NEW YORK—At a chic dinner party for some very beautiful young women, your correspondent shocked, shocked the attendees by quoting an even greater writer than the greatest Greek writer since Homer—Rod Liddle, a Spectator magazine columnist—with his explanation of why royalty matters: because it is “anachronistic and undemocratic.” Hear, hear!
A particularly attractive young woman, Alissa—on a par with Lily James—took me aside and asked me if I really believed what Rod Liddle had written and I had just quoted. She also asked whom I had in mind as the greatest Greek writer since Homer, and I answered, “Moi.” I then sat down and patiently if not too articulately, due to a large intake of vodka, explained: “God is also an anachronism, but I believe in him, as do billions of others. Anachronisms are what we need today more than ever, what with the discrediting of our past, of our national identities, and other such vile actions by woke leftists. Society needs something intangible to trust and respect; too much reality is no good.” Alissa listened but gave no sign of approval or otherwise.
Actually I believe in everything I said to this beautiful and charming young woman. Anxiety, fear, and depression are the dominant emotions of our time, especially in America. It is a time of extraordinary social isolation, where people report less companionship, less time with friends, and even less time with family. This is where God and his messenger, the Church, come in and play a very important role.
Yet the young no longer believe in God and do not attend their church regularly the way my generation did. What they do is complain nonstop about the crushing weight of the world on their shoulders. “An America addicted to banality and mayhem after watching TV all day and night needs to go to church more than ever,” I told the loveliest ever.
Although I kept it light, I am quite serious about what I said. There’s a sense of menace that pervades American life, with daily mass shootings, excessive drug-taking, and out-of-control alcoholism. I have never seen American society so divided, with many of its citizens, both on the left and on the right, feeling like extraterrestrials. Democracy has earned a resounding F where the US of A is concerned. While flirting just ever so subtly, I told Alissa how far less complicated the world was back during the 13th century, when everyone believed in God and the divine right of kings. Mind you, it was a pity there was no penicillin.
