OK Jazzoctopus, Thing One:

Yes I agree, through Sumer, through the Greeks, through the Romans, through China, through India, and through every other culture that had a horse to ride, came Western Civilization. And after Good King George and the bloody British passed the baton to the Rebels in the States, Western Civilization became essentially "American" Civilization, and that particular brand of civilization is the system of social and economic behavior that will save the world from ruin and squalor in the world of tomorrow.

Today is today, and ancient Sumer is gone and Iran and Iraq are hardly hotbeds of Western Civilization anymore. Get with the program.

Thing Two:

Like Western Civilization, Christianity is a mindset and not the Pope or the Inquisition. In Christianity is found the embodiment of a unique frame of reference toward conduct conducive to civility, i.e. Christian Love. A Love of life and of all mankind, forgiving Love, Love extending even to all enemies. This is the base, and the only, message of Christianity.

Argue and rail against Love if you will, but this message is interwoven into the fabric of advancing Western Civilization. Get on board.