What happens when the decadence that has, for so long, lingered beneath the surface of a culture finally comes fully into view?
Things once kept in the shadows begin to stand comfortably in the light. Things we once regarded as excesses, weaknesses, or failures of character slowly become normalized. Then accepted. Then, perhaps, celebrated.
That changes a culture. It would have to. Perhaps, it even changes humanity.
Decadence, at its core, is more than just surrender to appetite. To excess. To the parts of human nature that ask very little of us except that we indulge them. It’s more than just placing pleasure above responsibility. Desire above restraint. The present moment above the future.
It’s the intentional pursuit of the worst qualities of human nature. And, eventually, that changes us. As a people. It would have to.
There is an ever-waning number among us who still believe that goodness matters. That restraint matters. That caring for other people matters. That the earth matters. That the future matters. People who believe we have obligations beyond our own appetites.
And those people are increasingly finding themselves out of step with the culture around them.
Perhaps that’s not a bad thing. There are moments when being out of step is exactly where a person of conscience should be.
And maybe we are powerless to change human nature or the course of civilization. But we don’t have to follow it down the road to perdition. We can remain true to what we know is right. To what is decent. What is good. We can be shining lights in this ever-growing darkness.
And if enough of us shine our light, shine it bright, perhaps that light will eventually prevail.
