When did counterculture become the norm?

MOST Australians are proud of our country, but too many people who should know better have lost faith in the values that have made us who and what we are, writes Peta Credlin.

Beware of the self-doubt that can suffocate our society. (Pic: supplied)

STUDENT and staff complaints about the establishment, at the Australian National University, of a new degree in Western Civilisation might not seem like a big story but they are part of a much bigger problem.

Most Australians are proud of our country but too many people who should know better have lost faith in the values and the institutions that have made us who and what we are.

Think about all the politically correct whingeing: that Australia Day should be renamed Invasion Day; that Anzac Day celebrates war; that capitalism rips off workers; that traditional education reinforces oppressive stereotypes; and that the western world deliberately keeps the third world poor?

The critique by what used to be called the counterculture is based on a belief that western civilisation is fundamentally unjust — even though it has given us the greatest freedom, the greatest justice, and the greatest prosperity the world has ever seen.

Ask yourself this: Where has the glass ceiling been smashed? Where is same-sex marriage legal? Where are the poor sustained with generous social security benefits? Where are minorities officially protected, not just in theory, but in practice by large government-funded agencies? Not in China; not in Russia; and certainly not in Iran or any other Muslim country.

A new ANU is part of a much bigger problem. (Pic: supplied)

That’s not to say that we can’t learn from other countries and other cultures. Indeed, one of the defining characteristics of Western Civilisation, especially its English-speaking version, is its readiness to adapt and adopt. If we think others have a better idea or a smarter practice than we do, we promptly make it our own too. But valuing other cultures doesn’t mean that all have equal value. For too many, especially in places of intellectual leadership like universities, schools and, yes, media organisations too, cultural self-questioning has become cultural self-doubt and even cultural self-loathing. As I said, it used to be called the counterculture but the long march of the left through the institutions is so complete that it’s now close to being the dominant culture if the ANU can’t jump at the chance to host a prestigious new course and scholarship.

The problem with the Ramsay Centre, you see, is that it’s not just ABOUT Western Civilisation but FOR it, as one of the board directors, Tony Abbott wrote recently. And of course, this offends the academic establishment’s reticence about taking sides even in the struggle between those who value intellectual freedom, and those who don’t. It’s another manifestation of the cultural self-doubt that plagues every aspect of modern Australia and is rampant throughout the Western world. And so, we now have government policy that recognises polygamy for social security purposes; and that asks people intending to get married not just whether they are male or female but “other” also. We have adjusted the swearing off official documents to accommodate people wearing burkas. We have education department edicts against school kids giving each other Christmas cards.

The decline of belief and of cultural self-confidence matters very much indeed. (Pic: supplied)

If you are stuck in a traffic jam, or worried about losing your job, or struggling with skyrocketing power prices, all this might seem pretty esoteric. But one of the reasons why our leaders so often seem paralysed when dealing with practical problems is that they no longer have a set of beliefs or principles to guide them. If there really is no truth, how can you ever justify a decision?

The decline of belief and of cultural self-confidence matters very much indeed. Look at history. The economic disaster or the military catastrophe that brings civilisations undone is always preceded by the corrosive collapse of belief. So beware of the self-doubt that can suffocate our society.

Originally published as When did counterculture become the norm?