Le Sabot Post-Moderne

The Fall of Rome, Part II

"Only cowards insult dying majesty. . ." -- Aesop

Given the craven and morally smug way France has conducted itself in recent decades, there is something schadenfreudelicious about watching their vaunted welfare state burn itself down in the fires. A lot of us are finding it hard to resist a chuckle at the prospect of jihadism in France.

Nothing could be pettier or more short-sighted. Step back for a moment and consider the enormity of what is happening. We're witnessing the early middle stages of a drama every bit as climactic as the fall of Rome. Much of Europe is in a demographic free-fall from which there is no real recovery. France has one of the highest birth rates on the Continent, yet Muslims stand at ten percent and growing.

In coming decades, Scandinavia, Italy, Spain and the Low Countries will all fall victim to unforgiving demographic realities. Even now, half of all babies born in Belgium are Muslim. Italy, Spain and the Scandinavian countries have a native-born birthrate of about 1.5 children for every 2 people. Do the math.

How can we not mourn this? This is the birthplace of our civilization -- the lands of Flaubert, Calvin, Galileo, Roland, Michelangelo and Verdi. How long will it survive once Muslims make up a plurality of the population? Can you even fathom what is taking place?

All of the talk now is about France's need to integrate its Arab population into the larger society. This is a genuine need, but it's a bandaid on the sucking chest wound of jihadism in France. Some opportunities might mollify the Muslims in the short-term, but that is all. The Arabs are a young and confident culture. It is the very nature of things for more vigorous cultures to chase out old, tired ones. Europe is nothing if not tired.

The Hagia Sophia in Turkey was once the largest Christian church in the world. Today it's a mosque. I think of Notre Dame de Paris with a crescent atop it. I imagine the Sistine Chapel whitewashed to satisfy the new rulers of Italy. Jihadism is a cancer.

As with ancient Rome, one of the great lights of civilization is being put out as we watch. Replacing it is a culture which is without question one of the most violent and medieval on the planet. A culture which demolishes sculpture rather than creating it, bans literature rather than writing it, and is the source of nearly every military conflict ongoing in the world today.

The new Dark Ages will be illuminated by the light of Molotov cocktails.

UPDATE: In case I wasn't bleak enough, be sure to check out The New Old Europe by David Warren. He makes a lot of the same points about jihadism in France, and with some added detail -- for instance, 40% of the babies in French hospitals are born to Muslims.

Keywords: Jihadism in France, jihad in France, dhimmitude in France, Muslims in Europe, Eurabia

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