The End of Greatness

There was a brief span, in the last quarter of the 20th Century, when a small group of great visionaries stood firm for liberty against tyranny, for the individual against the oppressive state, for the values that were the foundation of the greatest civilization the world has ever known.

They were courageous and confident and firm in their beliefs.  Savaged by a legion of detractors, they remained inspirational, optimistic, even joyful – and they reversed the decline of the West.

Then, in a short space of time, they left us.  First Ronald Reagan. Then John Paul II. Then Milton Friedman and William F. Buckley, Jr.

And now the last of them – perhaps the fiercest and most original – has passed.

Now, in a fearful new century, we look for vision and leadership, but they are nowhere to be found.

The 20th Century ended yesterday.

And greatness is gone.