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The Western World is in trouble, and the only way to save it is from the ground up.

As Mark Steyn points out in this special interview with BreakPoint founder Chuck Colson, our government can't save us from our own lack of ethics and personal responsibility. In fact, he says, in such scenarios, the government often rushes into the void left by the deterioration of the family, religion and trust, leaving us with either tyranny, or an unsustainable nanny state.

Pointing to the sad cases of Greece, The United Kingdom and much of Europe, Steyn echoes the assessment of Prime Minister David Cameron, who blames these recent events on a "moral collapse." Steyn also offers the chilling words of pollster Pat Caddell, who argued recently that America is in a "pre-revolutionary state," citing the mobs at the Wisconsin State Fair and the recent battles in that state over collective bargaining as harbingers of worse to come.

Despite these dire predictions, Steyn tries to maintain good humor. And as anyone who listens to The Rush Limbaugh Show or reads his regular column will already know, Steyn (who often fills in for Rush) has made a living bringing much-needed levity to all-too-grave circumstances.

"I found it a little harder this time around to strike the balance," he admits. "My column in National Review is called "Happy Warrior," and generally, I try to maintain a cheery disposition. I think it is important to maintain the funny side if you can wear it lightly. I mean, I try not to force jokes when I'm writing about serious things, but on the other hand, there is a blackly-comical aspect to what is happening to Western Civilization."

Quoting Cornelius Plantinga, Chuck notes in this interview that "sin is nothing but folly. It is denying the moral order of the world and the way the world is made. When you do that, you're just being stupid. You're coloring outside the lines, you're spitting into the wind. And of course, that's what people are doing today."

As a primer to the subject, both this interview and Steyn's book offer an honest yet light-hearted assessment of the state of our civilization, how we got here, and most importantly, what we can do to get ourselves out.

To read our featured except from After America, click here.

You can purchase Steyn's book and find reviews on it from top conservative voices here.

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“Discourse,” an occasional podcast on BreakPoint, applies a Christian worldview lens to a broad range of issues related to contemporary culture.

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