The Lamps Went Out

Seven years short of a hundred years ago today, Germany and France declared war on each other.

Sir Edward Grey, UK foreign secretary, is known to have said on that night:

The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn added that they would not be seen lit in his lifetime either, also asking:

How did Europe plunge into the bloodiest war in world history, a war that so radically altered Western civilization?

One could also ask if they will be lit in ours.

World War I – which also has been labeled "the war that ended the world of liberty" – was the greatest mistake our civilization ever made. William S. Lind noted just about a year ago:

[W]hen Americans and Europeans wonder today how and why the West lost its historic culture, morals and religion, the ultimate answer is the Allied victory in 1918. Again, the fact that World War I occurred is the greatest disaster. But once that had happened, the last chance the West had of retaining its traditional culture was a victory by the Central Powers.