Dialogues

Despair is the toxic waste produced by the internal combustion of false assumptions.

Roman civilization fell because of obsession with gladiatorial games.
Carthaginian civilization fell because of child-sacrifice.
Our civilization will fall because of both.

How will we hasten its fall?
More important: What will take its place?
Does conspiracy to bring down evil regimes breed counter-conspiracies that become more evil than the ones they replace?

Western civilization survived the Dark Ages because of Christian monasticism.
Monasticism was founded on prayer and work and art.
Work is the plastic artform of love.
Prayer is the soul’s song of love.

Children are the fruit of love.
The natural habitat of children is the family.
A human civilization is a community of such sanctuaries.
Our civilization will be reborn only as a community of sanctuaries.

There is nothing more intimidating than a village clerk infatuated with the powers of his office.
There is nothing more benevolent in appearance than a dictator who perceives himself to be a humble philanthropist.
Both are dangerous, but the village clerk is more so.

~Michael O’Brien (from Island of The World)