Wednesday, June 8

A World Split Apart

It was on this day in 1978 that exiled Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn shocked America's elite during a commencement address at Harvard University. Much to their surprise, he censured the West just as stridently as he did the East:

"The fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future; it has already started. The forces of evil have begun their decisive offensive. You can feel their pressure, yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses. What is the joy about?"

The address was later published as A World Split Apart. It remains astonishingly relevant, even precient.

1 comment:

Lawrence Underwood said...

And, it should be a must read.