Resistance and Cultural Fracture

The article discusses the concept of resistance and its philosophical and linguistic transformation at the turn of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. In France, the notion “Resistance” is associated primarily with the opposition of patriotic citizens to Nazism during the occupation of the country by Germany during World War II. This movement became an example of the heroic struggle of the military and partisans who did not accept the defeat of the French army, as well as the spontaneous actions of people of good will who helped the prisoners and victims of Nazism. The leaders of the Resistance refused to submit to the criminal authorities, they were not satisfied with either the position of cooperation with the occupation regime or the passive expectation of its overthrow. At the risk of martyrdom, they sought to fight Nazism without hope of success in their actions. In the post-war years, during the period of the struggle against colonialism, totalitarianism and racism, courageous individuals, at the cost of their own well-being and life, defended the ideals of freedom and democracy, defended the interests of the oppressed and exploited fellow citizens. The concept of resistance in this era acquired the meaning of confronting the forces of evil, selfless self-sacrifice in the name of the eternal values of goodness and justice. In the public mind, the resistance movement appears as an activity inspired by positive ethics and aimed at promoting the social good. At the end of the 20^th century, the concept of resistance gradually loses its conceptual, moral, and constructive content, acquiring an ethically indifferent and sometimes frankly negative, nihilistic, and cynical meaning. Unlimited emancipation, the task of overthrowing traditional everyday morality and outdated norms of life, is declared an absolute value. Hiding behind the slogans of the struggle for freedom, opposition to discrimination, some of the modern social movements contribute to the destruction of public order and the discrediting of ethical values and achievements of world culture, which in turn leads to social indifference and a decrease in the ability to resist destructive socio-political phenomena. The author concludes that modern progressive-minded humanity is faced with the task of educating and consolidating society, exposing political extremism in order to resist destructive forces and uphold the ideals of true democracy and humanism.

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