Tony Blankley: The age of schadenfreude -- Cheering European failures

Washington Times ^ | Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | Tony Blankley

[JohnHuang2]

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Consider the words guru, detente, glasnost, pundit, gravitas and schadenfreude. Each of them, in their time, were obscure foreign-derived words which, suddenly, gained such currency that even the modestly educated came to bandy them about with regularity and confidence. The English language is blessed with a vast vocabulary which can combine to describe almost any human thought. So, when a foreign word rises to such quick prominence, its useful succinctness may often be catching a spirit of its time. (Dare I say a zeitgeist?) "Guru" became popular in the 1960s as young people were seeking guidance for finding the meaning of life, etc. "Detente" and "glasnost" each became the emblems of international relations in their times. The Hindu-derived "pundit" seems to have flourished recently with the rise of cable television, which employs so many pundits (allegedly wise men) that it quickly debased the meaning and became almost an epithet. "Gravitas" arose as a term of comparative contempt for the perceived lightness of contemporary politicians. (There were giants once. Or at least we think there were.) Recently

[Arkie2]

the worst thing about this schadenfreude moment is not the pleasure part, but who we consider to be "others." How have we allowed ourselves to come to the point where our closest allies, our president, our fellow Americans during a war qualify as "others" in whose suffering we delight?

The answer is easy. PC has come to so dominate our thinking that we're not allowed to blame our real enemies for anything. Anger and frustration need an outlet so we turn on ourselves.

[LS]

That may be true: it may also be that, like the colonies and "mother" England, we no longer share much with France or Germany. We certainly no longer share much Christianity. I had friends recently return from a year in England and they were shocked at the anti-religiousity there. As Christians, they were very uncomfortable.

These countries are increasingly defining as "sects" any religious denomination that in any way is aggressive or evangelical.

It is true that MOST (not all) of the Islamic world is our enemy or, at best, not our friends yet, but that doesn't mean we should casually dismiss the incredible economic, religious, and political gulf between us and Europe.

[Valin]

I had friends recently return from a year in England and they were shocked at the anti-religiousity there. As Christians, they were very uncomfortable.

Francis Schaeffer was talking about post-Christian back in the 70's. This is bad for Europe, but the Church will/is move to the "third world" and keep on growing.

[LS]

We need a new Smith Wigglesworth! He was so effective that in Wales, the draft horses could no longer understand the commands of their masters because the men had quit swearing!:)