Symptoms of decay.

As just one example, think of Al Sharpton. When, after the Tawana Brawley affair in the late 1980s, Sharpton did not become persona non grata for his vicious lies that had been exposed but instead became a major political celebrity in this country, that was one of the things that signaled to me that our civilization had died. It might still exist physically and be very successful materially, but spiritually it had died and would soon die physically as well.

"Seeing the truth of what has happened to America." By Lawrence Auster, View from the Right, 11/25/00.