Israel, the West, and the Failure of Nerve

By David de Bruyn - Posted at Churches Without Chests:

Relevant to the current situation in Israel, Richard Weaver, author of Ideas Have Consequences, has one of his gems of sagacity embedded in his characteristically dense prose:

“It appears, then, that culture is originally a matter of yea-saying, and thus we can understand why its most splendid flourishing stands often in proximity with the primitive phase of a people, in which there are powerful feelings of “oughtness” directed toward the world, and before the failure of nerve has begun.”

“Before the failure of nerve has begun”. The failure of nerve is the steady weakening of resolve, as fear and reluctance begin to triumph over boldness and resolve. Weaver is saying that cultures are at their strongest when filled with a deep sense of their purpose, morals, and beliefs. When they still possess a unified way of looking at the world, cultures act boldly, deliberately and assertively, believing their worldview is justified. Early Greece, early Rome, Britain in the Victorian era, and even pre-Vietnam America evidenced this kind of self-assured patriotism and purpose.

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