I would commend to your attention Claire Wolfe's Post "I'm suffering an attack of optimism" as a kind of up to date one-stop-shop of the state of the nation at this moment. She says it far better than I, but notes that fact cracks and crevices are starting to appear in the bulwark of our society.
In other words, notes Claire, spring buds of a sort of revolution may be starting to appear.
It is not the revolution that one thinks of, in terms of guns blazing and the toppling of power structures. It is the revolution of people beginning to simply say, "Enough". Enough to the failed construct of a system where the people in power think and act very differently than the people that go about living their lives. Enough to movements that denigrate all that society is and replace it with constructs that simply replace one group or class with another. Enough to governments that proclaim "fiscal responsibility" and "transitory inflation" while spending money faster than a drunk sailor and having no idea what actual things cost actual Americans.
From the article: "This is people who have moved onto the next stage: Understanding that a country’s Great Institutions have become simply … irrelevant."
This has happened before, of course. People have denoted such things. The difference may be that, this time, people are actually doing something about it.
If you think they are not, you are not reading in the right places. Individuals are rejecting the constructs of jobs that devour their lives by finding other ways to make a living; rejecting the power of corporatism in their lives by growing their own food, making their own entertainment, and learning to do things themselves or do without. If Christian (I cannot speak to other religions), they are rejecting churches that have left the path of Scripture and have replaced with the path of man (there is a real reason that all mainline denominations are shrinking and it not just "I got bored"). They are beginning to push back at the local and state level against things that they find oppressive and that they disagree with.
Horror of horrors, they are thinking for themselves.
"The smallest (secessions) are being committed, every day in increasing numbers, by potentially millions of individuals — commentators, professors, office workers, blue-collar job holders, entrepreneurs, writers, doctors, congregation members, students, you name it — who wake up, look around, and say, “Whoa, this is getting too weird; I’m out of here.” They may not know whether we’re living in a joke masquerading as a wannabe totalitarianism or a wannabe totalitarianism masquerading as a joke. They may not even be able to identify or articulate precisely what’s wrong. But they know it’s nuts and they want to go sane."
It is a small thing. But like everything else, all great things start small.
People can no longer sleep on the couch, or veg out eating potato chips, watching sportzball and drinking beer. If you let perverts, harpies and vibrant flunkies run your nation... this is what it is going to look like. People have been warning about this for decades. It is really our fault - we let them do it. And we laughed and ignored it as they broke things.
ReplyDeleteGlen, agreed that the time for complete inaction is past (but I do not find myself in the camp of thinking that action means complete overthrow as some do). But the reality is it not confined to a particular group (That is part of the problem in that sometimes everything is painted with too broad a brush; some of the people most in camp of live and let live are people that do not look and think like us. There are a great many more potential allies out there than are just defined by groups). What it is not confined to is a fundamental belief that others know better than we do and thereby should rule us.
DeleteWe let other things go as well: personal responsibility, holding people accountable, letting people live out the consequences of their actions. This was all done with the best of intentions, of course; the fact is that it had very predictable consequences. And the problem with consequences, of course, is that they are scarcely limited to a small radius. Inevitably, like perfume diffusing in a room, it will impact everyone.
I suppose it depends what your exposure is. My parents are affluent white heritage Canadians that live in a well to do neighborhood, on generous govt pensions where the realities of the present day are nonexistent. The coloured people are all well behaved and trained servants. Gays are nice folks that only want the privacy of their bedrooms. Socialist nanny govt has been very, very good to them. A lot of wealthier older folks agree with them.
DeleteI’ve been where the metal hits the meat in diverse and vibrant workplaces and neighborhoods. My daughter is a militant lesbian social justice warrior. My in laws…GAH. The point is, the guys doing this aren’t going to magically wake up and start listening to reason. There is no argument you can make to them that will change their minds. When things get bad - they won’t look at themselves and wonder what they’re doing wrong… they’ll blame you. They will willingly tear their families to shreds, attack people that love them, and encourage their daughters to abort their own children over this stuff. I used to think they could be reasoned with if I could only make a more persuasive argument. I eventually learned that reason and persuasion had no place in their world, and I had no place in it either. They made sure I knew that.
Laugh at me if you will, but I don’t see this ending well. If you can peacefully reason with these guys… now would be a really good time to start.
Glen, I would never laugh at you. Chide a bit perhaps from time to time, but I find myself in need of that often as well.
DeleteHere is the one thing that gives me hope - and perhaps surprisingly, it is a religious reason. If people cannot change once they have made up their minds, then the possibility of repentance is not one that exists for any of us. Do we believe that? Or do we believe that people can make a change - in their beliefs, in their practices, in their actions? If we believe that is so, then there is always a chance.
Maybe reasoning will not make a difference - I am probably more of an optimist in the regard than may be warranted. But I also know that nothing will change a person faster than a face to face visit with reality, the reality of falling off a ladder and the ground rushing up to meet your face. More people have changed their lives when they ran out of options than ever happened in a reasoned debate. Even for those that disagree rabidly, holding the tatters of a civilization in your hands has to make ask questions when it impacts you personally.
A final thought, perhaps only for you and I: Where does God fit into this? If He is omnipotent and omniscient, none of this is surprising to Him or beyond His control. What is our part to play in His design for this time, based on what His word says?
The couple in Chicago that were dragged out of their car and murdered may or may not have been part of the Revolution, but I can state that we either "hang together or we shall all hang alone". Without associations of like minded (however that group looks to you) there will be too many of the enemy to deal with. We must actively and sincerely, very carefully attempt to forge bonds of iron that will sting hot when the time comes. Until then, become as independent of the grid as you can become. Leave the big internet of things and develop a local private offline network.
ReplyDeleteJust So - I saw this story. It is horrible, and is probably indicative by the fact that neither the Propaganda Media nor those Civilized Republicans on the right have bothered to comment on it. As you say, we need to be working on finding allies. Everywhere. The reality is that there are allies everywhere, if only we can see it and reach out to them.
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