In Defense of Western Civilization by Marco Rubio

"Western Civilization" is a dogwhistle very basically (as all dogwhistles are) for white male supremacy, racism, even slavery, a hierarchical religion and culture that flies in the face of egalitarianism, and a rather heavy dose of hypocrisy and expediency, for example, the military getting first and often exclusive use of leading edge technology.

It is exemplified well in 'Creative Destruction", which is discussed at length in "Buddha at the Apocalypse" by Kurt Spellmeyer. By saying that everything will be annihilated and rebuilt, "anything goes" in the present.

Differences are exploited as ways to manipulate and exploit people, rather than celebrated.

This is not to say that there aren't exceptions, nor that eastern cultures don't have serious flaws, but the countervailing Buddhist ideas of "equality and at the same time, differences", of time and non-duality more sane and peaceful.

> This was the foundation of the Western mind: our math, our science, our medicine. Our philosophy, ethics, and religion. It paved the way for the gospel of Jesus Christ to find fertile soil in Europe and flourish into the empire of Christendom.

...most of which was brought back by the Islamic world, at the time.

> This is the classical understanding of politics and of statecraft that the Trump Administration hopes to reclaim – reclaim not just for our country, but for the whole of our civilization.

I think we have rather more in common with Rome than Greece...

> We see it in the legendary stand of 300 Spartans – surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by the vast armies of Persia – who refused the chance to save themselves, choosing to fight to the last man rather than abandon their post or abandon their duty.

...I take that back, we are following the great tradition of losing to the Persians.

> And so we must rebuild our institutions and our alliances to face these threats together

No threat quite so large as your boss, Marco, you fucking quisling.

I wasn’t going to like this - and I was right, but there’s something weird about presenting western classism or conservatism as a victim of progressive whatever when it’s a victim of itself.

You invent this world where everything is capitalism, everything is what you can sell, and then pretend like virtue was attacked by this other ideological frame. Prior conservatives warned of this!

Everything Rubio is describing requires sacrifice and humility which aren’t particularly American traits particularly in 2026.

But loss in faith in American greatness. The left may have more words for it, but it’s not a partisan phenomenon.

The people who truly want to uphold these virtues speak truth to power. If you really want to restore faith in America you do it through action not just words. You give something up.