-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com>
> No, this isn't a joke on how nice it would be if
> Western civilization actually existed. :)
>
> Maybe this isn't an original idea or one that would
> closely survive scrutiny, but the idea occured to me
> recently that the notion that there is something
> called "Western Civilization" or "Judeo-Christian
> Civilization" with a continuous history going back to
> Ancient Greece and the tribes of Judea, and a cultural
> continuity uniting all the phases of its history, is
> really a modern foundation myth/historical
> legitimation narrative.
Oh, yeah, absolutely. The alleged continuity is the invention of the Renaissance, U.S. Founding fathers, Romantics, and Neo-Cons, each with different reasons for reaching back into a mythical past to justify some act of usurpation.
Although it's not an original idea, it's still considered a fairly radical idea by most.
For the Renaissance/revival of classicism clap trap, see Hiram Hayden's stuff.
Joanna