The notoriously dour historian and philosopher Oswalt Spengler wrote that "optimism is cowardice.” For Spengler, it was craven to view a country’s or a civilization’s problems through a positive lens because those troubles require a cold, realistic assessment of their causes, consequences, and willingness to adopt the efforts needed to address them. Optimism is pusillanimous because it fails to compel the development of the necessary character and virtue to face the difficulties as they are and to possess the strength to see through the solutions. Moreover, optimism could be fatal. It was especially pernicious when one’s civilization was in decline, which was Spengler’s principal focus in his great work The Decline of the West.
With the Biden administration, there is little reason for optimism, and the country is not out of the woods yet, things will likely get worse before January 20th.
But there is ample reason for optimism with Trump. As a man, there is great strength and determination, but also an almost clairvoyant streak in Trump’s character. His political nous and Fingerspitzengefühl are the best of any modern American politician. He understood what was wrong with the United States and what American voters, particularly Republican voters, were attempting to convey to their leadership. Trump moved to address it when other Republicans decided to ignore it. They preferred to focus on the dominant Republican issues before Trump such as arcane aspects of fiscal policy—anything but the concerns, health, morale, and well-being of the American people.
Trump proves Spengler wrong. To be sure, it was close. The Biden administration’s sledgehammer blows against the pillars of American society, culture, economy, and national security, are not yet at an end. But the damage may start to be repaired on January 20th.
There is reason for great optimism across the West. The election of Trump permits the United States to course correct and finally address solutions to its problems. America’s big problems can now be addressed. All will be remedied—from immigration to the economy, from the deficit to election integrity and the threat from the Chinese Communist Party.
Most importantly, the confidence and morale of the American people will be restored and lifted, as the "Spirit of 1776” is embraced by the return of a president who knows Americans and cares about them. The malaise under which they have suffered is now at an end as they awaken from a nightmare. The fetters that restrained them will be broken, and they will surge ahead with an energy that will rival any of the periods of economic growth in our history. The lies and deceit they were forced to endure are at an end.
The force that animated much of Trump’s vote was one that recognized he was the president that could address America’s crisis of spirit. Voters knew that Trump defined the path to return America to the country that it was before the Democrats under Obama-Biden started their transformation of it.
Given the great damage that Obama-Biden did, none of this will be easy. But Trump will employ the energy of the American people to repair Biden’s damage and move to even greater heights. The Biden administration will be seen for what it was, a corrupt, vile, and senescent man leading an equally corrupt and wicked revolutionary political party. It was only by the Grace of Heaven that the country thus far has avoided catastrophic war or collapse. The fact must be stated directly: The Biden administration was the worst in American history. Now comes the clean-up of the Augean Stable as the first step toward restoring the pride of Americans in their great country.
But the hope that Americans feel is shared by others. Optimism and courage have also returned to Western Civilization. The renovation of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral reveals the startlingly beautiful architecture and sublime features of an archetype of Western Civilization. French President Macron called it a "shock of hope.” It was that. But it was more than just the narrow sense Macron meant. It was a "shock of hope” for Western Civilization. It shows that the skills needed for the restoration were not lost but remain and were linked by their great trades and abilities to the men over 800 years ago who built it. The restoration also united people, demonstrating that the nation, indeed, the civilization and people of good will around the world, were behind it.
But the restoration is also a metaphor for the return of the West. Like Notre-Dame, the West may be restored too. Trump will visit it for the public reopening ceremony on December 7. That is fitting because he is a leader who is the champion of the West and so should be at one of its iconic, impressive, and most beautiful locations as its restoration is shown to all. Both went through fire. Both now have a renaissance. Damage done can be repaired.
The West is not free from peril, much hard work is ahead, but Trump and his movement has provided Western countries a path. That is one of Trump’s most significant contributions. By listening to the people, he created and led a movement that demonstrated to the West how to save itself. This includes having immigration policies that benefit the American people and the people of Europe. But foremost it requires the return of an appreciation and confidence in Western Civilization and one its most exceptional innovations—representative government that is of, by, and for the people. Trump’s election has shown that Europe too can work its way out of the grave it has dug for itself—if it so chooses. The great cathedral of the West has been restored. The men and women who labored in stone, wood, and paint to save Notre-Dame, and the men and women who elected Trump have shown that greatness is possible. At this point in American history, Spengler is wrong, optimism, even euphoria, is justified for America’s future.
Bradley A. Thayer is a Contributing Columnist for Warroom and is the coauthor, with James E. Fanell, of Embracing Communist China: America’s Greatest Strategic Failure. Find him on Gettr and Truth as @bradleythayer and as @bradthayer on X. His opinions are his own.
