“Ille solus nescit omnia” —
With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, a dramatic and once unimaginable occurrence that was to be followed by the even more incredible collapse of the ‘evil empire’, the concept of the West began to lose its prominence. It was natural, so to speak, for with the disintegration of the Iron Curtain, the East West dichotomy seemed out of place.
But the West has returned to the forefront, but it is no longer the West of the Cold War. This new West is to be understood in the context of the purported clash of civilizations, the tête-à-tête between the West and Islam.
But what is the West, what is meant by it? Generally speaking, it seems to amount to Europe, America (North and South) and Australia. This massive tessellation of states are united by a Western culture, which amounts, more or less, to Christianity. Amen.
However, it seems dacious to try to present this juggernaut as a unified thing. I not only feel out of place here in the United Kingdom — but worse, I don’t think we have that much in common. Granted I love chisps sans ketchup and I revel in covering everything with mayonaise, especially chips … but … c’est tout. Oh yes, then there is the fact that we share the same language. And if I am having this anxiety vis-à-vis the British … I can only imagine how forced the shared identity must seen juxtaposed with the other Europeans.
Of course, my difficulty in seeing the putatively shared culture can be explained by an ingrained American-egocentricism: “I have nothing in common with these people! They can’t even replenish themselves! How sad!”
Yet, we must stand strong and united as Westerners; we are at war!
And for all that? What is Islam? Most Americans are probably under the impression that the majority of Muslims are Arabs, not so: the most populous Muslims nations, Indonesia and Pakistan, are not Arab. Then there is the whole Sunni and Shi’ite difficulty. Apparently, so I was told, this was a big scandal as no-one in the American government was able to say what the differences are. I find it ironic that I, as a virulent anti-clericalist and an atheist should actually know. And worse, I am from the suburbs, is not indifference supposed to be my driving force?
Yet, Islam is presented as singular and antithetical force driven to destroy our way of living. Naturally I feel disgust for any religious system. Having broken free from the reins of Christianity, I tremble at the idea of having the rights we won subverted by another derranged religion in the Abrahamaic tradition determined to subjugate human instinct in thte name of God and the common good. And it must be said that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are anti-human religions that make the faithful deny their primal selfs and abnegate this life for a purported heavenly kingdom.
It is maddening how easily Christianity has donned the accoutrements of Western ideas, i.e, freedom and reason, hijacking these in our name. And how galantlly she goes to the battlefield, willing to die for the West and her noble values. Alas, it’s all a lie — Christianity has usurpsed the rôle of her enemies in order to debilitate her enemy: Islam.
We — complacent fools that we are — have allowed Christianity to become the bearer of reason. And it is thus that she declares that Islam is a religion that is anti-reason. And we believe her. But we believe that our Mistress, that now-turned-venerable matron of Reason, despises reason, would do away with it and chain us to the completely irrational. Perhaps we deserve our faith: our ignorance is too much.
Thus we forget the truth about Islam and Christianity (Judaims in her tribal and thus xenophobic ethos cares not for proselatysing): They are two voluptous whores fighting for their next customer. In exchange for some insignificant fees, they bestow salvation upon the wretched John. They cleanse him, purify his soul; however, the fellow will sin again. Ah what a profitable business.
Whilst bemoaning the West’s _______ the Pope calls for freedom in Turkey. Sheer hypocrisy. as my mother used to say “Y luego sacan las uñas
Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the town that gave birth to Netscape and Google, I find myself at a loss in seeing how I am
As an both a humanist infected with virulent anticlericalism and ethnically Catholic.