There are many alarming things on social media. This is one of the most concerning I have seen recently.

Did the good guys win WWII

There is a frightening depth of both ignorance and contempt for our history in the responses to this survey. It is not hard to understand where this comes from. School and university students are taught to value other cultures, and that is good. But at the same time they are taught to revile and reject the culture of the West.

I had a discussion with a history student a couple of weeks ago. She said that the West had no culture, nothing worth preserving. I was horrified, but not surprised.

We have given the world its greatest art, its greatest architecture, literature, dance and music. We have given the world science, democracy, rule of law, secure property rights, and the notion that all human beings have intrinsic value. We are the only culture in the history of the world that ahs voluntarily given up slavery.

Western culture and values are adopted around the world because people find them attractive. People from other cultures form an endless stream of immigrants to the West. By all means let us value what others have to offer. And at the same time, let us recognise the enormous gift the West and its accomplishments and values have been to the world.