End of Western Civilization? (OT)

[L. Schulte]

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!!!
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!
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."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/arts/music/26EURO.html?pagewanted=1


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
The Idea of Decline in Western History by Arthur Herman.
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