Estado Sentido

Tim Stanley, Conservatives: don't despair of our corrupted, decadent age. Write about it:

«Again, I cannot agree. Suicide is a nihilistic act that communicates not art but despair. But, again, as an Englishman and a Catholic I do share Mishima's instinctive dislike of all things contemporary. At times, it's like living in the ruins of a once great culture. All around you are the bare bones of a civilisation – the cathedrals, the municipal buildings, the art collections, the piers, the hotels, and the palaces. But the heart beats no more and the breath of life is gone.

In the words of Joe Orton, "Cleanse my heart … let me rage correctly." So what do I rage against? I hate our economic system that speculates on people as if they were cattle in a market. I hate modern art that swaps form for dead sharks; and modern music that exchanges harmony for noise. I hate our Conservative Party that preserves nothing and our Left that would destroy everything. I hate religious leaders who think that God is found "in the spaces" and that worship is therapy. I hate our pornographic culture, our tasteless battery foods, and our TV that treats adults like children and children like adults. I hate our obsession with irony, as if a shrug of the shoulders is cleverer than serious inquiry. I hate the death of chivalry, manners and the doffed hats. I hate our promotion of sex over romance – today's Brief Encounters are very different things. I hate the eradication of guilt and shame, very useful concepts that hold us back from indulgence. I hate the populism that passes for patriotism. I hate our obsession with youth, as if life ends after 30 (I'm 31). And most of all, I hate the new series of Doctor Who. It's the Death of the West in a nutshell.»