Greetings from Ukraine, on this fortieth anniversary of Chernobyl - or Chornobyl, as the locals now say. It's just a wee bit west of me, but that's as close as I'm planning to get. Back in America, there's good news and bad news for the GOP: The Iran War is finally off the front page ...but not for any reason that says anything good about the health of the republic. You can read my initial thoughts on the White House Correspondents Shootout here. Perhaps on Monday there will be more to say, or perhaps by then it will have joined the great long list of convulsive violent events that are instantly forgotten and are never heard about again.
Which brings us to this week's episode in my ongoing audio adaptation of America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It. For some reason, and before the umpteenth Trump assassination attempt swept the Islamabad "talks" out of the headlines, this line from today's installment kept bouncing around my head:
A large chunk of the west is almost begging for some fellows on the other side to sit down and talk with, because sitting down and talking is what they do best, even with folks who want to blow them up.
That's how the original P5+1 Iran talks got going a generation ago. On the broader theme:
At the heart of multiculturalism is a lie – that all cultures are equally 'valid'. To accept that proposition means denying reality – the reality of any objective measure of human freedom, societal health, global population movement. Multiculturalism is not the first ideology founded on the denial of truth: You'll recall Hermann Göring's memorable assertion that 'two plus two makes five if the Führer wills it'. Likewise, we're asked to accept that the United States Constitution was modeled on the principles of the Iroquois Confederation – if a generation of multiculti theorists, the ethnic grievance lobby, and even a ludicrous resolution of the United States Congress so wills it.
Still, it's harmless, isn't it? What's wrong with playing make-believe if it helps us all feel warm and fuzzy about each other?
Well, because it's never helpful to put reality up for grabs. There may come a day when you need it.
We need it now, and it's further away than ever.
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear my thoughts from twenty years ago in Part Thirty-Four of America Alone simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
~If you prefer more fictional fancies of a weekend, there are spy thrillers, comedy classics, tales of horror and historical romance and much more, all over at our Tales for Our Time home page. If you've a friend who might be partial to almost eighty cracking capers, we have a special Gift Membership that, aside from audio adventures, also includes video poetry, live music and more. And I'll be doing a live-performance Tale for Our Time at sea on the next Mark Steyn Cruise - sailing aboard the Queen Mary 2.
To become a member of The Mark Steyn Club, please click here - and don't forget that special Gift Membership. As soon as you join, you'll get access not only to America Alone but to nearly eighty gripping yarns in Tales for Our Time. Please join me next weekend for Part Thirty-Five of America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It.

























