Every society rests in the last resort on the recognition of common principles and common ideals, and if it makes no moral or spiritual appeal to the loyalty of its members, it must inevitably fall to pieces.
Interpretation
Society depends on shared values and ideals for cohesion; without them, it will fail.
This quote by Christopher Dawson emphasizes the importance of shared moral and spiritual principles within a society. It argues that for a society to remain intact and functional, its members must be united by common beliefs and ideals; when these connections weaken, the society risks disintegration and chaos.
In practice
During a community meeting discussing local challenges, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of shared values.
We have entered a new phase of culture - we may call it the Age of the Cinema - in which the most amazing perfection of scientific technique is being devoted to purely ephemeral objects, without any consideration of their ultimate justification. It seems as though a new society was arising which will acknowledge no hierarchy of values, no intellectual authority, and no social or religious tradition, but which will live for the moment in a chaos of pure sensation.
It is true that Christianity is not bound up with any particular race or culture. It is neither of the East or of the West, but has a universal mission to the human race as a whole
Few people arise in the morning as hungry for God as they are for cornflakes or toast and eggs.
The union of the mind and intuition which brings about illumination, and the development which the Sufis seek, is based upon love.
All the characters in my films are fighting these problems, needing freedom, trying to find a way to cut themselves loose, but failing to rid themselves of conscience, a sense of sin, the whole bag of tricks.
The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is certainly not to be scorned, nor is it to be regarded in any way as superfluous, nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic.
It is however always important to remember that the ability to see things in their correct perspective may be, and often is, divorced from the ability to reason correctly and vice versa. That is why a man may be a very good theorist and yet talk absolute nonsense.
Data is a lot like humans: It is born. Matures. Gets married to other data, _x000D_ divorced. Gets old. One thing that it doesn't do is die. It has to be killed.
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