Where does the West begin?
History revisited and reinterpreted through the prism of our days’ obsession. You’ll figure which.
Where the sun sets, that is, where the darkness follows. Simple. With the additional merit that, sliding towards the metaphor, we can easily move the discussion outside the physical-geographical realm, if the case arises. And it will.
We will not hide behind the finger - a peremptory proof of our incompatibility with the fundamental Western value of dissimulation - and assert that, in the absence of new discoveries, the West begins in ancient Greece.
Certainly there are older roots, mentioned in the Bible, for example, such as Sodom, but we do not have a certain geographical and historical location.
Since, by definition, the West is a nocturnal civilization, the darkness - with its subterfuges and everything - has left its mark, some would say its touch, from the beginning.
At night all cats are black. When dawn arrives, it doesn't matter anymore... the act has been consummated.
The myths of the ancient Greeks are not very clear, their mores are. Theirs and their gods'. Not necessarily in that order. In any case, a pattern that will always be found in history can be already identified.
Every civilization gains its place in the world through war. Even when it is destroyed, if it has spread its feathers enough, it will be remembered. Even only to be cursed.
Wars are fought with all kinds of weapons. The most visible remain the classic ones - the club, the spear - and their carriers, the armies. Expansion, imperial glory, conquest follow the same curve as that of male virility.
(Parenthesis. It must be remembered that true love among the ancient Greeks was considered to be between two young males, one younger, usually. End of parenthesis.)
In the ascending phase, the bonds that form between the strong, sap-filled youths seem to help form invincible warriors and armies. The nocturnal energies, not chaotically dissipated like in non-Westerners, can then be found on the battlefield, where the spear raised higher and thrown with more power, makes the difference .
The evidence is, however, indirect. No less solid. For another example, we will take the Roman legion. Engineer Soldiers. They fought, but they also built roads, bridges or fortifications.
Jump in time. Who is representative of road building in the modern era? The prisoner. What is the equivalent of the Roman legion today? US Army. Who has the largest prison population in the world? America. What law reigns in American prisons? Sodomy. Qed.
We go back (well aware that as we move forward with the dissertation, the meaning of the verbs becomes more and more ambiguous).
The civilization of the ancient Greeks was best defined by the Trojan War. I admit, a war still somewhat debatable, part myth, part literature. Unavoidable.
What do we have there? A showdown between the two dominant forces of the world: westerners against the others. Obviously, things are more complicated and finesse is needed to decipher certain meanings. This is why we are here.
Homer, propagandist for the victorious side, we do not know for sure if a westerner, despite the root caught in his name, brings a barely disguised praise to the ideology, practices and techniques of… westernization.
Let's review the pretext. A boy loved a girl, he steals her to make her his. End of story.
Naaah! The Greeks cry bloody murder ! Leave all the women behind, described as demented, assassins, defeatist clairvoyants, reclusive anti-socials who then weave obsessively and suspiciously for a decade… Please !
They pile up into triremes (the equivalent of American prison gyms) and storm Troy. To "free" Helen ?
Let's be serious ! Let's remember, we are in ancient Greece, extremely libertine, on the continent formed as a result of an act of bestiality, where incest or cannibalism are viewed with detachment and adultery is not even defined.
Aaa, if we look at Helen as property, then it would have been theft. The hypothesis that we’re dealing with a recovery of stolen property does not verify.
The holiday extended for 10 years, ending in an orgy of terrifying cruelty following a cunning deception, blamed on the hesitant, faithful, home-stricken Ulysses.
Who is this obnoxious character, Ulysses ? An individual whose denigration required the writing of an entirely second tome, a warning to all the scumbags who regard women with any genuine interest.
We will now jump around in order to integrate more information.
Western influence in the Romanian language: ass. Slavic influence: pussy (not the cat).
Russia - the only empire that always escapes from being destroyed, the only empire that never manages to overcome a paralyzing provincialism. The explanation is simple. They want to stay near or return to their women, they get tired if they fool around for too long. Non-westerners.
Do you want an instant empire ? You appeal to an Alexander, to the SS, to the conquistadors, to the Trotskyists, to other boys-n-boys' clubs. It doesn't last, blind passion, hiccups, poor lubrication (see the case of the German tanks whose oil froze just as they reached Moscow’s outskirts), but you have as much sturm und drang as you can get. Westerners.
Another example of fundamentally non-Western nations - the Vikings. They came, they looted, they cut it home. When they decided it’s time, they took their household with them, they contributed to the formation of several future Western states and Russia. After which, depending on the degree of sweetening, they westernized or not.
Time has come to address the fundamental issue of westernization contagion through sweetening.
Firstly, a radical change of direction, as a needed introduction to the new theme. We must note that all monotheistic religions are non-Western.
With the Jews - Judaism - it's clear. Take the case of Abraham, non-Western to the hilt. In his defense though, as a gifted negotiator, he obtains almost a total amnesty for the westerners in Sodom, provided that at least 10 people have not indulged. The audit did not confirm. So, the sweetening, once initiated, will encompass everything.
Christianity does not reconcile right from the beginning, the Christian churches even less. Nowadays, is better to not dig too deep though, especially where the marriage antidote to westernization is a no-no for the priesthood. But let’s not spread too thin.
Rome, now fully westernized, read completely sweetened, can no longer lift the spear, various barbarians amuse themselves on its behalf. Messalina, the last local pagan attempt to save Rome from fatal sweetening, fails miserably. The empire falls apart but the church remains. Through a subterranean action, the non-western forces tear through the structure shaken by the old vice and bring it down.
Against the background of the unstoppable sweetening slowly engulfing what remained of the Roman empire, that is the Byzantines, the third non-western monotheistic wave appears - Islam. Which spread like wildfire in almost all directions, especially because it had no conceptual opponent.
With Byzantium they fight. Not, as it was believed until now, for religious differences. Nope. The freshest not-yet-sweetened clash with those descending into an advanced stage of sweetening. The result will be interesting and will complicate the picture even more. Anyway, we mention in passing that Islam tried to shield itself against westernization, 4 wives each, submissive and hardworking. Just, just…
Except, no. The Arabs did not succeed. They were also harassed by some westerners from those suppliers of instant empires, hidden under the flag of crusaders, with military orders of boys-only, one of which was dismantled and its chiefs burned at the stake, exactly under the accusation of practicing westernization. But, above all, Arabs succumbed to the sweetening that kills all empires. Turks were required then, fresh, mounted. There is always a supply of Turks somewhere. But no, they eventually got the westernization habit too and lost their empire.
I don't insist anymore, things will get complicated even more, the westerners will sneak through all eras, often condemning themselves on the face in order to gain power from behind. The others will show inconsistency, the fight continues on many levels.
I have set out here to show where the West begins, not where it ends.
In conclusion, the West begins in us... if we don’t pay attention.