A growing debate over Western identity erupted after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s defense of Western heritage. The exchange drew a pointed response from Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Rubio declared, “We are part of one civilization – Western civilization.” He added, “We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir.” Rubio also addressed illegal immigration and climate policy while urging allies to take pride in their shared legacy.
Ocasio-Cortez challenged that framing. “Culture is changing,” she said. “Culture always changes. Culture, for the entire history of human civilization, has been a fluid, evolving thing that is a response to the conditions that we live in.” She argued that cultural appeals are “very thin” and said the focus should be “material” and “class-based.”
Bishop Barron criticized her response during “The Will Cain Show.” “When AOC was commenting on that… she kind of pushed culture off to the side,” Barron said. He added, “Well, that’s right out of the Karl Marx playbook.” Barron warned against abandoning religious and cultural foundations for what he described as a materialist framework. “That’s what I found chilling, is to move away from a cultural orientation, a religious orientation, to a much more explicitly Marxist one,” he said.
Barron urged a renewed appreciation for Western principles, stating, “We should celebrate that, not denigrate it.”
