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Tuesday 2 March 2010

NEWS FROM HOME

by Derek Turner

This is the first installment of what will be, I hope, a regular report from the Old Continent to her sons and daughters whose ancestors, for reasons of religion, politics, enterprise or expediency, departed from the westernmost end of the Eurasian landmass to hazard their luck in uncharted territories on the far side of turbulent waters.

It will be a kind of letter from the stay-at-homes to the descendants of adventurers - although I hope that many stay-at-homes will read it too.

The purpose of these missives is to inform those interested in European affairs about the state of European politics, manners and mores as the continent stands facing the onslaught of the 21st century - but also to celebrate Europe's diverse but also oddly coherent classical, Christian and humanist civilization. Euro-centric will feature contributions from politicians, academics and cultural commentators from many countries and traditions.

This blog will not promote European political unity but it will be strongly supportive of friendship between all Europeans, and between all Europeans and the European diaspora - on the grounds that, recent history notwithstanding, Europeans have shared geopolitical, cultural and demographic interests, and unless we can cooperate our countries could be overthrown one by one.

Note I wrote "could" - because, to borrow from Mark Twain, reports of Europe's death have been much exaggerated. Too many well-meaning conservative pundits have looked into a darkling crystal ball, and written off the entire continent as if it had already become Eurabia, a hyperboreal bantustan or a Blade Runner-reminiscent Sinopolis. This kind of lush melancholy is a recurring conservative vice and should always be resisted - or else it could become self-fulfilling by persuading those who ought to be Europe's strongest advocates that the game is over before it has even begun. There will inevitably be a plangent note to some of these reports, but it will always be kept in check. Nothing is inevitable, and Europe has a great future - if a small, determined minority of us can form an alliance against annihilation.

What are our perils? In general terms, they can be summarized as social atomization, economic outsourcing, the rise of Islam, mass immigration, environmental degradation, the decline of high culture and undergirding all of these, curbs on freedom of speech and association. Although some European countries are in worse shape than others, these phenomena are now in play across the whole continent, and sooner or later every country will have to face down this long-drawn out death of a thousand cuts.

Thus Euro-centric, which I hope will become an essential port of call for all who can see, and who care at all for this half-legendary domain of legends and lyricism, castles and chateaux, philosophers and priests, traditions and technology, Gothic spires and classical columns and onion-domes heavy with history - and possibility.

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