The Orient Versus The Occident

The word “orient” is derived from the Latin root that means “the rising” or “to rise,” and the Latin root from which the word “occident” is derived means “the falling” or “to fall.” It is inevitable for the orient to rise and the occident to fall. There is no doubt about the oriental sunrise. There is no doubt about the occidental sunset. In the last 100 years, theories and literature concerning an apocalyptic end of civilization have become very popular in the occident. This was because the occidental artists and intellectuals understood that the rise of their civilization was due to unnatural causes, that this success was temporary, that the fall was inevitable. Globalization has led to the Westernized sections of the population in the orient becoming infected by this occidental melancholy and hopelessness but the non-Westernized masses preserve their faith and hope.