My initial reaction was simply to give one of those "who knows?" shrugs and leave it at that. But then I remembered Whittaker Chambers' rather famous comment from a 1954 letter later published in Odyssey of a Friend
(Regnery Books, 1987), p. 44.“The enemy—he is ourselves. That is why it is idle to talk about preventing the wreck of Western civilization. It is already a wreck from within.”A lot of conservatives cried, "No! No! No!" when they read those words in the 80s. "Chambers was wrong. Just look what Ronald Reagan has accomplished. America is on the rebound and back in business." And then when the 90s rolled around, they were even more convinced. "Communism has crumbled, crushed into dust under the weight of its inescapable inefficiencies. Once again America and the West have triumphed. Chambers was just a habitual pessimist. The West rules!"
The trouble is, pretty much all of those fiscal conservatives didn't have a clue what Chambers meant when he wrote those words. For Chambers, the West could save itself only through a civilization-wide religious renewal; in other words, a return to Christendom. And had he lived to see them, the events of the last decades of the 20th century would have had little or no effect on Chambers' opinion.
I think I can safely say that Chambers would have seen the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states not as a victory of Christianity over atheism, but rather as a victory of free-market capitalism over communism. It was simply the victory of one system of economics over another. But it was a victory that did nothing to excise the malignancy that had spread throughout both societies. Even in 1954 Chambers recognized that the West, despite its truly remarkable economic strength, was doomed unless it rebuilt its moral and religious foundation.
Since then that malignancy has done nothing but grow. It's the malignancy of relativism, a kind of philosophical and theological indifference that removes all restraint and reserves it harshest punishment for those who actually believe in something. It's far worse than atheism. Atheism, after all, is up-front and in-your-face. One can at least argue with an atheist, because atheists bring arguments to the table. Relativists have no arguments that I can see. Their basic premise is that everything's okay...everything except a belief that everything's not okay. Because their beliefs are, in a sense, self-contradictory, logical arguments mean nothing to them. And they run almost every element of our society.
One need not be as prophetic or farseeing as Chambers to recognize that this malignancy has permeated what's left of Western civilization and continues to grow. Despite the current political backlash that's spreading throughout the country, from what I can see it's strictly political. I see no sign of the kind of widespread religious renewal needed to save our civilization. Saving it must come from within. It's certainly not going to be saved from without. And so I anticipate its demise since, as Chambers remarked, "It is already a wreck from within."
I don't view this as totally horrible. God might well raise something far better from our ashes. He is, after all, in charge. And He promised the Church would be here until the end, guided by the Holy Spirit. And so, don't worry; seek the Kingdom instead...
So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil. [Mt 6:31-34]Oh, yes...how did I answer my parishioner friend's question? Actually I didn't say a thing. I just shrugged.
Blessings...
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