There is the beautiful Italian word "vergogna", there is the French word emptied of its meaning in modern times "shame".
Who hasn't found themselves in the middle of a dinner with dear friends, wanting to flee the place, to escape the stupidity, the incoherence, the petty-bourgeois remarks, the vulgarity? The need for fresh air becomes overwhelming when our lungs are no longer sufficient to absorb the little air around us. Often, those people we love, who do nothing but repeat what they've read in newspapers or on blogs, irritate us... The internet can be a pure enemy of intelligence.
Typically, at these dinners, things reach a boiling point when religion is discussed.
The secular, modern world has enacted a monstrous, multifaceted, incandescent law: religion must be confined to "the private sphere." I put this last media expression in quotation marks for reasons that will become clear; as is often the case with media expressions, it means nothing. I am not against the idea of a certain discretion in the practice of religion, but I am against the idea of hiding the fact that I am Christian. Especially in a country like ours! But isn't that the problem, and nowhere else? Is this country perpetually consumed by self-loathing?
Because religion is private, it is not known, it must not be known, nor divulged, nor even spoken of. It must not be confessed ! The secular world ensures that what we are, what characterizes us, what differentiates us, is never said. The secular world is egalitarian; it flattens or cuts down anything that stands out. You hear in "secular world," "republic"... Yes, but that kind of miniature republic that characterizes our societies in their death throes. Nothing like the other one, the Roman one. Ours comes from the Enlightenment, which says it all... Unfortunately, it says it all. And that is why religious symbols must disappear and fade away so as not to offend the secularism of the other, of the majority here. Because there is a trend in being secular. One is secular like one is tanned. And one becomes secular after too much exposure to modern light, to media discourse. No one truly knows what it means to be secular. But everyone is. Being secular is a bit like having a clear conscience. Once you've declared yourself secular, you've said almost everything. Once you've declared yourself secular, you have nothing more to say, and above all, the other person can only acquiesce, curl up into themselves, admitting to being secular too, submitting to this iron law. In fact, the other person can only acquiesce. Their very existence, their language, their entire being becomes an act of acquiescence.
I called this article "The Secular and Modern World," but I could just as easily have called it "The Secular World Is Modern." Secular has become a motto, a mantra. Like all extremely vulgar eras, ours thrives on mantras learned on the fly, instilled from a very young age, and above all—but this is a prerequisite—exhausted, emptied of meaning. The other term used by those who refuse to accept it is politically correct. And it's true, it is, for example, politically correct to say that one is secular, although here again I'm contradicting my own reasoning: one doesn't say that one is secular, one appeals to secular values. Secular values, like the values of the Republic, are simple; they can be summed up in one expression: "Shut up if you don't agree!" Because in this wonderful modern world, there is no longer any "other," the concept of "other" has been so sanitized that it no longer exists. There is no tolerance for anything that is not secular and therefore modern, and at a higher level, encompassing the entirety of the known and unknown universe, the republic. You will understand that I find this article almost pointless, this website almost pointless, this small attempt at rebellion that my life might represent if someone were to examine it closely to understand the driving force behind me…
This week, the news brought us the example of a country that broke the law: Ireland. Besides being one of the most beautiful countries in the world, Ireland passed a blasphemy law. Could there be a greater return to the Middle Ages? Needless to say, some people had a field day. On blogs, on radio and television, everywhere there's a platform for expression (and these days, and this is precisely the problem, it's possible to express oneself everywhere), the secularist stepped in and exclaimed, denouncing all the evils of this small country, which should never, should never have, been part of Europe. This country where it's already impossible to get an abortion. This obscurantist country, openly Catholic. This country of pedophile priests, no less. And there, the secularist gave it his all, he finished tearing to shreds this religion that had caused so many wars, so many abominations, so many monstrosities, this embodiment of evil on earth. Especially Catholicism. Particularly targeted, because it's dying in our countries… dying (ah yes, there might be a connection). Particularly targeted because it's weak, weakened, or at least that's what the Republic thinks.
Europe's culture is secular. By "modern world," we must understand the Western modern world. In any case, since the Western world considers itself alone in the world… Europe's only culture is secular culture. The abandonment of Christian references in its laws is certainly one of the greatest scandals of all time, and it will surely remain the most formidable insult ever inflicted upon history. Future generations will not cease to mock us as soon as they regain their sight. This is Europe's great revolution, an almost gentle revolution, which almost no one talks about, and this revolution can only be described in one word: shame. Shame on a band of timid, vulgar, amnesiac, and decadent technocrats who, with a wave of their hand, swept away almost twenty centuries of art history, to mention only one of their misdeeds.
We cut, we flatten, we section, we shave, we level, we uproot.
A problem will arise and become glaringly obvious: because religion is supposed to remain a private matter, it's no longer even known to some friends—friends you consider friends, but whom you don't see often, for example. And from the convergence of these two facts, the drama unfolds: you're having dinner with friends, you're having a laugh, you're also a little bored, because the person interested in every topic is a socialite, and you, precisely, are not, and suddenly, the conversation veers off course. You'll never remember how, all of a sudden, someone started talking about religion, someone mentioned pedophile priests, or the youth in Ratzinger's "Hitler Youth"... How did we get to this point? For two simple reasons: people don't know you're Christian, and all topics become equally valid. And at that precise moment, the door is open to what I call: "The Barroom Talk." And quite frankly, unless you're Antoine Blondin, there's nothing worse for anyone who thinks a little. And to put up with that kind of talk, you have to remember what a Blondin, or even, may he rest in peace!, a Pierre Chaumet, must have had to gulp down.
Everyone knows everything about everything. And that's precisely the problem in our time where everyone is over-informed, but without having all the elements, and particularly the most important one: the life of the mind, to understand and analyze this information.
We will also remember the expression: "You can laugh at anything, but not with just anyone.".
Even though I find it ridiculous to legislate on blasphemy, the intention behind this law is understandable. It allows us to protect ourselves from idle chatter and the very strong tendency that secular circles, and secular culture in particular, have to denigrate religion, especially Catholicism.
We cut, we flatten, we section, we shave, we level, we uproot.
Dialogue is dead. Dialogue is definitively dead and buried. Now there is only political correctness and sectarianism. There is no longer any acceptable position except that of the lookout who, from the promontory, watches thought, intelligence, and refinement sink a little further each day. Bernanos said that "One understands absolutely nothing about modern civilization if one does not first admit that it is a universal conspiracy against all forms of inner life."
The loss of the concept of shame marks the end of civilization. The concept of civilization rests on a certain refinement of the mind, which collapses without a sense of shame.
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