Quite a week for Western civilization

From my perspective, this has been a remarkable three days this weekend.
Two central institutions of Western civilization were affirmed: the
Roman Catholic Church (what remains of the Roman Empire); and the
British monarchy (the symbol of the British Empire); and then you had
the slaying of Osama bin Laden (the leading Western antagonist of the
Islamic strain) with the implements of Western technical prowess.
 
The Roman Empire and the British Empire were the incubator and primary
global distributor, respectively, of the essentials of Western
civilization: Judeo-Christian ethics and Christianity, classical
learning, technology and, latterly, liberal democracy and market
economics/free trade. To watch a million people in London (outstripping
even the attendance at the 1981 wedding of Charles-Diana), and an
estimated 2 million in Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II
was an indication that though both are under challenge, these central
institutions of Western-ism have a remarkable resilience and ability
still to captivate.
 
The killing of bin Laden indicates that the U.S. — today’s primary exemplar of “the West” — still has the ability to stalk its enemies, and to liquidate them. That this took over a decade in the case of bin Laden is a tribute to the assiduousness of American administrations of both parties to accomplish this goal. While so many are pointing particularly to China (whose growth, though large, is, I believe, premised on a financial house of cards) and the passing of the West, these last three days show something remarkable: a West still intact, still predominant, and still the central actor on the world stage.

Armstrong Williams is on Sirius/XM Power 169, 7-8 p.m. and 4-5 a.m., Monday through Friday. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arightside, and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/arightside.