Energetic Spirit Marks IHR Meeting in San Diego
News from the Institute for Historical Review
Lively discussions, an energetic spirit, and a timely, well-received address marked the IHR meeting in San Diego on Saturday evening, Nov. 13, 2010.
This gathering at a large hotel — the first IHR meeting outside of Orange Country in more than a year — was an opportunity to reach out to new people, including an encouraging number of younger people, and to renew and strengthen ties with local supporters. Both attendees and organizers were impressed with the intensity of the discussions, both during the lively Q and A session and in the many one-on-one conversations.
The event was made possible by a young businessman who first contacted the IHR several months ago. He booked the meeting room, opened the event, and introduced Mark Weber, who gave the main talk of the evening.
In his address, entitled “America in Decline: A Society in Denial,” the IHR director looked back at the trajectory of the nation’s decline over the past half century, and the factors behind the trend.
“The country’s political, cultural and intellectual leadership — both liberal and conservative — denies social reality and ignores the historical record, and therefore inevitably betrays the interests of the people, leading America down a path that means ever greater anxiety and more rapid decline,” Weber stressed. “What’s decisive in determining the level of prosperity, stability and order in a society,” he said at another point, “is not whether it has a well-written constitution, or whether its tax rate is at this or that level. What’s crucially important in a nation is the character, quality, customs and culture of its people, and the character, courage and quality of its leaders.”
In a short talk that concluded the meeting, another IHR activist thanked those who had made this event possible, expressed appreciation to the IHR director for his dedicated and hard work, and stressed the importance of commitment, fellowship and activism.