By Robert Weissberg | American Thinker
It has been said that intellectuals can reduce a city of stone to sand. Unfortunately, this is especially true as today’s “thinking class” wages all-hands-on deck warfare against Western Civilization. The most prominent of these attacks is the Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DIE) movement but DIE is not, however, the only assault. Less obvious, but of no less importance, is how “scholars” now attack Western Civilization by celebrating, “indigenous” cultures that had largely been replaced by Western Civilization. These enemies are not romantics wanting to “return to nature” by living off the grid sans modern conveniences. Rather, the enemies of Western Civilization want it replaced.
This animus toward Western Civilization invites reverting to the Dark Ages of Europe. If, after all, any cultural practice is as valid as any other, why spend billions on modern medicine? Hire witch doctors and save a fortune.
This civilizational de-evolution is hardly hypothetical. Over a million Americans now identify themselves as “pagan” or “witches” along with others holding “new age” beliefs that resemble pre-modern spirituality. Salem, MA has become famous as “Witch City” whose annual witch-themed events draw huge crowds. According to a recent Pew survey, 28% of Americans answered “none” when asked their religion. Large numbers of Latinos, especially younger immigrants, embrace brujeria — a religion that pre-dates Christianity. Read about it in Brujeria: The Magic and Power of Witches of Color.
Americans praising pagan rituals and so on are hardly misguided, according to some academics. For these professors, these “primitive” beliefs as equal or even superior to Western Civilization. Nor are these admirers anthropologists who might sympathetically depict the traditions of the Arctic-dwelling Intuits. Rather, they champion these pre-modern cultures. As one article in Science, circulation of over one million, put it, “Faced with the profound challenges of a rapidly changing environment, society needs other ways of knowing to illuminate a different way forward. Thanks to the leadership of Indigenous scholars and allied collaborators, Indigenous knowledge is receiving long overdue recognition for its potential to provide solutions for the mutual thriving of lands and cultures. An urgent question is how institutions can appropriately support (and not hinder) Indigenous science’s key role in creating a sustainable future.” That is, seek advice on solving contemporary American problems from people surviving in the rain forest.
This is hardly inconsequential rhetoric. According to the Science article, a 2022 White House conference called for “elevating” the knowledge of indigenous people on such topics as land management all the while noting our misguided attempts to erase them physically and through forced assimilation. Indeed, thanks to National Science Foundation funding, some 54 indigenous scholars at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) will tackle the worldwide problems of climate disruption, hunger, and sustaining native culture.
According to these experts, “The goal is to identify and advance models of ethical and effective integration of Indigenous and Western sciences by creating mutually respectful and reciprocal relationships between them.” Western and non-western “science” are thus co-equal in solving the world’s pressing problems.
Meanwhile, the American Museum of Natural History, a prestigious research institution, has just spent $19 million dollars on a new exhibition featuring the Tling, an Alaskan native population. The displays feature shaman masks and philosophies of spiritual healing. These shamans are described as “doctors” not witch doctors or faith healers. Though their creation myths and self-reported history are folklore, Museum curators treat these accounts as verified fact. Picture these curators putting on an exhibition that asserted that the Bible was literally true — creationism. Remarkably, the museum experts feel no need to warn visitors that a distinction exists between folklore and demonstrated scientific fact.
This blurring of myth and scientific fact reflects an ideological agenda. The government agencies sponsoring the museum hope to “increase diversity of voices and perspectives” that will, hopefully, enhance cultural understanding. Just how obscuring the distinction between fact and an invented reality helps anyone is ignored. Rather, the message is that when it comes to truth, there is no need for scientific verification if “the truth” is offered by indigenous people. We now possess our own “truths,” so just pick your truth and be happy.
Finally, there is the celebration of the contribution of indigenous people featured at the 2024 DAVOS meeting, the conclave of the world’s most powerful political and economic leaders. In fact, listening to the people from the rain forest and similar backward areas was a central feature of the conference. Thankfully for those who might have eaten and drank too much, Chieftess Putanny Yawanawá of the Amazonian Yawanawá tribe cured the attendees’ discomfort with a shamanic ceremony. These many indigenous experts spoke on the balance of nature and economies plus offering cutting-edge technologies incorporating Indigenous knowledge. Davos 2024 also launched the “The Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and Leadership Network,” which will bring together indigenous experts and representatives across the World Economic Forum’s 10 centres (six) of impact, as a space to foster greater public-private cooperation through Indigenous knowledge.” Note the capitalization of “Indigenous” as a sign of respect.
It is tempting to dismiss this fascination with “indigenous knowledge” as clever virtue signaling. But it should be taken seriously. Over time and institutional financial support, the verbiage can grow in the next version of DIE. Nor does focus on “indigenous knowledge” enhance Western Civilization’s diversity. It is a rival, since the indigenous “way of knowing” explicitly rejects modern science in favor of an incoherent hodgepodge of folk tales, multicolored noisy ceremonies, and “advice” that is opinion totally beyond empirical proof. World leaders are paying fortunes to hear this babble, but how many of them would trust their physical well-being to African shamans? Probably none but those who follow the money, may see big bucks in what is celebrated at prestigious forums such as DAVOS. Will universities now hire “Indigenous” consultants, and they now hire DIE functionaries?