At the start of a thought process introduced by OldAFSarge at Chant du Depart, I had reason to revisit two books that I had read some years ago by Rod Dreher, Live Not By Lies and The Benedict Option (links are to reviews).
I have said in the past (and maintain) that I enjoy reading Dreher, someone who I could only describe as sort of a cultural/real world commentator that has the added bonus (in my opinion) of acknowledging where his life has gone awry and is not afraid to write about it (he writes a Substack here; there are occasional free articles as well as the paid subscription). He is (at least in my view) something of a futurist in that he looks at current trends and taking historical examples, points to reasonable possibilities of where they might go.
In re-reading Dreher - himself in a self-imposed exile in Hungary - it is useful to look at the point of time in which his books were written and ask the question "Have we moved further along the path he wrote about?" If we have, then while perhaps not a prophet he is a certainly a predictor to at least be considered.
In The Benedict Option (2018) he suggested building essentially modern islands of community (Christian communities or even non-Christian communities; Dreher himself is Orthodox) based on the model of Benedict of Nursia to fight the rising tide of modernism and its corrosive effects. In Live Not By Lies (2020) he related the history of the rise of Communist control of media, thought, and religion in Eastern Europe.
Is society more or less corrosive, throwing away social norms and history in the name of modern world that only recognizes true freedom in certain approved areas and seeks to make its own history? As it turns out, these are pretty simple questions to answer: Are we more or less free in our expression, our communication, and the exercise of our religion?
It is perhaps not surprising that I find myself in the solid "Things are worse, not better" camp.
Which is fine, of course. Others will see it differently. The question is, as it is for all of us, what will I do.
Dreher's examples from Live Not By Lies is instructive in that (with two notable exceptions) Eastern Europe did not have the wherewithal for any sort of armed action (if I had to theorize, partially because of the destruction of World War II, partially because of the overwhelming numeric superiority of the Soviet Union in their various nations). What they ended up doing as discussed in Dreher's book were three major actions: strengthening their minds in learning and knowledge, strengthening their connections with others, and strengthening their faith.
It explains why - in the last few years or so - I have become rather insistent on books and especially historical books of classical Greece and Rome which have the original text and a translation. it explains why I have been gathering knowledge in general. I suppose it even explains why I am endeavoring to find a different church (although obviously the relocation has set that back some).
In that sense - the "preparing for bad times sense" - a relocation to a modern urban environment is not the best decision, especially starting out living in an apartment; we do the best with the situation that we are given. But even in those sorts of situations, things can be done - and in some cases, things become available that were not before (a smaller living space, for example, combined with a complete change in activities and schedule, frees one's time for other activities that previously were not possible).
I am reluctant to go so far as to say "Something Wicked This Way Comes" - I am also no prophet and I have limited success in seeing into the future. But sometimes, one does not have to. Preparing for the worst and being pleasantly supplied is almost always in fashion.
I too am reluctant to say "Something wicked this way comes" but am too much aware as a history buff not to see what step in the genocide ladder, we are politically and socially are (probable redundant here).
ReplyDeleteAs you like small actionable ideas, knowing several ways out of the urban into reunion with family is critical. Having options to get out are nice. Walking is often the "Gold Option", I find it the lesser option as I've bicycle camped often and there is no where I could walk at 1 mph (realistic loaded hiking speed) I couldn't ride or walk the bike (like the VC) through at better speed. Run flat tires are available.
I've found Citizen bikes really handy, fit into my trunk for improptu rides. Run flat : https://www.citizenbike.com/muffin_airless_tires.asp
Biking away from traffic is excellent exercise that clears my mind and heart when distressed.
Michael, this is really a very walkable area, which is good for training if nothing else.
DeleteWe are 10-12 hours away from The Ranch here, so a longer term bug out solution may actually be possible here.
Thanks for the bike recommendation. A bike makes sense here; we are talking of if we should bring ours.
Afraid I'm a bit more pessimistic about the "something wicked this way comes" TB even though I'm a glass half full type. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night so goes the quote.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I am struggling to be a half glass full guy (Ed, The Resident Optimist's work on me I guess). That said, I can in no way say for almost any marker that we are in a better place now than we were four years ago.
DeleteI feel it, and quite a few others do too. It's coming. Birth pangs, like the Nuevo Testament states. At the very least the lion is at the door, as he always is.
ReplyDeleteScope out your neighborhood. Find out about the donut around the "hole" you live in, likely routes out, or in. Enclaves that are no-gos. Get up high and get the lay of the highways, "thanks satellite view." Look at topographical maps for flood zones and how the folds of the earth work. We still follow valleys subconsciously. Hardy Road in Houston was a valid alternative to I45 almost every day of the week. They made it into a toll road and ruined it for the cheapskate like me. I've learned back roads around me that allow movement when the interstates are stopped.
To the knowledge that will be needed for citizen rule, add some Sun Tzu-Fu.
STxAR, learning the neighborhood and surroundings will be a big part of it. Safe to say The City Over The Hill is a no go, or parts of it. To the West is likely a better option.
DeleteHonestly, given the weather here, it sounds like we may get the option to simply try sheltering in place for a few days at a time.
Modern government has become very dependent on modern technology for its reach. And it and we have become used to instantaneous action and response. As things fray, that will become more difficult to maintain.
You pose some tough questions, at least for me to answer. I guess at first blush, my answer is that we are freer to express and communicate than we ever have been but I'm not sure that it is a good thing. I'm referencing all the fake social media posts and the ability of people to say things as fact with no basis of truth. It creates such a mess, that it takes those well read in factual matters, a lot of time to untangle and those people are probably the minority of people using those platforms.
ReplyDeleteOn a broader scale, I still think there is no other country with as much freedom of expression or communication than our country and that is overall a good thing. I will take sifting through a bunch of factless blathering on social media over say trying to report facts in Russia any day.
Ed, I think I agree and disagree. On the one hand we perhaps are more able to express and communicate, but we also live in more and more of an age where gatekeepers are deciding for us what is true and false. The idea of fact-checkers are a good one, except for the fact that themselves are biased.
DeleteLike you, I would rather have the option of consulting a slew of sources and sorting through them rather than having my information and data mandated through approved sources.
Here's my neg. Everything we say, transact, message, communicate, on every device, every single time, is recorded in full and recorded fore ever. If for some reason an algo rhythm or AI alert gets your electronic history under scrutiny, they can put disparate types of info together to manufacture whatever probable cause they want for a trumped up charge against you. If they want you bad enough, they can plant child pron on/in your computer. Other than that, everything sucks out loud. Except fore large regions of legacy America where good people keep civil society chugging along. Once you know, you know.
ReplyDeleteT_M, I cannot disagree with you. Certainly given the advances in AI and technology, conversations with voice recognition software and even images cannot be far behind.
DeleteIt's hard not to imagine something terrible happening in the near future, given how deeply divided our country is politically/ideologically and with elections rapidly approaching. The amazing thing is how these divisions have evolved into two radically different realities for the people who subscribe to them. "Let's agree to disagree" doesn't seem to be an option for them any more.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, this is a discussion point Uisdean Ruadh and I have on multiple occasions. His point is that America has been deeply divided in the past and still come together (examples: Civil War, The Depression, WW II). My counter is always "And what would bring us together now?" He cannot give an answer - nor can I. And I think that is the thing that perhaps both alarms and depresses me the most, that there is simply no way to bridge that gap.
DeleteTo your point about agreeing to disagree, once upon a time the phrase "I do not agree with you, but I will fight for the right for you to hold that opinion" was commonplace. The last time I think heard anyone say that was in 2015.