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title: "\"The West came to feel ashamed\""
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Rubio says Western civilization is at a crossroads. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

| View in browser October 7, 2026 Good Wednesday evening. In this edition: Rubio warns West faces choice between renewal and decline in sweeping speech from Athens. Plus, Oct. 7 anniversary, Trump accounts and Maine Senate debate. Western Civilization Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the U.S. and Europe to rediscover the ambition, national pride and strength that he said made the West powerful, warning in a sweeping speech from Athens that Western civilization faces a choice between renewal and decline. "Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads because the next decade and the decisions we make will write the story of the next century," he said with the Acropolis and Parthenon standing behind him. "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. We will either choose to act now or lose the choice to act at all." The secretary argued that the West has lost confidence in itself, becoming ashamed of its history while weakening its militaries and industries and giving up too much sovereignty to international institutions. "Over time, we in the West came to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional. We felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world. Our prosperity somehow became a source of guilt. We no longer believed we deserved and had earned our greatness," he said. "The word 'nationalism' became a dirty word. And so we tore down our monuments, we condemned our own history, and in too many places, we taught our children to be ashamed of the countries they would inherit." Secretary Rubio began the address by tracing America's political and cultural heritage back to Ancient Greece, saying the country's history "is covered with the fingerprints of antiquity" and pointing to Greek influences on American architecture, political thought and government. "The men who founded my country were fascinated by the heritage we inherited from yours," he said. "They were exceptionally well-read in history, they were vividly aware of their unique place in it, but no other age of the past held their attention or their imagination quite like that of antiquity." He pointed to Athens' development of democracy, the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and Greek contributions to Western ideas of law, virtue, citizenship and republican government. But he argued Ancient Greece's greatest attribute was its "fierce individuality and relentless ambition" and drive for exploration, discovery, competition and excellence. "The men who made the Parthenon, they built upwards. They held that the highest and most noble aspiration in life was to surpass all others, to strive to be the best in all things," he said. "Today, too much of the West has forgotten this quality." Mr. Rubio portrayed President Trump's agenda as a reversal of that decline, arguing that the administration is seeking to restore American power at home and abroad. "Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice," he said. "We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power: to take back control of our critical supply chains, to reindustrialize our economy, to rebuild our defense, to fight for dominance of the technologies and industries of the future." The secretary also argued that putting national interests first does not mean abandoning international alliances, calling for a stronger Europe made up of sovereign nations capable of defending themselves and working with the U.S. against common threats. "It has become fashionable today to believe that enlightened foreign policy means prioritizing the 'global community' over one's own people," he said. "\[The Ancient Greeks\] knew that there was nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation, nor anything selfish or wrong about fighting to defend its interests above all else." "We must rebuild our institutions and our alliances to face these threats together," he continued. "We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago." He closed by acknowledging strains between the U.S. and Europe, but argued that their shared history and interests make a strong transatlantic alliance essential. "Though passions may, at times, have strained the bonds of affection between the United States and Europe, it must not be allowed to break them," he said. "Together, we must strengthen an alliance capable of confronting threats of our age." The speech comes as Secretary Rubio continues to draw speculation about a potential 2028 presidential bid, alongside Vice President JD Vance. Secretary Rubio, however, has said he would support the vice president if he runs. Watch Secretary Rubio's speech. In other news… Israel marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack with moments of silence and commemorations across the country, as the massacre and questions over responsibility for the security failures that allowed it to happen loom over the country's elections later this month. It was the first anniversary of the attack since all of the hostages taken by Hamas were returned to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lit a memorial candle for the victims and vowed to continue the fight against Hamas. "We will complete the mission," he said. "We have settled, and will continue to settle the score with all the murderers." The anniversary comes just 20 days before Israel's first national election since the attack, with Mr. Netanyahu portraying the past three years as a "war of redemption" while his opponents accuse him of evading responsibility for the failures that preceded Oct. 7 and pledge to establish an official commission of inquiry. "The most fateful elections in the history of the State of Israel are between evasion and enlistment," Gadi Eisenkot, Mr. Netanyahu's chief rival and a former military chief whose son and nephew were killed fighting in Gaza, wrote on social media. "Between taking responsibility and fleeing from responsibility." President Trump announced that every eligible child in America will be automatically enrolled in a Trump Account, a tax-deferred investment account created under last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. "Under this program, the U.S. government is automatically creating a tax-free investment account for every child to grow over the course of their lives and to be used to their benefit and for their benefit after they turn 18," he said in the Oval Office. Children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, are eligible for an initial $1,000 government contribution, while family members and others can contribute up to $5,000 per year. Previously, parents or guardians had to sign children up for the accounts. Under the new system, accounts will be created automatically, though a parent or guardian must still claim the account to manage it. "If all goes well, which I think it will, they'll end up being quite rich by the time they're 18 and then 21 and as time goes by," the president said. ICYMI: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson clashed over President Trump, abortion and the cost of living during their first debate Tuesday night, with Mr. Jackson repeatedly seeking to tie the five-term senator to the president while Sen. Collins emphasized her independence and seniority in Washington. Mr. Jackson pressed her over her 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. "I clearly don't agree with how Brett Kavanaugh voted on Roe v. Wade," Sen. Collins said, before attacking Mr. Jackson's own past opposition to abortion rights. "There's only one of us on the stage who's always been pro-choice, and that's me." Sen. Collins also highlighted her disagreements with President Trump on tariffs, Iran and other issues. "I'm not exactly his favorite senator," she said. For your radar… President Trump speaks Wednesday night at a campaign rally with Republican candidates in San Antonio, Texas. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 7pm ET.   Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) and Josh Turek (D), the candidates for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat, face off in a debate hosted by Iowa PBS on Wednesday night. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN2 at 8pm ET. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here C-SPAN is on YouTube. Subscribe today for live coverage, consequential moments, memorable exchanges and the political events everyone will be talking about. Full Schedule Copyright © 2026 C-SPAN, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in. C-SPAN, 400 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 155, Washington, DC 20001 Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
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