, resilience, courage, the ability to listen to diverse opinions, controlling of impulses, connect with all manner of people, communicate through stories and keep[ing] one’s word.” Goodwin went into great detail on how her studied presidents portrayed these qualities and acknowledged that there is not just one key to being a successful leader.

Nearing the end of her lecture she recalled a quote from Leo Tolstoy about Lincoln.  “He wasn’t as great a general as Napoleon, he wasn’t as great a statesman as Frederick the great. But his greatness consisted in the integrity of his character and the moral fiber of his being, the ultimate standard for judging our leaders.” She concluded that it wasn’t necessarily the triumphs of a leader that determined their success, but the effect they have as people, on people.

Goodwin closed with a touching and powerful personal anecdote on why history came to interest her and why it is so important. She thanked history for “allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back in the past, allowing me to believe in the pride and people we have lost and love in our families, and the public figures we have respected in history really can live on, so long as we pledge to tell and retell the stories of their lives.”

Photo by “Rhododendrites” on Wikimedia Commons. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Indian Man Accused of White Supremacy

Local Trinity student and military history enthusiast Niraj Sengupta came under fire recently for alleged white supremacist sympathies.

Sengupta’s interest in World War II military history has led many liberals to believe that he secretly harbors a hatred of all nonwhite races. “He kept talking to me about something called the pickelhelm,” one student told the Tower. “I know he’s not white, but something’s fishy here.”

Other reports indicate that Sengupta frequently enjoys wartime novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front and Catch-22.

Sengupta, whose family hails from India, did not deny the accusations outright. “I’m brown,” Sengupta said. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

Alamo Heights race studies expert Clarice Woakes helped dispel some of the confusion. “Some people still stick to very outdated, restrictive definitions of racism. Today, we now understand that being a white supremacist has nothing to do with being white,” Woakes said. “Also, I think Indians are technically Caucasian. Or Aryan? Who knows? I bet there’s something there.”

Evidence for Sengupta’s alleged racism continues to unfold. “Stunningly, it turns out that Indians earn more than white people,” one researcher pointed out. “Sounds like privilege to me.”

YCT Hosts Lecture on American Exceptionalism

Monday, February 18, the Trinity University Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) hosted a speaker named Jonathan Dunne. Dunne is an Irishman who writes for theBlaze, an American conservative media company that provides television networks, podcasts, and news articles. Dunne came to Trinity University to speak about American exceptionalism from a European point of view. With a heavy Irish accent and great enthusiasm, he had many good things to say about the United States. Dunne shared that his lifelong dream is to become an American citizen, claiming to have been in line for citizenship for about 12 years.

American exceptionalism is one of the issues that Dunne is very passionate about. His sweatshirt read, “America is great because Americans are good.” He stated that one of the things that makes America different from every other country in the world is the idea that rights come from their creator, not from men or from the government. Rights are inherently given to humans just because they are human.

Dunne further discussed the founding American documents, namely the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. According to Dunne, the main rights that make up America today come from the Declaration of Independence. He said that America is different because we have a “God-given right to pursue happiness.” He quoted the Declaration of Independence’s famous phrases that “all men are created equal” and that humans have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Dunne argues these documents prove that the United States is built upon exceptional, God-given values that cannot be given or taken away by men or governments.

“I admire how Americans are always so hopeful and always looking to the future,” Dunne said. During the talk, he expressed his admiration for how motivated and persistent Americans are when facing everyday life. He noted that the attitudes in America are much different from European attitudes. George Washington’s values were one of his favorite things about the foundation of the United States.

Students in the audience, mainly YCT members, seemed to enjoy Jonathan Dunne’s talk because most of the members agreed with Dunne that America is indeed exceptional and special. “I loved his passionate knowledge of America’s founding documents. His main argument was that America was the first nation to achieve a system of laws based on principles that mankind cannot alter,” said Isaiah Mitchell, junior english major and chairman of YCT.

More students expressed agreement with Dunne and admired his passion for America as a whole. “I liked how positive he is about America: past, present, and future, noted Victoria Ydens, a freshman classics major and member of YCT. She added that it was “a refreshing change from the usual negativity.”
Young Conservatives of Texas will continue to host speakers in the future. The next speaker on their schedule is Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid.

Disclaimer: Emma McMahan is the social chair of YCT at Trinity.

Photo by Samantha Farnsworth.

The Conservatism of Russell Kirk: Social Continuity

President Abraham Lincoln, an excellent conservative, described the probable destruction of the United States in his Lyceum address: “From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia…could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.” Our destruction is realized when we abandon our ways as Americans and neglect our social continuity.

Singing the national anthem before football games is a small example of social continuity. It reaffirms the state’s legitimacy and our bonds as brothers and sisters in nationhood. The movement to take a knee during the national anthem in football games is in practice a direct assault on the social continuity of the United States. With or without intent to attack the sense of American community, the movement to protest the national anthem is in practice a net loss to the country as a whole. Through intending to cast doubt or to end a socially contiguous ritual, citizens of the same state begin lose their similarities and distrust their fellow citizens. One can change policy without violating the social continuity, and must act accordingly or risk dismantling the state itself and constituting a state of destructive civil conflict.

The canon of social continuity rests on the idea that justice is not natural, but artificial. In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes defines justice practically as a result of law. Law is the result of the common powers over man, and the common powers over man arise as a means to end a state of conflict. Therefore, justice is an invention of man necessary in practice to maintain order over conflict and to facilitate prosperity. For thousands of years, people have gone through war and peace, trial and error, and have arrived at the rules and prosperity of today by learning from those sacrifices and hardships of the past. Social continuity is the call for continuing the true justice, forged in the trials by fire of our past, in order to continue in the security and prosperity of the state.

This canon of conservative thought is in danger of redefinition or outright abandonment. Today’s common ideal of justice based on personal morality and subjective truth is to blame for this push towards abandoning social continuity. If one believes in standards for correctness, one would likely believe in the merit of social continuity. The idealistic view of justice, where what any individual dreams as justice is so, naturally finds conflict with social continuity as personal morality can overturn it by virtue of one’s own personal taste. Social continuity is either redefined to fit personal morality, or is abandoned in some form of revolution to dismantle the structure entirely and erect an ideal state.

These challenges to social continuity ignore certain problems. First, sticking to the tradition of American ideals has allowed the individuals their present advantages, and even their ability to question the structure itself. It is difficult to justify the moral advantage of an alternate state when the present state of the United States is both flexible and fair enough, thanks to the preservation of American ideals. Second, transient causes should not define the United States, as transient causes are usually idealistic rather than practical and do not solve problems so much as create new ones. This haphazard factor is why transient causes are more detrimental than beneficial, and should not to be implemented for their own sake at the expense of destroying a necessary support to the state as a whole.

The rule of social continuity is mocked and trivialized in contemporary universities, especially in those fields which promote cultural relativism. In order to affirm that there are good ideas and bad ideas, right practices and wrong practices, one must have a standard to identify and judge ideas and practices. This standard develops in the social body of a nation. Cultural relativism destroys this standard, tears our social fabric, and goes against the practical Hobbesian definition of justice. The thousands of years of trial and error which have built our success become irrelevant under relativism. Defined, cultural relativism affirms that there are no such things as good ideas or bad ideas, right or wrong practices, in a vain effort to make every culture accepted. This is an idealistic rather than practical view of justice. Some ideas and practices are better than others, and the American social continuity is not only the best one, but is the standard which the world follows. The American development of ideals inspires the rest of the world, sustains its citizens, and has brought forth prosperity for generations; yet, it is mocked by relativists who would believe that all ideas are created equal.

The preservation of the state is an immeasurable gift to us, our children, and our world. Even if the individual does not find a clear conscience with the present society, it is far more beneficial to everyone if the union of a society is preserved. Without the power of social commonality, distrust and ambition would naturally cause conflict and there would be ceaseless war, and if there is no common power over people there will be no such thing as injustice as justice can no longer be affirmed. Only in this ceaseless war would people recognize its detriment and agree upon oaths with one another, call them laws, and enforce them in the form of a common power over people. In short, the state controls justice and justice is only possible if there is a state. The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war. The common bonds of society preserve the state. Social continuity is one of the state’s most integral supports not just because of its natural affirmation of the state’s legitimacy but because of its universal connection to all citizens in practice.

Social continuity, even if one disagrees with present policy, must not be violated because preserving the nation is an unquestionable good. For, through preserving the state, justice will continue to exist in contrast to a state of war. Social continuity creates a common bond between citizens and it is through this bond that shared values and trust is facilitated. Good ideas and practices tried and tested for thousands of years of recorded history have been taken into account, and as a result, prosperity and abundance have come to our advantage. Now that one of our greatest advantages has become subject to doubt and ridicule now is the time for conservatives to once more affirm the virtue of the social continuity. Preserving the social fabric of America would ultimately be an unquestionable good for the hundreds of millions of Americans and for the peace of the entire world.

Martyr Valentinus the Presbyter of Rome

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day when couples are given special permission to be extra affectionate, guys who never buy flowers buy their wives and girlfriends two dozen roses and when many single people wonder whether next year will finally be the year they have someone for whom to buy chocolate.

Everyone knows that Feb. 14 is a holiday connected in some way to romantic love. Many will know that it has something to do with a Saint named Valentine. A small minority will have some vague idea that he was a priest who married people (or something like that). I personally credit Jason Bach Cartoons with 95% of contemporary Catholic awareness surrounding the life of the actual saint. For those of you who are (defensibly) unaware of the life of this priest, and his festal history in the past decades, allow me to provide a brief primer.

In 1969, following the Second Vatican Council, St. Valentine was removed from regular public commemoration because so little is known about his life. He most certainly existed (that’s his skull at the top there, if you were wondering), and we have records of his public veneration as early as 496, just about two centuries after he was martyred around 270.

Additionally, there were actually two saints named Valentine, both martyred around the same time, and by the same emperor. The first St. Valentine was the Bishop of Terni, Narnia, and Amelia in Italy, and is closely associated with miraculous healings. Bishop Valentine was known as a friend of young people and the sick, and was ultimately martyred for attempting to convert the Roman Emperor Claudius II.

The second St. Valentine, the priest, is where the association with romantic love comes from. The story often goes that he married Christian couples in secret, in defiance of Emperor Claudius’s orders. Once he was found out, he was also executed. Regardless of whether St. Valentine was one priest, one bishop, or two men who were priest and bishop, the association with Christian marriage is one that we should not lose sight of in our modern day celebrations.

Today, a record number of American adults—around 20%—have never been married.

Also today, less than half of people think society is better off if marriage and children are a priority.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic (though I don’t think I am), the family is the foundation of society, and if the family unit crumbles, the society will too. At the core of family is marriage. Thus, if marriage crumbles, so too will family, and the society as a whole will not be far behind. St. Valentine promoted marriage in the Roman empire, and he was literally killed for it. The modern United States isn’t at that point, but that doesn’t mean we should be any less forceful in our defense of sacramental marriage as an institution worth preserving and expanding.

Consider what most people in their 20s and 30s today treat marriage as, in practice. I don’t mean what they put in their vows, or what they speak of, I mean the way they act. Essentially, marriage today is what Dr. Budziszewski would call “cohabitation with formalities.” People who live together before marriage will get married, and very little will change except some rings, a big party and then a vacation. Even popular media is becoming aware of this, as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes remarks in BBC’s Sherlock before Watson’s wedding: “Two people who currently live together are about to attend church, have a party, go on a short holiday and then carry on living together. What’s big about that?”

Marriage as a divinely instituted covenant is something that St. Valentine thought was worth dying for. Marriage is not merely a legal agreement to have a joint bank account, live together and then to possibly divide your possessions in half down the road if you decide it was a mistake. Marriage ought to be a promise before each other and before God. It is something supremely important—something capable of leading yourself, your spouse and your children to heaven. St. Valentine thought that real, sacramental marriage was worth dying for, and we should too.

In college, we are constantly bombarded with questions about our future. “What are you doing when you graduate?” “What are you majoring in?” “Where are you interning this summer?” These are all important questions, and I don’t mind answering them when my friends and family ask, but they all fail to get to the real heart of why I’m studying in college.

Every person of faith, and I daresay even the irreligious, should look to their education as primarily an instrumental good—certainly knowledge has some intrinsic value, but the primary purpose of seeking an education should be to provide a good life for our spouse and our children. You’ll notice I didn’t say “ourselves, our spouse and our children.” That was an intentional omission: the nature of love is to be self-sacrificing, and none in quite spectacular a fashion as the love that comes with marriage and raising children. I don’t have to be married or have children to see how difficult, and fulfilling, it is in the lives of those around me.

If you’re reading this and single, it may seem odd to think of something as foundational to the contemporary American experience as college as being directed towards a spouse you haven’t met and children who don’t exist yet. I don’t have any immediate plans for marriage, but I am dating, so it’s less abstract. We are all called to something in life that will help lead us and those around us to heaven. For most, that vocation is marriage. For others it’s the priesthood, monastic life or living single and in the world. If you are confident that you are called to marriage as the means to sanctify yourself, your spouse and whatever children God blesses you with, but don’t yet have the faintest idea of who that person might be, that’s OK. Pray for them, whoever they are.

Author’s Note: You might notice this is tagged “Luke’s Catholic Corner.” If you liked this (this being a distinctively Catholic take on something), leave some feedback either as a comment or using our contact form, and if it got a positive response I’ll begin writing things like this once or twice a month.

Photo by AlvfanBeem. CCO 1.0. Wikimedia Commons.

Review: They Shall Not Grow Old

Approximately a century after the WWI armistice was signed on 11 Nov 1918, Peter Jackson directs a documentary masterpiece that commemorates the lives of the often forgotten soldiers who fought on those front lines. They Shall Not Grow Old is composed entirely of film clips provided by the Imperial War Museums depicting British servicemen fighting in the trenches during the Great War. With innovative modern technology, Jackson was able to improve the degree of detail on the film, which had suffered damage over the years. Most strikingly, vivid and accurate color was added to the previously grayscale footage, bringing the images of the war to life.

The film is narrated with the voices of real WWI veterans’ past interviews, which brought authentic first-person perspectives alongside the visuals. At times, the silent footage is dubbed over, giving real voices to the people on screen. This was made possible by lip reading experts who closely studied the footage to accurately recreate the words spoken by the young men on the screen. Overall, the film was relatively devoid of frills and unnecessary editing, placing the focus solely on the visuals and the soldiers’ harrowing experiences.

They Shall Not Grow Old is edited together as a documentary which tells of the experiences of British fighters, from enlistment to post-armistice. It opens with raw, unedited footage explaining war propaganda and the efforts on the home front. The audience watches the men undergo training, and the edited footage and color kick in once coverage of the fighting begins. The film goes over topics pertaining to life in the trenches on the western front. It covers everything from how the soldiers went about eating to avoiding mustard gas to getting rid of corpses to operating tanks. As the film began to cover the armistice, it switched back to raw black and white footage, ending with a description of how veterans were treated with negative regard upon returning home.

Jackson made the intentional directorial decision to avoid identifying the men on the screen or putting names to the voices. He also avoided any mention of specific locations or dates. The purpose behind this choice was to draw audience’s focus away, rather stating, “I wanted it to be what it ended up being: 120 men telling a single story. Which is: what was it like to be a British soldier on the western front?”

Jackson wanted the modern audience to see and experience the war and the living conditions like those men saw it, with full color and sound.

The film seemed to carry an underlying message about the futility of war and the tragic loss of life it brings. Thousands upon thousands of men around the world enthusiastically accepted the call to fight simply because that was what one did at that time, only for them to be used as fodder. WWI was meant to be “the war to end all wars”, but clearly it wasn’t. We tend to remember the war but not the raw fighting done there. We remember the large scale history, but not the ordinary individuals that drove that history forward. These men were brave beyond words and acknowledged a cause larger than themselves for which they were willing to lay down their lives, and that deserves recognition.

The events of WWI occurred just over a hundred years ago. The last living World War I veteran passed away at age 110 on 4 February, 2012. Her name was Florence Green, and she served in the Women’s Royal Air Force. The soldiers of WWI are long gone from this earth. This movie brings these veterans back to life in their prime and acts as a reminder that wars are not fought by countries, they are fought by people. The movie is a call for remembrance for those who created history for us living today; it is important to honor that call and commemorate those who fought for what was right not so very long ago.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall: 29 Years Later

On November 9, 1989, the Cold War was nearing its end and east and west Berlin were united after 29 years of separation with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall was a Soviet product of World War II. While the wall stood, 171 people were killed by the German Democratic Republic for trying to cross over. The wall is an example of the harms that can come to people through the selfishness and carelessness of a totalitarian power.  

This year was the 29th anniversary of when the wall began to come down. The Young Conservatives of Texas at Trinity University (YCT) commemorated this with an event on the Coates Esplanade. Members of YCT erected a provided spray paint for students to write or draw anything they wanted to. Once it was painted, students had a chance to destroy it and, in the famous words of Reagan, “tear down this wall.”

Tearing down the Berlin Wall. Photo by Maddie D’iorio

The event had generally positive feedback from people just passing by. Many students were curious, stopped to talk about the event, and took part in it. It was an effective way to honor the humanitarian victory that took place 29 years ago as well as the victims of the Soviet occupation of Germany. Additionally, the event promoted freedom of speech and the importance of being familiar with history.

A few individuals took to Twitter after the event and bashed the motives for the event. A common complaint was the “apparent” hypocrisy of tearing down a wall while wanting a wall built on the US-Mexico border. Trinity YCT does not have an official stance on a border wall.