I recently attended an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art of magnificent artifacts from Afghanistan’s ancient past — the artifacts had been hidden and protected by heroic artists and scholars after the Soviet invasion and during the reign of the Taliban. The exhibit prominently features the statement, “A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive.” The statement comes from the National Museum in Kabul, where it appears in full: “A nation stays alive when its culture and history stay alive.”

This is a testament to the importance of a people’s culture in defining themselves, even as they seek to uphold abstract ideas of freedom and democracy – something about which Mark Krikorian made a good point today at the Corner.