Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages, 11 others on Friday as cease-fire temporarily holds
Gutfeld: Is Western civilization on the brink of collapse?
'Gutfeld!' panelists weigh in on threats that could lead to the collapse of Western civilization.
I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I know I did. Those New York pigeons are actually pretty tasty. Now, since it's a holiday weekend, I thought we'd keep things nice and light.
So let's talk about the death of Western civilization. It's in trouble, people. Yeah. Things in the West these days are about as stable as Chris Christie on an exercise ball. Sadly, most people either don't realize it or they just don't care. Well, for anyone who doesn't care, trust me, you're going to care soon enough. Because the guardian of Western values has always been America, but now, not so much. Let's face it, we're a nation that melts down if our smartphone runs out of power.
So look around yourself, especially at our young people. You see a nation capable of standing up for itself, especially when it's run by a guy who literally can't stand by himself? Do you still think we're capable of safeguarding the system that has cured more disease, created more wealth and lifted more people out of poverty than any in human history? Or do you see a system obsessed with dividing us based on grievances and pronouns? Do you see leadership capable of protecting Western values? Hell, under these a-holes we can't even protect deodorant and toothpaste at CVS, let alone Western civilization. Now we've got societal decay plus tooth decay. Like I said, we're in more trouble than Dana trying to reach a doorknob. I know.
Now, before you accuse me of being too pessimistic, let me just say the West has been tested before and we've come through. Remember the movie "300," — in 480 B.C., that's before cable, Dana, a small band of Greeks held off the Persians invading from the east. No wonder they're so good at running a packed diner, but Greek civilization survived, and their ideas of democracy and rights became the foundation of Western society. Plus, they gave us Kojak. More recently, in 1940 when it looked like the Nazis could take over all of Europe, it was the British who stood up to them alone. Sounds familiar to what Israel is doing right now, doesn't it?
International Red Cross vehicles reportedly carrying Israeli hostages released by Hamas cross the Rafah border point in Gaza. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the French bent over so fast, they strained their croissants. When the main British army was surrounded at Dunkirk, Winston Churchill gave one of the great speeches of the 20th century rallying his nation. So the Brits used anything that could float to evacuate their boys across the channel. England survived until America entered the war and the West's tradition of freedom was rescued again. Compare that to the American evacuation from Afghanistan, which made Dunkirk look like a cruise on Royal Caribbean. Here's our Winston Churchill today.
Our only hope would be if the enemy died laughing. Churchill said we shall fight them in the streets and we have a president who keeps losing his fight with gravity. Then there was the Cold War. It was, of course, Republican Ronald Reagan who told the Soviets in Berlin this.
FORMER PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
When the wall and Soviet communism fell, our president didn't. The West survived once again. For the hosts at MSNBC, however, that day is still known as Black Thursday. The point is, there are moments in history where things hang in the balance and when these moments come, it takes courage, it takes resolve, and it takes leadership to stand up for our way of life. Doesn't it feel like we're in such a moment? The problem today is the enemies within.
President Joe Biden walks along Broad Street in Nantucket, MA on Friday, November 24, 2023. The President is visiting the island with his family for the Thanksgiving holiday. (Gediminas Svitojus for Fox News Digital)
Right now, Hamas is guilty of killing 32 Americans and holding at least 10 more hostages. Yet across the country, in Dem-run cities and colleges, Hamas are the heroes. Can we look this challenge in the eye and face up to it? It's no accident that on our campuses, among the critical race theorists and within the legacy media, Israel was cast as the aggressor almost before the first female raver was raped and murdered. Because to a generation of young Americans subjected to an education system borrowed from the Soviets, Israel's main crime is being too successful, too modern, too western, too much like us, the real oppressor. So how far has it gone?
Well, the new trend among American women advocating for Hamas is adopting Sharia law, which would put them back in the dark ages. They're even wearing the niqab. Let's hope this catches on at "The View." But I'm sure these women are still counting on us to pay off their college loans, since I doubt the Taliban will pick up the tab for their degrees in women's studies. So why is the most successful nation ever, the guardian of the most successful civilization ever, choosing to destroy itself from within? Well put simply, because it can. It's almost out of boredom.
HAMAS RELEASES 13 ISRAELI HOSTAGES, 11 OTHERS AS CEASE-FIRE HOLDS.
Here's the sports analogy: The U.S. is like a football team up by 35 points in the second half, and they start putting in scrubs and playing that damn prevent defense and suddenly, they're losing. Our elites don't have to worry about enough food or a warm bed, as they've replaced patriotism with a punitive ideology directed inward. We have a generation that sees everything through the lens of power, and it's infecting everything. Each relationship is now seen through the filter of the oppressed versus the oppressor. And you know which side they put you on.
Now they got the kids who are so desperate for relevance and identity, they'll take on any pose to convince themselves they're cool and hating America is their definition of that. Is there hope? Sure, as I've said, the West has come through before, but it's going to take effort. We're pretty short on Churchills and Reagans as we overdose on AOCs.
Pro-Israeli and Palestinian protesters rally on college campuses. (Getty Images)
So if you're a parent, think hard about where your kids are going to school. Make sure they understand that America is unique in history and so are the achievements and the freedoms of Western civilization. Because if you leave education to the teachers union, the college professors, the shrieking, nonbinary activists, when the time comes, don't expect the West to be rescued again. This time, there's a good chance America won't be coming.
Greg Gutfeld currently serves as host of Gutfeld! (weeknights, 11PM-12AM/ET) and co-host of cable news’ highest-rated program The Five (weekdays, 5-6PM/ET).
