To me, I don't see people fighting for causes; I see broken individuals incapable of being at peace with their sense of self, which to me is where true calm, respect for others, and peace comes from.
You make great points, Chris. Little gems like this are why I subscribe. You’re not a shallow thinker at all. You’ve put into words what I’ve been seeing all my life. I see this as bigger than the Israel/Hamas fight and our reaction to it. This is the culmination of something much bigger. Western Civilization has been on a suicide mission since WWI. The nihilism and cynicism of our intellectual elites in the universities is finally reaching its full maturation. One hundred years of destroying the roots of peace, order, achievement, and scientific progress has just about killed the tree of civilization. It may very well fall in our lifetimes. Modern humans can’t see to go more than 80 to 100 years without a major war. We are due soon. But this war will be far worse than any preceding war.
We are not a serious people. We are a frivolous people. At its root, a rotting civilization is filled with the rotting souls of its people. A strong, serious people make for a strong civilization. We don’t have those people today. We are coasting on the civilization that out ancestors left us. We are heading back to the times they worked for generations to escape. Only now, we have deadly technology like nuclear and biological weapons. We also have the ability to spy on and control people in ways Hitler and Stalin could only dream about. Our intellectual leaders have spent the last 50 plus years turning people into what Ayn Rand might call savage brutes instead of serious, thoughtful citizens. Now, the mad dogs are coming out and you can’t put them back in the pen.
I’m not sure if you’re an Ayn Rand reader, but we have been led by the likes of Ellsworth Toohey since at least the 1960s. The universities are filled with people like him. Can’t you just hear them saying to each other - “Laughter is an instrument of human joy. Learn to use it as a weapon of destruction. Turn it into a sneer.” “Don’t let anything remain sacred in man’s soul..kill reverence and you’ve killed the hero in man.” “Don’t let men be happy.. happy me are fee men. So kill their joy in living.” This is manifest today in political correctness, wokeness, the death of comedy, and every other form of guilt ridden angst you see on the streets of the West. Healthy societies don’t think or behave this way.
We definitely live in interesting times.. perhaps for the last time.
Great comment, Jim. While reading your comment, I was reminded of this C.S. Lewis quote:
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
Thank you both for your insightful comments. Thank you for the reminder to buy hardcopies of his books. Gonna take them to the little lake house where I am preparing to enjoy my quiet life while the rest of world goes deeper into lunacy.
Reminder that I need to speed things up, I thought I was only dealing with a bioweapon and a few skirmish to coverup Wuhan: Gates & Fauci, but its MUCH bigger than that. Much, much bigger.
"I see broken individuals incapable of being at peace with their sense of self, which, to me, is where true calm, respect for others, and peace comes from."
That is because it is impossible for humans to be "at peace with their sense of self".
The only way to find true peace is by Trusting in The Lord.
In the US, separation of church and state is so 1960. Trust in whoever you want to trust in your home and as you carry out your personal affairs. In a 2016 interview, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said: "What's happened over the last 60, 70 years is that our generation has been convinced that there's a separation of church and state, we hear that term all the time, and most people think that that's part of the constitution, but it's not."
Why do the wars never end? Why do people seem so broken and irrational? Because the conflicts and wars make tons of money for the ruling elite. It's as simple as that. They make money off of angry, irrational people donating to their political organizations. They make money from both sides of the conflict and both sides of an actual war. They make money before, during, and after the war. They *need* the wars to retain power. Until we come to terms with that, this dynamic will never end.
I'm not saying there aren't real differences among the populace; there are. I am saying the ruling elites stoke these differences, blow them out of proportion, and make them seem irreconcilable by giving overweighted airtime and gravitas to the most extreme elements. (For a domestic example, consider abortion: the vast majority agrees on a 12-15 week ban. But, here we are decades later with people screaming at each other all or nothing as "solutions.") On occasion, they push one side into an actual violent event. All with the goal of keeping the us vs. them, left vs. right dynamic churning out war, and the transfers-of-wealth that wars bring.
From your mouth to God's ears, as the Yiddish expression goes. Thank you for inserting a sane and compassionate perspective into this rotting garbage discourse.
Anyone who unsubscribed because of that article was only paying for your views because they agreed with you. For an echo chamber, a confirmation bias. If they only value your opinions when they concur with them, they don't value your opinion at all.
It's not just critical thinkers in short supply - thinking of any type is alarmingly scarce.
Another group of radicals sweeping the nation (dare I say?) are the 'Americana christians'. I am a follower of the Prince of Peace, I've called myself Christian and I can't believe what my ears hear and eyes read! Are they reading the same Bible I read? "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the Earth"... "Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men" I am astonished beyond imagination of the bloodlust coming out of the Christian radials pushing for their Rapture. It's abominable.
Chris, I have to agree that the idea that any Jew in America can continue to support the Democratic Party is remarkable to me. while anti-semitism is clearly rife, the masks came off the Left before Halloween for all to see.
Matt Gaetz invited a Holocaust denier to SOTU. Steve Scalise described himself as "David Duke without the baggage." LOL The hard on one side love Israel and want the rapture which requires in-gathering of the exiles for Armageddon; the other side, if you will hates Jews and Israel. I can't support either "party."
Just damn, Chris! Hardly the work of a "degenerate psychopath" it's a profoundly well constructed compilation and reconciliation of emotionally vexing ideas.
This sums up my fears perfectly. "It is the radicalization of a small group of people that can set off a chain of events like we are seeing now: one reactionary decision after another, which spirals endlessly until one large, decisive end." -QTR
I don't care how justified protesters feel to protest, cause it seems every protest now breaks down to riots and mob rule.
We aren't simping for Hamas. We are just sick of selfrighteous mthfkrs who think they can treat others like dogs and then talk about how righteous they are.
The lack of a southern border is purposeful. The as yet unanswered question is why. Knowingly or unknowingly, your piece provides a potential (and in my view likely) answer. For me it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. And the when gets closer every day.
I might offer that nuance is not merely a lost art, it was always a rare occurrence. it has become less common as educational standards have declined given the need to have a broad education to be able to understand the potentially many sides of any issue.
Ya. I would say that educational standards have done more than just decline. Most govt schools teach by the 3 rs. Rote. Ridiculous.Regurgitation. Critical thinking is at best an afterthought, at worst it’s not taught at all. Tough to understand nuance if you can’t think for yourself.
You mentioned in both the Lepard podcast and in this article that there has been relative peace in Israel in the past decade.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. For the past 75 there has been nothing but violence and unrest between the Israel and Palestine.
Not only has almost 80% of their land been taken away. The Gaza strip has been turned into an open air concentration camp. It has been called a prison but that is inaccurate. In prison you receive food and water. Palestinians have had their water and electricity turned off, they have been denied food and medical supplies. Entire suburbs are being bombed into oblivion.
There is a sick genocide of the Palestinian people happening in real time. Dont forget this. How many innocent people need to die before enough have been killed to justify the 1,000 Israelis that were killed to begin this conflict.
I know you are not taking sides, just look deeper into this conflict. Israel has a right to defend itself but when does it stop? When there are no Palestinians left? I certainly hope not.
So why are the Jews in Palestine? Because after WWII they arrived from all over the world, and in 1947/48 fought the Arabs and kicked them out. They had absolutely no right to do that. They abandoned their 'homeland' around 100 a.d. to spread around the world. In the forties they were the terrorists. But, today's terrorist is tomorrow's freedom fighter, is the day after's president or prime minister (hi Menachim, how did it work for you? Same as Nelson Mandela? Oliver Cromwell? Robespierre?).
Hamas have committed atrocities no greater than Jews did when they terrorised the Arabs 75 years ago. Is that a justification? No!! but it is a reason. There will be no peace in Israel /Palestine until both sides want it.
I grew up with the threat of the IRA. I missed being killed by a bomb by fifteen minutes - I had been literally sitting on top of it. Literally. Sitting. On. It. The slaughter of Christians by Christians only stopped when the wives of both sides got involved and said no more killing our children (forget Tony Blair, pathetic sod, signing the Good Friday agreement on the same day as saying he would never, ever give in to terrorists (al qaeda).
And don't blame Balfour, his 1917 agreement specifically stated "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done that shall prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine ..."
The Jews had as much right to kick the Arabs out as the Romans had to kick the Jews out 1900 years earlier. All of human history has been one conquest and displacement after another.
An absolutely brilliant and well written peace, Chris.
One of the most poignant and spot-on articles I’ve seen.
Thank you
You are welcome.
FYI - someone is impersonating you on twitter. I thought I had a follow from you. The links are to your articles.
Well said. Agreed.
You make great points, Chris. Little gems like this are why I subscribe. You’re not a shallow thinker at all. You’ve put into words what I’ve been seeing all my life. I see this as bigger than the Israel/Hamas fight and our reaction to it. This is the culmination of something much bigger. Western Civilization has been on a suicide mission since WWI. The nihilism and cynicism of our intellectual elites in the universities is finally reaching its full maturation. One hundred years of destroying the roots of peace, order, achievement, and scientific progress has just about killed the tree of civilization. It may very well fall in our lifetimes. Modern humans can’t see to go more than 80 to 100 years without a major war. We are due soon. But this war will be far worse than any preceding war.
We are not a serious people. We are a frivolous people. At its root, a rotting civilization is filled with the rotting souls of its people. A strong, serious people make for a strong civilization. We don’t have those people today. We are coasting on the civilization that out ancestors left us. We are heading back to the times they worked for generations to escape. Only now, we have deadly technology like nuclear and biological weapons. We also have the ability to spy on and control people in ways Hitler and Stalin could only dream about. Our intellectual leaders have spent the last 50 plus years turning people into what Ayn Rand might call savage brutes instead of serious, thoughtful citizens. Now, the mad dogs are coming out and you can’t put them back in the pen.
I’m not sure if you’re an Ayn Rand reader, but we have been led by the likes of Ellsworth Toohey since at least the 1960s. The universities are filled with people like him. Can’t you just hear them saying to each other - “Laughter is an instrument of human joy. Learn to use it as a weapon of destruction. Turn it into a sneer.” “Don’t let anything remain sacred in man’s soul..kill reverence and you’ve killed the hero in man.” “Don’t let men be happy.. happy me are fee men. So kill their joy in living.” This is manifest today in political correctness, wokeness, the death of comedy, and every other form of guilt ridden angst you see on the streets of the West. Healthy societies don’t think or behave this way.
We definitely live in interesting times.. perhaps for the last time.
Great comment, Jim. While reading your comment, I was reminded of this C.S. Lewis quote:
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
Lewis is one of the most insightful people I have ever read. "Moral busybodies" are everywhere today and killing our liberty one 'crisis' at a time.
Jim, Blair,
Thank you both for your insightful comments. Thank you for the reminder to buy hardcopies of his books. Gonna take them to the little lake house where I am preparing to enjoy my quiet life while the rest of world goes deeper into lunacy.
Reminder that I need to speed things up, I thought I was only dealing with a bioweapon and a few skirmish to coverup Wuhan: Gates & Fauci, but its MUCH bigger than that. Much, much bigger.
I enjoyed reading this. Unlike the psychopaths who have hijacked this country, I think you have a good soul.
Thanks Rick
Might be your best work yet.
"I see broken individuals incapable of being at peace with their sense of self, which, to me, is where true calm, respect for others, and peace comes from."
That is because it is impossible for humans to be "at peace with their sense of self".
The only way to find true peace is by Trusting in The Lord.
Took me 50 years to figure this one out.
Amen.
In the US, separation of church and state is so 1960. Trust in whoever you want to trust in your home and as you carry out your personal affairs. In a 2016 interview, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said: "What's happened over the last 60, 70 years is that our generation has been convinced that there's a separation of church and state, we hear that term all the time, and most people think that that's part of the constitution, but it's not."
Why do the wars never end? Why do people seem so broken and irrational? Because the conflicts and wars make tons of money for the ruling elite. It's as simple as that. They make money off of angry, irrational people donating to their political organizations. They make money from both sides of the conflict and both sides of an actual war. They make money before, during, and after the war. They *need* the wars to retain power. Until we come to terms with that, this dynamic will never end.
I'm not saying there aren't real differences among the populace; there are. I am saying the ruling elites stoke these differences, blow them out of proportion, and make them seem irreconcilable by giving overweighted airtime and gravitas to the most extreme elements. (For a domestic example, consider abortion: the vast majority agrees on a 12-15 week ban. But, here we are decades later with people screaming at each other all or nothing as "solutions.") On occasion, they push one side into an actual violent event. All with the goal of keeping the us vs. them, left vs. right dynamic churning out war, and the transfers-of-wealth that wars bring.
From your mouth to God's ears, as the Yiddish expression goes. Thank you for inserting a sane and compassionate perspective into this rotting garbage discourse.
Thanks Mase.
Anyone who unsubscribed because of that article was only paying for your views because they agreed with you. For an echo chamber, a confirmation bias. If they only value your opinions when they concur with them, they don't value your opinion at all.
It's not just critical thinkers in short supply - thinking of any type is alarmingly scarce.
Well said.
Outstanding piece, Chris. Bravo.
Another group of radicals sweeping the nation (dare I say?) are the 'Americana christians'. I am a follower of the Prince of Peace, I've called myself Christian and I can't believe what my ears hear and eyes read! Are they reading the same Bible I read? "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the Earth"... "Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men" I am astonished beyond imagination of the bloodlust coming out of the Christian radials pushing for their Rapture. It's abominable.
Amen
Chris, I have to agree that the idea that any Jew in America can continue to support the Democratic Party is remarkable to me. while anti-semitism is clearly rife, the masks came off the Left before Halloween for all to see.
Matt Gaetz invited a Holocaust denier to SOTU. Steve Scalise described himself as "David Duke without the baggage." LOL The hard on one side love Israel and want the rapture which requires in-gathering of the exiles for Armageddon; the other side, if you will hates Jews and Israel. I can't support either "party."
The left is controlled and run by jews. The "antisemitism" in the party is controlled opposition to gain the sympathy of the week minded.
Yes I am. If it fits, wear it.
Nicely done QTR. I was surprised to see you post on this topic. You did an excellent job.
Appreciate the kind words most when trying to navigate incendiary topics. Thanks.
Just damn, Chris! Hardly the work of a "degenerate psychopath" it's a profoundly well constructed compilation and reconciliation of emotionally vexing ideas.
This sums up my fears perfectly. "It is the radicalization of a small group of people that can set off a chain of events like we are seeing now: one reactionary decision after another, which spirals endlessly until one large, decisive end." -QTR
I don't care how justified protesters feel to protest, cause it seems every protest now breaks down to riots and mob rule.
What a world when there are millions of people simping for Hamas. Great article. Thank you.
We aren't simping for Hamas. We are just sick of selfrighteous mthfkrs who think they can treat others like dogs and then talk about how righteous they are.
Nicely written. Nicely stated.
Nuance is a lost art.
The lack of a southern border is purposeful. The as yet unanswered question is why. Knowingly or unknowingly, your piece provides a potential (and in my view likely) answer. For me it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. And the when gets closer every day.
I might offer that nuance is not merely a lost art, it was always a rare occurrence. it has become less common as educational standards have declined given the need to have a broad education to be able to understand the potentially many sides of any issue.
Ya. I would say that educational standards have done more than just decline. Most govt schools teach by the 3 rs. Rote. Ridiculous.Regurgitation. Critical thinking is at best an afterthought, at worst it’s not taught at all. Tough to understand nuance if you can’t think for yourself.
You mentioned in both the Lepard podcast and in this article that there has been relative peace in Israel in the past decade.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. For the past 75 there has been nothing but violence and unrest between the Israel and Palestine.
Not only has almost 80% of their land been taken away. The Gaza strip has been turned into an open air concentration camp. It has been called a prison but that is inaccurate. In prison you receive food and water. Palestinians have had their water and electricity turned off, they have been denied food and medical supplies. Entire suburbs are being bombed into oblivion.
There is a sick genocide of the Palestinian people happening in real time. Dont forget this. How many innocent people need to die before enough have been killed to justify the 1,000 Israelis that were killed to begin this conflict.
I know you are not taking sides, just look deeper into this conflict. Israel has a right to defend itself but when does it stop? When there are no Palestinians left? I certainly hope not.
Besides terrorism, propaganda and lies are part of Hamas's warfare, as reflected from the dis-informative comment above.
So why are the Jews in Palestine? Because after WWII they arrived from all over the world, and in 1947/48 fought the Arabs and kicked them out. They had absolutely no right to do that. They abandoned their 'homeland' around 100 a.d. to spread around the world. In the forties they were the terrorists. But, today's terrorist is tomorrow's freedom fighter, is the day after's president or prime minister (hi Menachim, how did it work for you? Same as Nelson Mandela? Oliver Cromwell? Robespierre?).
Hamas have committed atrocities no greater than Jews did when they terrorised the Arabs 75 years ago. Is that a justification? No!! but it is a reason. There will be no peace in Israel /Palestine until both sides want it.
I grew up with the threat of the IRA. I missed being killed by a bomb by fifteen minutes - I had been literally sitting on top of it. Literally. Sitting. On. It. The slaughter of Christians by Christians only stopped when the wives of both sides got involved and said no more killing our children (forget Tony Blair, pathetic sod, signing the Good Friday agreement on the same day as saying he would never, ever give in to terrorists (al qaeda).
And don't blame Balfour, his 1917 agreement specifically stated "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done that shall prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine ..."
The Jews had as much right to kick the Arabs out as the Romans had to kick the Jews out 1900 years earlier. All of human history has been one conquest and displacement after another.