When you visit your physician for a yearly checkup, several metrics may serve as indicators of your overall health: Blood pressure, cholesterol scores, blood sugar levels, or weight.
Can we use the same logic to gauge the health of our supposed free and enlightened societies?
More specifically, are there signs suggesting that our societies are imploding, as we all merrily jump into the abyss of infinite darkness, if not collective suicide?
What does it mean for a civilization to die?
A civilization dies when it is fully parasitized by virulent ideas and pathologies that destroy our commitment to reason, logic, science, evidence-based thinking, and common sense.
In my 2020 book, “The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense,” I discuss parasitic ideological pathogens — such as postmodernism, social constructivism, radical feminism, cultural relativism, identity politics, political correctness, the ethos of victimology — and I offer a mind vaccine to inoculate ourselves against their effects.
Alas, since my book came out in 2020, our policymakers have doubled down on most of these dreadful concepts.
A civilization dies when it does not take pride in its foundational values especially when those values once served as beacons of light to all nations.
According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it is no longer acceptable to speak of “Canadian values.” This is a sure sign of a nation in decline. ZUMAPRESS.comIf anything, the West has decided that all cultures are equal with the exception that our culture is less equal than others.
Civilizational self-flagellation has become a progressive virtue when in reality it is a cancer to our national spirit.
None other than current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that we should not speak of Canadian core values; and that Canada is a post-nation construct.
When a sitting prime minister espouses such a position, that society is in a death spiral.
In a worrisome sign of muddled thinking, new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was unable to define “woman” during her confirmation hearings last March. Getty ImagesA civilization dies when it is passively conquered by hordes of legal and illegal immigrants who have no interest in adopting the host nation’s foundational values.
Under the globalist/progressive mindset, national borders are a form of parochial nativist racism, and as a result, countless Western countries have implemented extraordinarily lax border policies (if any).
Immigration policies have allowed millions entry into the West when these immigrants (legal and illegal) share none of the foundational principles on which the West was built.
A civilization dies when its key institutions of excellence (academia, science, medicine, business, law) are no longer pursued using the meritocratic ethos but rather are rooted in the adherence to diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE).
Societies at risk of system-wide cultural and institutional assault by competing cultures have every right to deploy what an Austrian-British philosopher calls the “paradox of tolerance.” ullstein bild via Getty ImagesArgentina won the 2022 Men’s World Cup because it selected the best possible players to compete on its national team and not because it had to adhere to racial, ethnic, or transgender quotas.
Our civilization was centered on an ethos of competitive excellence; today it is defined by a politics of envy, bitterness, and victimhood.
A civilization dies when its supposed apolitical institutions become ideologically corrupted.
The FBI, the military, and the Justice system were once construed as transcending political and ideological machinations.
Regrettably today, they’ve been taken over by ideologues whose primary mission is to push an agenda rather than protect the nation from internal and external enemies.
Although all forms of hate and discrimination are deplorable, the rise of antisemitism — such as during the Holocaust — portends a serious shift towards societal breakdown. Corbis via Getty ImagesThe military cares more about hiring transgender and non-binary officers rather than ensuring actual military readiness.
When a woman who is seeking confirmation to sit on the US Supreme Court is unable to answer the question “What is a woman?” the society in question dies.
A civilization dies when parents are labeled by their government as “domestic terrorists” when said parents object to having their six-year-old children taught how to read by twerking drag queens.
When the government places itself between parents and their children, it violates and interferes with the most fundamental biological relationship.
A civilization dies when Jew hatred becomes a condoned and open form of bigotry.
The Jews are the proverbial canary in the coal mine.
Once it is open season for the Jews, the norms of civility that define the West are irrevocably violated.
While it is absolutely true that any form of open bigotry is to be condemned, historically speaking Jew-hatred — such as is happening now — is a leading indicator of what’s to come.
It is never pretty. It is an existential warning of what is looming around the corner.
A civilization dies when it tolerates belief systems that at their core are antithetical to the foundational values of the host society. Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper’s paradox of tolerance applies here.
If the West believes in A, B, and C — and a competing belief system seeks to destroy A, B, and C — it is entirely moral to reject this belief system within our midst.
No one should participate willfully in their own demise under the guise of tolerance. To tolerate intolerant and supremacist belief systems is barbaric.
A moral society has the self-assuredness to draw the line as to which beliefs can co-exist within its shores.
The author’s most recent book focuses on achieving quality of life and follows up on his 2020 tome that detailed the impact of ‘parasitical thinking.’
As I explained in my book, I have faced two great wars in my life: 1) the Lebanese civil war in the nation where I was born; and 2) the war on reason, logic, science, and common sense that began at university campuses and that has now spread to every nook and cranny of society.
If we do not collectively wake up and draft the appropriate corrective actions, our civilization will join the endless others that have perished throughout history.
The choice is ours to make.
Dr. Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at the John Molson School of Businessat Montreal’sConcordia University and the author of the recent book “The Saad Truth About Happiness: 8 Secrets for Leading the Good Life.”
