One thing that helps me in these challenging times is to see through a Native lens which speaks of a transition/transformation from the fourth world to the fifth world (Hopi and Dine' (Navajo) especially) and the process involves purification and the fifth world is considered a kind of golden age yet to get there is rather messy! So i see that many peoples' faith/trust in the institutions such as educational system, government system, religious system, media-new system, etc. is lessening and those authoritarian top-down forms of control are flailing. And the control-freaks add to the violence because their so-called power structure is based on divide-and-rule, as you highlight, and they are losing control. And along with the man-made efforts to live peacefully, Earth is doing purifications as well so staying in-tune with all that is also of great importance.
I’m guessing the ‘purification’ part can sometimes look like what I am describing. I think we agree it may be necessary and eventually beneficial; but possibly quite uncomfortable.
An important piece... I immediately thought of Machiavelli (and then you brought him in!) and also of the history of 'higher education'... its beginnings as training for those who would grow up to take their places as 'state managers'... in that sense, it seems today's universities are also training grounds for imparting 'raison d'état' ... but this time predominantly to inculcate obedience to the masters rather than to train the masters...
I guess the consequence for those who become managers is that they believe their own shit...
You've presented an interesting perspective, one that I believe captures the essence of the moment... I'm convinced that society is where "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." holds factual... and it is a self-regulating and self-correcting institution of self-determination... and as such will, when necessary, willfully invite Hell to breakfast as a means of serving the greater good and providing a huge shit sandwich for everyone to take a bite of to accomplish its goal(s).
Your footnote sharply sets the stage for the insightful critique in the body of the post:
“Individual rights, equality before the law, the acceptance of the outcomes of elections, have all faded. COVID tyrannies, overturned elections, banned political parties, weaponization of judiciaries, formal and inform censorship, etc… are now more the norm than the exception in the self-described ‘liberal-democracies.’”
Great essay. I agree none of us are going to like this. My personal analysis of revolutions is that they are almost never a very good deal because of the sky high price in blood and treasure - they cost a lot and always under deliver. I also don’t think we can avoid turmoil now though: we whittled away our prosperity as if it were easy to come by and we’ve been on a collision course with reality too long to successfully turn around anymore – now it’s not a question of how to avoid the upcoming storm, instead the question is how best to navigate it.
Thanks Jordan. It is hard to imagine genuinely good short-term options. However, this essay was a bit more stark than my usual. I’m actually still hopeful (not the same as optimistic). Working on formulating that better now.
The predator class is indeed so full of their righteousness that they fail to see that people can and will push back if they don't get their bread and circuses.
The irony is that to give them these basics would not cost as much as the military machine that they use to keep us in check.
Instead of using honey to lure and placate us, they stupidly use vinegar and fire.
Why? I think because they expected a world like V for Vendetta which depicted a state with power because of a deadly contagious disease. What we got instead was the dress rehearsal because the star of the show, the really deadly pathogen, didn't show up and they used the understudy.
This analysis is tempting. On the one hand I hate the current 'regime' elected by (as far as we know) legitimate liberal democratic procedures. On the other hand I am no longer a fan of the 'opposition' and think that they have indeed lost their way. So, I 'feel' that no one has political legitimacy, which supports your argument.
However, it seems to me that the seeds of the current situation were planted many, many years ago. Reagan was the first to run on an explicitly white supremacist platform and every Republican since has followed in those footsteps. Much of the groundwork for what's happening now was built during the second Bush administration. This has been an active program, which doesn't seem to me to be some inevitable slide from liberal democracy into its opposite. We DID accept the outcome of the last presidential election after all. And while I don't expect that we'll have any more of those I wouldn't describe it as 'fading away'. More like a seizure.
So, I'm not sure who you're talking about when you say 'elites'.
One side has been working toward fascism for a long time. Are these the elites? Or is it the Democrats who have been intent on compromising with fascists for as long as I can remember? Or is it the invisible administrators, the Deep State? Or maybe I'm the 'elite' because I'm white and relatively well off? Or maybe it's both parties? I've only recently started receiving your posts so maybe you explain all of this elsewhere.
I don't necessarily disagree but I don't see any practical application. You seem to be throwing up your hands. Which is fine I guess. There are compelling reasons to do so.
As to 'throwing up your hands.' That touches on my sense that this was a more pessimistic ,piece than I usually write and I actually held off a bit to make sure I felt it was accurate before publishing it. Maybe this is a cop-out, but I tend to write in two modes. The vast majority of things are normative/moral arguments. That is all about application (in my mind). When I write on 'current event' type stuff, which is not really what I write for (to express my opinion on the passing day's events), it's usually because I think I see something going on that not everyone else has already explained the way I think of it and hence I tend to be more analysis focused. Anyway, that is sort of what goes on in my head.
Well if you still believe in your head and that you are in it, I don't know what to tell you. Seriously though, I admire your effort. Everything in this vale of tears turns into its opposite eventually. The Republicans (mostly) abolished slavery and now seem to want to bring it back. The Democrats were the party of slavery and now seem to be against it. The Jews were the greatest victims and now are the victimizers. Nothing that remains but undergoes a sea change into something...strange. This is the nature of dependent origination and interdependence. Or so I imagine.
What do they say? Earth into water, water into air, air into fire, fire into spirit, spirit into earth. Knowledge makes its way through time and space. Peace.
I actually think the election of Trump in the States complicates the analysis here. I think it applies pretty well and straightforwardly to Britain, France, Germany and others. The Trump administration is not really tied to ‘liberal-democratic’ norms exactly.
One thing that helps me in these challenging times is to see through a Native lens which speaks of a transition/transformation from the fourth world to the fifth world (Hopi and Dine' (Navajo) especially) and the process involves purification and the fifth world is considered a kind of golden age yet to get there is rather messy! So i see that many peoples' faith/trust in the institutions such as educational system, government system, religious system, media-new system, etc. is lessening and those authoritarian top-down forms of control are flailing. And the control-freaks add to the violence because their so-called power structure is based on divide-and-rule, as you highlight, and they are losing control. And along with the man-made efforts to live peacefully, Earth is doing purifications as well so staying in-tune with all that is also of great importance.
I’m guessing the ‘purification’ part can sometimes look like what I am describing. I think we agree it may be necessary and eventually beneficial; but possibly quite uncomfortable.
one little example of purification that comes to mind is that the emission of pus signals the healing is happening soon
I think it'll be messy for those who still expect the old ways to continue or dream of a return to the "glorious past".
For the rest of us that are already sick of the state of the system, it'll be entertaining.
The absurdity is everywhere!
The end of Idiocracy.
An important piece... I immediately thought of Machiavelli (and then you brought him in!) and also of the history of 'higher education'... its beginnings as training for those who would grow up to take their places as 'state managers'... in that sense, it seems today's universities are also training grounds for imparting 'raison d'état' ... but this time predominantly to inculcate obedience to the masters rather than to train the masters...
I guess the consequence for those who become managers is that they believe their own shit...
Thanks sir!
You've presented an interesting perspective, one that I believe captures the essence of the moment... I'm convinced that society is where "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." holds factual... and it is a self-regulating and self-correcting institution of self-determination... and as such will, when necessary, willfully invite Hell to breakfast as a means of serving the greater good and providing a huge shit sandwich for everyone to take a bite of to accomplish its goal(s).
LOL gotta remember that one ☝️
Your footnote sharply sets the stage for the insightful critique in the body of the post:
“Individual rights, equality before the law, the acceptance of the outcomes of elections, have all faded. COVID tyrannies, overturned elections, banned political parties, weaponization of judiciaries, formal and inform censorship, etc… are now more the norm than the exception in the self-described ‘liberal-democracies.’”
Thank you.
Great essay. I agree none of us are going to like this. My personal analysis of revolutions is that they are almost never a very good deal because of the sky high price in blood and treasure - they cost a lot and always under deliver. I also don’t think we can avoid turmoil now though: we whittled away our prosperity as if it were easy to come by and we’ve been on a collision course with reality too long to successfully turn around anymore – now it’s not a question of how to avoid the upcoming storm, instead the question is how best to navigate it.
Thanks Jordan. It is hard to imagine genuinely good short-term options. However, this essay was a bit more stark than my usual. I’m actually still hopeful (not the same as optimistic). Working on formulating that better now.
The predator class is indeed so full of their righteousness that they fail to see that people can and will push back if they don't get their bread and circuses.
The irony is that to give them these basics would not cost as much as the military machine that they use to keep us in check.
Instead of using honey to lure and placate us, they stupidly use vinegar and fire.
Why? I think because they expected a world like V for Vendetta which depicted a state with power because of a deadly contagious disease. What we got instead was the dress rehearsal because the star of the show, the really deadly pathogen, didn't show up and they used the understudy.
https://robc137.substack.com/p/covid
They are not as intelligent as they think they are. In fact, they have tunnel vision and obsess over details and gloss over the big picture.
It's explained perfectly here, contrasting them with true connection to reality- wisdom.
https://robc137.substack.com/p/left-brain-vs-whole-brain-in-battlestar
This analysis is tempting. On the one hand I hate the current 'regime' elected by (as far as we know) legitimate liberal democratic procedures. On the other hand I am no longer a fan of the 'opposition' and think that they have indeed lost their way. So, I 'feel' that no one has political legitimacy, which supports your argument.
However, it seems to me that the seeds of the current situation were planted many, many years ago. Reagan was the first to run on an explicitly white supremacist platform and every Republican since has followed in those footsteps. Much of the groundwork for what's happening now was built during the second Bush administration. This has been an active program, which doesn't seem to me to be some inevitable slide from liberal democracy into its opposite. We DID accept the outcome of the last presidential election after all. And while I don't expect that we'll have any more of those I wouldn't describe it as 'fading away'. More like a seizure.
So, I'm not sure who you're talking about when you say 'elites'.
One side has been working toward fascism for a long time. Are these the elites? Or is it the Democrats who have been intent on compromising with fascists for as long as I can remember? Or is it the invisible administrators, the Deep State? Or maybe I'm the 'elite' because I'm white and relatively well off? Or maybe it's both parties? I've only recently started receiving your posts so maybe you explain all of this elsewhere.
I don't necessarily disagree but I don't see any practical application. You seem to be throwing up your hands. Which is fine I guess. There are compelling reasons to do so.
As to 'throwing up your hands.' That touches on my sense that this was a more pessimistic ,piece than I usually write and I actually held off a bit to make sure I felt it was accurate before publishing it. Maybe this is a cop-out, but I tend to write in two modes. The vast majority of things are normative/moral arguments. That is all about application (in my mind). When I write on 'current event' type stuff, which is not really what I write for (to express my opinion on the passing day's events), it's usually because I think I see something going on that not everyone else has already explained the way I think of it and hence I tend to be more analysis focused. Anyway, that is sort of what goes on in my head.
Well if you still believe in your head and that you are in it, I don't know what to tell you. Seriously though, I admire your effort. Everything in this vale of tears turns into its opposite eventually. The Republicans (mostly) abolished slavery and now seem to want to bring it back. The Democrats were the party of slavery and now seem to be against it. The Jews were the greatest victims and now are the victimizers. Nothing that remains but undergoes a sea change into something...strange. This is the nature of dependent origination and interdependence. Or so I imagine.
What do they say? Earth into water, water into air, air into fire, fire into spirit, spirit into earth. Knowledge makes its way through time and space. Peace.
I actually think the election of Trump in the States complicates the analysis here. I think it applies pretty well and straightforwardly to Britain, France, Germany and others. The Trump administration is not really tied to ‘liberal-democratic’ norms exactly.