Imagine the scene at Harvard in the spring of 1978 when Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave his now-famous address. Solzhenitsyn had already won the Nobel Prize for The Gulag Archipelago and other great works exposing the murderous nature of atheist Communism. But at Harvard Solzhenitsyn touched on a topic much closer to home.
Even though he was second to none in his denunciation of totalitarian socialism, Solzhenitsyn said, "should someone ask me whether I would indicate the West such as it is today as a model to my country, frankly I would have to answer negatively." The whole address is worth reading, but here are some highlights.
On the lack of courage in facing a totalitarian enemy: "The Western world has lost its civil courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country...and of course in the United Nations....Such a decline is especially notable among ruling groups and the intellectual elite....They get tongue-tied and paralyzed when they deal with powerful governments and threatening forces, with aggressors and international terrorists."
On how materialism makes a nation soft: "Every citizen has been granted the desired freedom and material goods in such quantity and of such quality as to guarantee in theory the pursuit of happiness...So why and for what should one risk one's precious life in defense of common values and particularly in such nebulous cases when the security of one's nation must be defended in a distant country?"
On what has happened to the rule of law: "People in the West has acquired considerable skill in using, interpreting and manipulating law....If one is right from a legal point of view, nothing more is required, nobody might mention that one could still not be entirely right and urge a willingness to show restraint or sacrifice. Everybody operates at the extreme limits of those legal frames....A society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed, but a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite worthy of man either."
On the rights of criminals: "Legal frames especially in the United States are broad enough to encourage not only individual freedom but also certain individual crimes. The culprit can go unpunished or obtain undeserved leniency with the support of legions of public defenders. When a government starts an earnest fight against terrorism, public opinion immediately accuses it of violating the terrorists' civil rights. There are many such cases."
On the abuses of freedom: "Destructive and irresponsible freedom has been granted boundless space. Soceity appears to have litle defense against the abyss of human decadence, such as misuse of liberty for moral violence against young people, motion pictures full of pornography, crime and horror...Such a tilt of freedom in the directionof evil has come about gradually but it was evidently born out of a humanistic concept according to which there is no evil inherent to human nature."
On freedom of the press: "The press, too, enjoys the widest freedom. But what use does it make of this freedom? The press has become the greatest power within the Western countries, more powerful than the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. One would then like to ask: by what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? How many hasty, immature, superficial and misleading judgments are expressed every day, confusing readers, and without any verification? Thus we see terrorists made into heroes, or secret matters pertaining to the national defense publicly revealed, or shameful intrusion into the privacy of people under the false slogan: everyone has the right to know everything."
On the atrophy of the spiritual life: "Mere freedom does not in the least solve all the problems of human life and it even adds some new ones....We have placed too much hope in political and social reforms, only to find out that we were being deprived of our most precious possession: our spiritual life."
Thirty years ago, the very chattering classes mentioned in Solzhenitsyn's address ridiculed the man as a reactionary and a crank. The literary critic Susan Sontag describes Manhattan cocktail parties at which the cultural left would laugh at Solzhenitsyn. No one--certainly not liberals and libertarians--wanted to hear what the New York Times called Solzhenitsyn's "hectoring jeremiads."
But today when you go to Asia you hear everywhere the slogan, "Modernization, yes; Westernization, no." Throughout the Muslim world there is a reaction--exploited of course by the Islamic radicals--against what is perceived as the shamelessness and decadence of Western values and culture. Even in the West there is deep ambivalence about what has happened to cherished notions of liberty, the rule of law, freedom of the press, and the pursuit of happiness.
We don't have to agree with Solzhenitsyn on everything to say that, far from being a reactionary, here was a man who was ahead of his time in diagnosing some of the serious ailments of the modern era. Not only was he right about the Gulag; in many respects this forlorn Russian hermit was also right about us.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 19)
31. I still want to know the answer to a question that I keep posing, but none of the christians seem to want to answer.
Why is it that, if I died and went to heaven, that I could not be happy there knowing that so many souls are being tortured in hell. My morality and my empathy and my love for others would prevent me from attaining peace or happiness there knowing that so many others are in eternal agony. So the question is, why is it that this would bother me so much that I couldn't be happy in heaven, but it doesn't seem to faze the hypochrists that post here any? Why is it that I am more sensitive to the sufferings of strangers and others in general than you are, or your god is, for that matter? I really want an answer, and not a Thomas Gassett answer that involves turds or other fecal references.
Godless Heathen Brian at 5:42PM on Aug 5th 2008
32. "It figures that Peter agrees with William Hays...." - Shannie
As long as what he says is real in objective reality I'd have to agree with him!
To believe that objective reality is different than it is when told the facts of life about it is to be delusional. It's actually natural for humans to figure out objective reality. The key is actually adapting your thinking - COMPLETELY - when confronted with the facts of life and new information about the laws of nature.
Since dead bodies can't rise from the dead after brain and organ death the christian religion is FALSE and delusional. It's a law of nature that says so not me. I'm just channeling the law of nature - so to speak tongue in cheek.
Every time you eat a piece of meat of any kind, roast beef, hamburger, bacon, fish, chicken, turkey, sausage, beef balls, brains, or any animal body part whatever... even chicken eggs... you are eating direct evidence that jesus could not rise from the dead! Biology prevents it from happening as the evidence in your mouth - oh so tasty meat murder yum - is screaming at you. It's time to pay attention to reality rather than your fantasy of mythical gods.
Peter at 5:53PM on Aug 5th 2008
33. On the rights of criminals, it reminds me of the movie, BATMAN BEGINS (2005), where they say that criminals thrive on the indulgences of society.
But when he says that the press has become the power within the power, I agree, and I have been thinking about that lately, as well. The press constantly spews sinfully seductive and self-destructive morality and lifestyles, while most of America has become addicted to seeing and hearing about all kinds of negative activities that we might not partake in ourselves, yet we have become obsessed with defending those who do these bad things, and keep on watching it as entertainment.
What does the Bible say to that?
"I will set no vile thing before my eyes. The deeds of faithless men shall not cling to me."
-- Psalm 101:3
Why do we give the mainstream media so much influence over our values and thoughts? Most folks in show business are wackos, yet we treat them like prophets of some new gospel, though any new gospel is NOT the Bible Gospel truth.
In a country like America, where Christianity and God are becoming outlaws, many will choose to wear the mark of the beast, the anti-Christ, just as the Bible has foretold. Will you wear the mark?
The mainstream press in America is very anti-Christian, and it only promotes Christianity in its counterfeit forms, such as when false Christians say abortion or immorality is okay.
R.I.P. Solzhenitsyn. Long live Solzhenitsyn.
Rev 3:16 at 5:55PM on Aug 5th 2008
34. Actually it's worse than that GHB as their mythical god is the one who keeps them locked up in Heaven, oops, Hell! If he is all powerful then he should abolish heaven, oops, hell and free people's imaginary immortal spirits to enjoy an afterlife without him needing constant attention and worship. What is with that worship stuff anyhow? Who wants to spend an eternity sucking off god or his ego anyhow?
Peter at 5:56PM on Aug 5th 2008
35. Why does it bother you GHB?
In my humble opinion, empathy (the golden rule) is the greatest virtue. To consider the perspective and suffering of others and act accordingly is an amazing trait that may be the one thing that sets us apart from the rest of the animals.
It's ironic that some religious pundits like our host prefer to dehumanize those who disagree with them rather than trying to understand why they feel as they do.
Skeptic at 6:12PM on Aug 5th 2008
36. Our spiritual life? I know you tend to go on abt this, but the facts are simple:
1. The mind makes us believe we are more than the body. A coma or death tends to solve the dilemma.
2. Our egotism makes us believe that we surely don't just DIE, like other animals, we go on! To heaven, to rebirth, even to hell if we must. In reality, we do what all life does. We pass on when our time is thru, never to return.
3. The dead don't come back. They don't communicate. They don't tell us what's coming. That's b/c they're not there anymore.
4. Trust our race to not merely postulate an afterlife. We need a monarch who looks just like us, created in our image. In reality...read last 3 lines.
Sure, we need more than freedom & money. We need love, morality, purpose, and the joy of life itself. Beyond that ... there is no beyond that.
Colette at 6:22PM on Aug 5th 2008
37. I doubt the West has any corner on stupid.
Clif Kuplen at 1:28PM on Aug 5th
Yeah right. I think I used the word 'vapid' to describe the entertainment industry recently and it does fit. Western pop-culture is not the definition of stupid but rather the embodiment of it.
oneblood at 6:22PM on Aug 5th 2008
38. Hello everyone,
>As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along
>that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his
>visit to
>'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened.
>He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area
>to
>meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.
>
>As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and
>didn't
>say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he
>finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top
>tent
>that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights)
>so he
>could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the
>opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.
>
>So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home
>that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to
>make
>an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are
>providing the freedom that they are providing for you.
>
>I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas
>Cowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the
>President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would
>want him to
>be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around
>those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.
>
>If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know
>what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is
>all
>fake.
>
>In service,
>CPT (Name Withheld)
>Battle Captain
>
>American Soldier
>
American Soldier in Bagram at 6:36PM on Aug 5th 2008
39. Christianity and God(s) of all kinds are not outlaws, they are just the mark of stupid people everywhere.
I can understand someone who has no education believing in mythical gods.
What I find difficult to comprehend are people who "believe in god" yet have an education and still believe! People who understand the basic notions of science which allows us to objectively test the objective nature of reality to find out what is real or not are stupid if they still believe in god, especially when presented with the compelling evidence that such gods can't exist. Dead bodies don't rise from the dead after brain and organ death. That is compelling evidence that the mythical gods of the bible can't exist.
Anyone who has been presented with this evidence and who rejects it is simply a stupid person lacking any connection to reality. This is an easy test that simply takes the evidence presented by eating meat or seeing meat eaten (for you vegan faith freaks out there) to demonstrate beyond any doubt that jesus could not have risen from the dead nor gods to exist.
Oh right, Dinesh has his immaterial faith based belief. Well Dinesh any immaterial beings are, well, immaterial in the other sense of the word (they do not matter in the least)!
Peter at 6:26PM on Aug 5th 2008
40. Peter; in Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, and Luke 21:32. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place."
This is refering to the end of the world, and since he's speaking in 33 CE, 120 CE is a reasonable amount of time for that gereation to have passed and thus the "deadline" to have been missed.
Now of course, Pretervision the Dingus will tell you that this prophecy was fulfiled in 70 CE with the destruction of the temple and the collapse of the Jewish state.
Ryan Anderson at 6:32PM on Aug 5th 2008
41. Let's fantasize a little. If I were to end up in heaven at the gates I'd bring charges up against the mythical god for the genocides that his followers keep committing in his name. Heck if he doesn't want them to commit genocides then he should have designed us or Nature differently so we wouldn't! I'd also charge him with torturing people for all eternity! That is a crime against beings - regardless of their species or which solar system they come from! Anyway the list of charges would be long indeed. The discovery of the evidence of the mythical gods crimes could take all time just to list! Yes, he'd be responsible for all the other mythical gods crimes too.
Ah to dream a fantasy.
Screech. Back to reality. Dinesh D'Souza still has no clue.
Peter at 6:33PM on Aug 5th 2008
42. Please see snopes link which discredits post 41 (like it really needs discrediting)...
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/afghanistan.asp
Ryan Anderson at 6:46PM on Aug 5th 2008
43. Not quite the end of the world though...
Ah yes the fantasies of the bible folk. It's truly sad that they can't even see it. I've lost a huge number of family members to the various religious cults, most to various virulent forms of christianity and one to of all things, the wiccan religion. So I've got witches (technically a correct term for a practicing wiccan) and witch burners in the fragmented nuclear family. The detonation of that destroyed the family is a direct result of the delusions of faith based beliefs. Sad really.
They say I'll burn in hell for not believing in the mythical jesus and other gods of christianity. Yet the only hell that exists is the one that they have created by telling me that I'll burn in hell! That is a real human hell on Earth brought on by their insanity of faith based beliefs. They lack all compassion and empathy for their brother. To me - one whom they attempted to indoctrinate in their catholic nonsense - they are the ones not following the teachings since they are the ones being evil through their actions now. By even telling someone that they will be punished forever is a crime against that person! As one who is living evidence of the torment of religion in my family life can attest with direct evidence I stand up and say no more fucking religious bullshit! I now take a zero tolerance stance for this evil and vile nonsense that bible thumpers and other faith based freaks attempt to peddle upon me and others. We are not gullible. We never will be. We see your con game Dinesh. You are caught! We call you out on your crimes against humanity by promoting the rubbish that you promote!
Your evil is as you do Dinesh. Now what did you do in the White House supporting Regan's crimes against humanity? Pleas do tell us what you did there. Thanks.
Peter at 6:49PM on Aug 5th 2008
44. GHB/Brian,
I don't believe that the eternal burning (present progressive emphasized) doctrine is rock solid. Do you want me to answer your question from straight theology? Meaning do you want that answer regardless of its import to you? Knowledge for knowledge's sake you could say.
oneblood at 7:43PM on Aug 5th 2008
45. Shame on the filthy liar "soldier" that posted that fucking horible LIE about Obama! I bet you think you're a christian. All you are is a filthy fucking dirty pathetic evil scumbag.
I knew it had to be fake. Thanks for the snopes link though.
Unbelievable. The right has no lower limit. It goes as low as it can possibly go, and then goes lower. Scum. Unbelievable scum.
Godless Heathen Brian at 7:44PM on Aug 5th 2008