A Chilling Read

This week I finished reading Jonah Goldberg's book, Suicide of the West. Published in 2018, just a heartbeat in time ahead of the pandemic and current breakdown of our society, Suicide is remarkably prescient in detailing where all the wearying decades of political correctness was actually going. The book does a chillingly accurate job of explaining the origins and meaning of our current national and cultural crisis.

I've followed Goldberg for many years. He's a conservative "Never-Trumper" who can be brilliantly smart and laugh-out-loud humorous at the same time. Suicide of the West is thoroughly researched and annotated; although it is completely absorbing and endlessly interesting, it is not a fast read. There is so much data and history, so many facts and examples provided, that this reader had to maintain a slower pace in order to process all of the information being presented. But I found it to be well worth the time investment. I recommend it to any thoughtful American seeking to better understand just why it seems apparent that the wheels are coming off our society.

The book leaves us at our present destination. The final chapter, "Decline is a Choice," is where this nation stands today. I have been continuously shocked at the rapid deterioration in our political and societal health during the past year. After reading Suicide of the West, I don't believe that Jonah Goldberg has been at all surprised.