Tea at Trianon: Happy Warriors

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, April 15, 2019

Happy Warriors

From Chronicles:

James Burnham’s Suicide of the West, John Derbyshire’s We Are Doomed, Pat Buchanan’s Suicide of a Superpower, Mark Steyn’s After America, and thousands of other books and articles have revealed the damage done to our culture and our republic by the left. Derided and often slandered by liberals and progressives, these writers bravely protested the rising tides of globalism, multiculturalism, socialism, and Marxism. For more than four decades, the editors and writers for the magazine you hold in your hands have stood in these same trenches, speaking out against attacks on the family and Christianity, battling those who call for open borders, and advocating for a return to traditional education and Western values.

Despite the warnings of these men and women, liberals have found it all too easy to destroy the bastions of culture defended by conservatives. Those who championed traditional family values, those who opposed abortion and same-sex marriage, those who wanted immigration laws enforced: These people were often mocked or smeared into obscurity or silence. From the vicious attacks on Anita Bryant in the 1970’s to today’s Antifa thugs, who shout down or physically assault their opponents, conservatives have taken a beating. For 50 years, the media and the universities have ripped through the ranks of those defending Western civilization. From pulpits to classrooms, progressives have made the long march through the institutions and are victorious. Antonio Gramsci, godfather of this march, would be proud. Despite having won so many battles, however, today’s progressives could still lose the war. Here are some reasons why.

First, many conservatives in 2019 are willing to tolerate changes in the culture considered anathema by their grandparents. Despite the rabid accusations of progressives, most conservatives no longer consider race an important issue. Many have discarded their opposition to homosexuality, have given up on the war against drugs, and accept a greater role of the federal government. Conservatives fight against pornography, crude comedians, unpatriotic professional athletes, and “fake news” by changing channels on their televisions and by obtaining their news online rather than from traditional media outlets. (Read more.)