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Solzehnitsyn strikes me as someone who struggled with cultural shock and language barriers after arrival in a new country, but who had the sort of personality t
by Mediterraneo10 5y ago
Solzehnitsyn strikes me as someone who struggled with cultural shock and language barriers after arrival in a new country, but who had the sort of personality that would build up this myth of spiritual decay and opposition of civilizations in order to channel that personal frustration.
Another example might be Sayyid Qutb: was 1940s USA really that heinous for an ordinary Egyptian, or did Qutb just feel ill at ease during his time in the country and direct that frustration in an unhealthy direction?
- bobthechef 5y agoThe "myth" of spiritual decay? That seems rather dismissive both of his perspective as an outsider looking in and of the general observations of those Americans who somehow have preserved or gained some measure of perspective. This is not an unusual or even original analysis of where we are. Tell a fish he's swimming in water and he'll ask you "what's water?", so I am not surprised that some might not understand. But the culture is truly stupid.
- tremon 5y agomyth of spiritual decay Would you consider a society in which metal detectors at school entrances are a widely accepted norm "spiritually enlightened"?
- B1FF_PSUVM 5y ago> myth of spiritual decay Advertising has been warping the West since Gutenberg, but it really took off exponentially after 1900. You drop anyone from former centuries (or more insular/insulated cultures) into the late XX century, they'll go into shock. Anyone with current average Western beliefs, as induced by media, would be considered mentally ill in the not too distant past.