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Concerning the end of Western civilization, I wonder how that would be
possible given the resurrection of Disney Comics in America! Things
must be improving!!! <br>
That the professor began meditating on this topic after watching the
Eurovision song contest from Riga is not surprising: watching so-called
"Reality TV" in America can cause a deep depression and the
most atrabilious pessimism about the future!<br>
Concerning the Eurovision contest: see the article in the New York Times
from Saturday May 24th for an American perspective. (Caution:
Americans don't think European rock-n-roll rocks or rolls! The
Beatles were the exception, not the rule!) Here is an
excerpt: "But this is not the only reason the contest will
never witness American participation. It has been observed that the more
that Euro pop tries to sound American, the more distinctly European it
sounds. Take, for example, this year's German entry, "Let's Get
Happy," sung by an orange-haired Phyllis Diller look-alike named
Lou. Lou belted out the first line, "Last night at the
discothèque," in a near-flawless R&B down-home American accent,
yet "discothèque" is a word no self-respecting American rock
star would say."<br>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/arts/music/26EURO.html?pagewanted=1" eudora="autourl">http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/arts/music/26EURO.html?pagewanted=1</a><br>
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Seriously, remember that worrying about the End of Civilization goes back
to the 1700's, caused by Gibbon's book on the Roman/Byzantine
Empire. But recall that buried in his opus is the opinion that
his/our Renaissance/Enlightenment based civilization could continue
forever! For an overview, see <br>
<i>The Idea of Decline in Western History </i>by Arthur Herman.</html>