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Discussion » Questions » Life and Society » Do You Have Faith In The Central Institutions of Western Civilization?
Benedict Arnold

Do You Have Faith In The Central Institutions of Western Civilization?

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has said that “In the early 1920s, in reaction to their experience of world war, Ernest Hemingway and other(s) ... lost faith in the central institutions of Western civilization. One of those institutions was literature itself.”

 So: Where do YOU place your faith in Western civilization?
Your bank, your church, your doctor, your psychiatrist, your government of Truth, Freedom and the American Way? Or maybe The Lions Club, art, or Scientific Materialism, the Internet - to include AnswerMug (which is CERTAINLY a central institution of Western civ)...

Posted - February 26, 2017
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Responses


  • Hmm this may be the wrong answer, cos it's not an institution as such, (though when i looked it up it did say institution can be a relationship, custom or law within society or community) but I place my faith in people.. collectively.. I believe people are essentially good, worthy, responsible...  Now I may be wrong on that one.. for instance we'd have to rule out Trump supporters :P and I do worry a bit about younger generations and future generations... they do *seem* to be less caring, more selfish..  
      February 26, 2017 12:50 PM MST
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  • Well DDBTD, I don't know whether you are right or wrong but I just love your answer...
      February 26, 2017 1:08 PM MST
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  • It seems you and I share a common thought on this one, Daydream. :)
      February 26, 2017 2:05 PM MST
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  • 3463
    I put my faith in myself and those I choose to surround myself with and that is about it.
      February 26, 2017 2:02 PM MST
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  • Lulu's Mom...this is something I want to post under other answers too...
    Because, why then cannot we form a central institution that reflects our finest values, which we find in ourselves and those around us? And then put our trust in it?
      February 26, 2017 3:07 PM MST
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  • 3463
    Virginia, I have had faith in most of the things you have listed in your introduction and sadly I lost faith in them because they proved to be untrustworthy and some have been harmful to my wellbeing or a loved one.
      February 26, 2017 3:27 PM MST
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  • I have faith in the innate decency of the common person. 

    Yeah, yeah, I know, you can quote me a thousand places where that breaks down. Sheesh! I can quote you two thousand of the same. There are so many exceptions to my statement and yet it still holds true.

    Our standards are based on ideas that have coalesced over the millennia until we have a workable society that manages to cling together. It is distinctly different from that of Islamic or even Catholic countries. It is continuallky exploited by the unscrupulous for their own benefit and yet still offers us the opportunity for security and happiness. (Whether we achieve security and happiness depends on ourselves, but it's there for the taking.)

    In 1968 much of the Blue Mountains where I live was razed by some of the worst bushfires ever experienced in my state. Virtually everybody pitched in to help, some fighting their fear to do so. It was a first-hand demonstration of community spirit that I've never forgotten. Once again, there were exceptions but they were rare. The government was notable by its bumbling ineptitude and lack of support.

    So for me the most significant "central institution" of Western civilisation is the common bond shared by the people. 
      February 26, 2017 2:04 PM MST
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  • 7280
    So then, mankind is basically "good?"...(Not a trick question.)
      February 26, 2017 2:14 PM MST
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  • Essentially, yes. But remember, this was about Western civilisation. The degree of goodness or understand would vary according to the various cultures.
      February 26, 2017 2:24 PM MST
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  • Dozy I am asking this here thinking that Tom will see it also?

    ..why then cannot we form a central institution that reflects our finest values, which we find in ourselves and those around us? And then put our trust in it? In this case, for example, why did the gov't fall so flat in the bush fire...
      February 26, 2017 3:09 PM MST
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  • They were too slow to act, did too little when they did act (by sending in the army to help fight the fires), and in spite of announcing a fund of many millions of dollars to help with relief for those who lose their homes they reneged and said, "Well, since so much money has been gathered by the TV fund drives and other events we'll only make a donation when that money runs out."

    No, I don't think we can form a central institution that will solve our problems. As soon as we do the ineptitude, self-aggrandisement, and corruption will set in, just as it now permeates all governments. And not only governments: organisations like the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, countless charities (including religious charities) are all corrupted by the people who claw their way to the top.
      February 26, 2017 3:22 PM MST
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  • Didge... You are talking from a greater experience than me ... But I think of Lord of the Flies ... Then I watch mindless mobs on the news ... I see a drunk driver plough into a cross of people in new Orleans ... And I'll be honest, sometimes I despair... Yes, there are truly self less people out there who always pitch in to help ... I hope you are right but I fear the veneer of civilisation is thinner than we believe
      February 26, 2017 4:08 PM MST
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  • Maybe I'm just looking through rose coloured glasses, Ozgirl, but I think most people are pretty good. It's just that the nasties manage to take over the lucrative (or self-promoting) places and, of course, there's always an element of sociopaths like those you described. I don't think we need to be selfless -- perhaps the opposite is appropriate -- but when help is needed there is usually somebody to lend a hand. 
      February 26, 2017 4:19 PM MST
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  • I'm sure you're right Didge ... And like you I like to believe in the innate goodness of most people ... But some times some people make it really hard ... Thanks for the morale booster :) This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 26, 2017 5:22 PM MST
      February 26, 2017 4:52 PM MST
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  • 22891
    not really to be honest
      February 26, 2017 2:55 PM MST
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  • Thank you, Pearl...
      February 26, 2017 3:10 PM MST
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  • 3191
    Nope.  
      February 26, 2017 3:04 PM MST
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  • Bozette, your response appears unequivocal!
      February 26, 2017 3:12 PM MST
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  • 3191
    It is.  :)
      February 26, 2017 3:15 PM MST
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