At other times in my life, this line, "American passivity, ignorance, stupidity, cowardice, and all the other forces pushing us - inevitably, he seems to think - into the arms of slavery and tyranny" is something I would have argued against. Covid changed my mind on that. Virtually overnight, a majority of the population decided to not believe their own eyes and 100 years of pandemic policy, and instead swallow whatever panic porn was being fed to them by health agencies supported by a supine media. And, once the population fully absorbed the panic, then, with ferocity, demanded that government do even more to assuage their fears, willingly yielding common sense, not to mention constitutional rights. Worse, still, the majority was willing to turn on their neighbors with such speed as to make the Stasi blush.
I believe that in an age where information can be controlled by tech titans in collusion with government, that it really won't take much for them to convince everyone to completely abandon any vestige of independence. I don't even have to debate this. I just point them to recent history.
Yes, it was indeed a disappointing and depressing eye-openers, wasn't it? I've thought a good deal about why it happened, and I still haven't arrived at any good conclusions. I think it probably had a great deal to do with the mysterious nature of disease, which still likely seems like some sort of dark magic to many humans.
I am going to hold off commenting until I have time to give this a second, thorough, reading.
One thing though, my study of "the emergence of leaders" would lead me to argue against the Great Man Theory. My wife pointed out to me that just about all those generally regarded as "Great Leaders" came not from the inside of the culture they led (and transormed) but from its periphery. So they tended to understand both the internal and the external parts.
Moses was a Jewish Egyptian prince. Lincoln was a frontiersman. Napoleon was a Sicilian, and so on. That probably made them somrthing like antifragile preppers.
The good news is the bad "guys" have been winning the Long Game mostly by default. When the Right played long ball -- such as the Federalist Society for judges, the Home School movement, and Concealed Carry -- we have done rather well.
True, although I might wish that Kavanaugh and Barrett had been as staunch as Gorsuch, especially around the Second Amendment, rather than clumping together with Roberts to shift the balance of power away from the actual conservative wing of the Court. Still, can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good...
Sorry the salad wasn't to your taste. I look forward to your efforts at your own Substack, assuming you ever get around to putting anything at all there, with great eagerness.
At other times in my life, this line, "American passivity, ignorance, stupidity, cowardice, and all the other forces pushing us - inevitably, he seems to think - into the arms of slavery and tyranny" is something I would have argued against. Covid changed my mind on that. Virtually overnight, a majority of the population decided to not believe their own eyes and 100 years of pandemic policy, and instead swallow whatever panic porn was being fed to them by health agencies supported by a supine media. And, once the population fully absorbed the panic, then, with ferocity, demanded that government do even more to assuage their fears, willingly yielding common sense, not to mention constitutional rights. Worse, still, the majority was willing to turn on their neighbors with such speed as to make the Stasi blush.
I believe that in an age where information can be controlled by tech titans in collusion with government, that it really won't take much for them to convince everyone to completely abandon any vestige of independence. I don't even have to debate this. I just point them to recent history.
Yes, it was indeed a disappointing and depressing eye-openers, wasn't it? I've thought a good deal about why it happened, and I still haven't arrived at any good conclusions. I think it probably had a great deal to do with the mysterious nature of disease, which still likely seems like some sort of dark magic to many humans.
I am going to hold off commenting until I have time to give this a second, thorough, reading.
One thing though, my study of "the emergence of leaders" would lead me to argue against the Great Man Theory. My wife pointed out to me that just about all those generally regarded as "Great Leaders" came not from the inside of the culture they led (and transormed) but from its periphery. So they tended to understand both the internal and the external parts.
Moses was a Jewish Egyptian prince. Lincoln was a frontiersman. Napoleon was a Sicilian, and so on. That probably made them somrthing like antifragile preppers.
That's an interesting observation. Thanks!
We have to be the Good Hands.
The good news is the bad "guys" have been winning the Long Game mostly by default. When the Right played long ball -- such as the Federalist Society for judges, the Home School movement, and Concealed Carry -- we have done rather well.
True, although I might wish that Kavanaugh and Barrett had been as staunch as Gorsuch, especially around the Second Amendment, rather than clumping together with Roberts to shift the balance of power away from the actual conservative wing of the Court. Still, can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good...
Word salad of no use to anyone.
Sorry the salad wasn't to your taste. I look forward to your efforts at your own Substack, assuming you ever get around to putting anything at all there, with great eagerness.
Stand up and admit you are a Progressive Liberal
I must be doing something right, given that apparently I'm now stirring up the short bus riders.
Proving my post, the first thing a liberal does is personally attack anyone one who calls out their inability to defend their position.
The gamma midwit short bus passengers, I see.