U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech in Athens on Oct. 7, warning that Western nations are surrendering their sovereignty and neglecting the values that built their civilization. He emphasized that the United States and Europe are at a critical crossroads.
“The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, and servitude, and decline,” he warned.
Rubio delivered his remarks from the Pnyx in Athens, an elevated hillside overlooking the Acropolis. The site had served as the meeting place of the ancient Athenian democratic assembly and today symbolizes the birthplace of democracy.
Continuing a theme from his address in Munich last year, which sent ripples throughout the West for its criticism of Europe’s “managed decline,” Rubio criticized what he characterized as a trend among Western leadership of guilt for Western prosperity.
“Over time, we in the West came to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional,” he said. “We felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world. Our prosperity somehow became a source of guilt.”
Throughout his remarks, Rubio drew heavily on the legacy of ancient Greece, describing it as the foundation of Western civilization. He argued that many Western nations have lost touch with the qualities of their ancient roots.
“We no longer believed we deserved and had earned our greatness. The word ‘nationalism’ became a dirty word, and so we tore down our monuments,” Rubio said.
“We condemned our own history, and in too many places, we taught our children to be ashamed of the countries they would inherit. In the process, we opened our borders and outsourced our industry and allowed our militaries to wither and to decay.”
He then praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s America First policies, saying they represent a clear choice to strengthen national power.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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