Excellent post Mark. Thank you. I believe the Anti-Federalists for the most part observed that the roots of centralization were baked into the new US Constitution. I also believe they didn't think the centralists would be stupid or evil enough to try it. They were wrong. They also probably thought some common sense would prevail after Madison & Jefferson wrote the Resolves. Again they were wrong. Eventually, the centralists (Whigs/Repubs) win outright in 1865. Concerning current trajectory you wrote, "Why are we facing civilizational suicide? Because the West has by and large rejected its civilizational—Christian—roots." It would seem the only solution to the present dilemma would be a return to those roots. Hence, the necessity by many to demonize those roots. On autonomous man, RJ Rushdoony in "Intellectual Schizophrenia" has an excellent analysis on what results from this autonomy.
LOL - Opened the morning’s post at Charles de Gaulle airport at the inane hour of 6:30 am…just passed a phalanx of freshly shaven and heavily armed gendarmes, while over the loudspeaker something about dangerous situations and everyone being watchful “together” - the French love that word “ensemble’!!! I somehow doubt I’ll run into Deneen at Le Relais (news stand) - more like Grisham, CJ Box (if you long for the Grand Tetons!) and Connolly…but yes, a very apt description of our current dystopia!
I can relate to that, ML. I live in Switzerland, a place known for its OCD levels of control. However, whenever I cross over into France, I find it is ten times worse. French radio is continually peppered with "public service" warnings about drinking enough water, wrapping up warmly, getting your combined flu/Covid shots. And yes, the French LOVE being collective and moving as one body en masse. Today I read that the French are the most individualist and conservative people in Europe. I laughed out loud. They are neither.
‘White Supremacists’ is a derogatory term for ‘White Culturists’ - those who recognize Culture, Human Nature, and God, but who are not supremacist at all but rather have the mindset of the Quaker who said to the thief “Sir, I would not harm thee, but thou standest where I’m about to shoot”.
This reminded me of The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc:
"Both in the world of Hither Asia and in the Graeco-Roman world of the Mediterranean, but especially in the latter, society had fallen, much as our society has today, into a tangle wherein the bulk of men were disappointed and angry and seeking for a solution to the whole group of social strains. There was indebtedness everywhere; the power of money and consequent usury. There was slavery everywhere. Society reposed upon it, as ours reposes upon wage slavery today. There was weariness and discontent with theological debate, which, for all its intensity, had grown out of touch with the masses. There lay upon the freemen, already tortured with debt, a heavy burden of imperial taxation; and there was the irritant of existing central government interfering with men's lives; there was the tyranny of the lawyers and their charges."
“it might be time to replace the lazy ass white working class--as opposed to the hard working chattering class--with "new Americans." Fellow citizens have thus become fungible--at the disposition of the managerial elite.” I see this in the industry in which I work. An ever more heavily federally regulated industry that relies upon the labor of contractors. The population of these contractors are increasingly “replacement Americans.” The shrinking cost of this labor is attractive to the private equity investors paying the bills with the added bonus of their feigned ignorance and plausible deniability of what is actually occurring on the ground. I was commenting just this morning to a fellow coworker about how we may need to learn a second language if we want to continue in this industry. The increasing need to learn a foreign language to remain employed in America is unreal. Privilege indeed.
Oregon is going bilingual, like California. Very different than when we moved here 30 years ago. To welcome the cataract of new Americans who only speak Spanish, so many government jobs must go first to those with Spanish-speaking skills... because how else can government competently deliver its critical government services to the hardworking man who came here seeking a better life for himself and his family by working hard? Do you hate families???
In healthcare, education, legal services, policing... Gotta be bilingual to compete.
Men are social beings who need relationships. God baked that into us. We also need laws. But how many laws?
I agree with your observation that our society functions best when men are guided by an agreed-upon moral code that most of us, if not all, follow. Christianity provides such a framework to allow for the smooth functioning of society. I'm not qualified to speak about Judaism, et al, but believe they do, as well. And, atheists, agnostics, etc., can also subscribe to a moral code and we should be able to live relatively harmoniously, especially if prosperity reigns throughout the land.
As this country walks away from it's Christian or Judeo-Christian heritage, we see the ill effects. Politicians of all stripes are ready to come in and legislate.
When I was younger, I could go to our local savings and loan and withdraw money, generally no ID required. At the mom and pop grocery store, the owner would open a four-pack of butter and sell one stick to me. I could buy cigarettes from a machine at the diner even though I was underage. Before my time, kids could go to the tavern and buy buckets of beer for their dads who were playing corkball. I'm told they sipped from the foam on the way back, but that's another story. The traffic signals flashed at night, say from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM because motorists had the intelligence and discipline to self-govern their behavior. Just in case they didn't, a cop might be sitting in a dark car, ready to pull you over.
Today, the government is interested in all aspects of our life, how much you eat, how much soda you drink, if you smoke, drink alcohol. are a traditionalist Catholic or evangelical Christian, what movies you watch, if you don't think correctly.
But, the rules today mostly apply to the middle class, and, I'd argue, mostly to those who still self-regulate and are intimidated by the government. If you're rich, and well-connected are give to the Left, you can get away with murder, and whatever happened on Epstein's island. If you're poor, you're given money to keep quiet and not cause trouble.
Today we have those Leftists, including the Pope, who believe that mankind is causing climate change, that men and women can become each other, that same-sex marriage can be blessed, aliens created the universe, that evolution explains everything and that all vaccines are good.
And, you have no right to think for yourself or to worship God, free of their interference.
I think the key is that the "laws"--in the sense of positive law passed by a legislating authority--need to be informed by the authority of a higher law. Once you break that connection you're left with simple power plays--the will of men to rule over others.
In early societies, smaller, more tightly bonded because of their interdependence, having only the possessions they could carry, any male who tried to dominate the others frequently ended up pushed off the ice or simply stoned dead. I think the anthropologists refer to this as self-domestication. See eg Christopher Boehm.
We can tell ourselves that things have moved on, and sure, they have in lots of ways. But life was nasty brutish short etc for a great deal of human history. The elite class and their admin might benefit from being firmly reminded of this aspect of history. They will do, are doing, whatever they can get away with.
Agreed. Laws are like Meaning: without a higher meaning there can be no lesser meanings. If life is has no God-given meaning, then no meanings I try to give my life will mean a damn thing.
This reminded me of a quote from the romantic novelist Taylor Caldwell in "Dear and Glorious Physician": "Law and justice and mercy and kindness are not rooted in men, but in God, and without Him they cannot truly exist, Him who made them. Man is only the receptacle of grace; he is not grace itself.”
She has a lot of great quotes concerning the parallels between the decline of the Roman Empire and modern day America.
I am in my early 60s and I remember the "good old days." Not that everything was perfect; it never was. For most of us, the handshake or your word given were enough, because you had personal beliefs that didn't allow you to break the commandments, and/or, the law.
I went to Catholic schools, grade, high and college from the late 1960s into the 80s. I was taught to love my neighbor as myself, white, black, yellow, red and brown and can honestly say that I believe in civil rights. That is why I get angry about teaching about white fragility, white supremacism, anti-male, anti-Christian. If you think about it, the Klansmen of old are largely now in academia, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), the media. Bull Connor now works for the FBI; instead of turning dogs and firehoses on people, he brings along CNN, threatens to shoot your wife, kids or dogs, and tells you that you are not to speak with your attorney. Then you are prejudged and tried in the press and social media.
If you watch the old Lone Ranger TV show with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, they have many mob scenes. I sit there and think to myself that it's just like today.
I want to clarify a few things, because I am from St. Louis, was in an urban environment and had limited freedom. On the issue of cigarettes, I didn't buy any. When I bought the one stick of butter, I was sent to the store by my mom and when I was withdrawing money from the S & L, I was 18. It was a more trusting time.
My parents were strict in the sense that they had expectations of us and let us know if we disappointed them. It was worse than a spanking, which my dad infrequently did. The worst thing that my dad ever did was when he said to me, "I'm disappointed in you." That hurt more than any spanking.
My parents had eight kids and the boys and girl's bedroom were on the second floor. My folks had the first floor bedroom. Sometimes at night, we kids would get animated after we were in bed for the night. Dad would repeatedly say, "I'm coming up there with the belt." Eventually he did come up and give us a very light smack on the butt. I remember about four or five of us would be crying.
After Dad died, Mom told us that one reason Dad didn't come right up is because he was sitting on the steps enjoying our banter. But, he did have to keep up his fatherly pretense. Mom died in 2022 at age 92.
My dad didn't curse, he was vey gentle-natured, never knew a stranger. He was poor growing up and he did not believe in wasting money. But, he always had enough money to keep us in clothes, (hand-me-downs to the younger kids), put food on the table, send us to Catholic schools, a small vacation within 100 miles of St. Louis on a yearly basis, to buy me a trumpet when I took up that instrument and other things.
Mom knew how to stretch a dollar. When my oldest sister was dating, her boyfriend brought a college student from Nicaragua to Thanksgiving because he didn't have anywhere to go. I was resentful of his presence as he wasn't family. As I matured, it taught me about welcoming the stranger.
Excellent. Opened my eyes to several things, thanks.
Excellent post Mark. Thank you. I believe the Anti-Federalists for the most part observed that the roots of centralization were baked into the new US Constitution. I also believe they didn't think the centralists would be stupid or evil enough to try it. They were wrong. They also probably thought some common sense would prevail after Madison & Jefferson wrote the Resolves. Again they were wrong. Eventually, the centralists (Whigs/Repubs) win outright in 1865. Concerning current trajectory you wrote, "Why are we facing civilizational suicide? Because the West has by and large rejected its civilizational—Christian—roots." It would seem the only solution to the present dilemma would be a return to those roots. Hence, the necessity by many to demonize those roots. On autonomous man, RJ Rushdoony in "Intellectual Schizophrenia" has an excellent analysis on what results from this autonomy.
LOL - Opened the morning’s post at Charles de Gaulle airport at the inane hour of 6:30 am…just passed a phalanx of freshly shaven and heavily armed gendarmes, while over the loudspeaker something about dangerous situations and everyone being watchful “together” - the French love that word “ensemble’!!! I somehow doubt I’ll run into Deneen at Le Relais (news stand) - more like Grisham, CJ Box (if you long for the Grand Tetons!) and Connolly…but yes, a very apt description of our current dystopia!
I can relate to that, ML. I live in Switzerland, a place known for its OCD levels of control. However, whenever I cross over into France, I find it is ten times worse. French radio is continually peppered with "public service" warnings about drinking enough water, wrapping up warmly, getting your combined flu/Covid shots. And yes, the French LOVE being collective and moving as one body en masse. Today I read that the French are the most individualist and conservative people in Europe. I laughed out loud. They are neither.
Exactement!
‘White Supremacists’ is a derogatory term for ‘White Culturists’ - those who recognize Culture, Human Nature, and God, but who are not supremacist at all but rather have the mindset of the Quaker who said to the thief “Sir, I would not harm thee, but thou standest where I’m about to shoot”.
It's alright to be white. There, I said it. Hey, what's that thumping on my front door?
I might call that Christendom Culturists.
Fair enough (like the fairy whose name is Nuff ;-)
While we’re about it, how’s ‘usurpocracy’ for the goat show that ‘democracy’ has become?
Hi Mark,
This reminded me of The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc:
"Both in the world of Hither Asia and in the Graeco-Roman world of the Mediterranean, but especially in the latter, society had fallen, much as our society has today, into a tangle wherein the bulk of men were disappointed and angry and seeking for a solution to the whole group of social strains. There was indebtedness everywhere; the power of money and consequent usury. There was slavery everywhere. Society reposed upon it, as ours reposes upon wage slavery today. There was weariness and discontent with theological debate, which, for all its intensity, had grown out of touch with the masses. There lay upon the freemen, already tortured with debt, a heavy burden of imperial taxation; and there was the irritant of existing central government interfering with men's lives; there was the tyranny of the lawyers and their charges."
“it might be time to replace the lazy ass white working class--as opposed to the hard working chattering class--with "new Americans." Fellow citizens have thus become fungible--at the disposition of the managerial elite.” I see this in the industry in which I work. An ever more heavily federally regulated industry that relies upon the labor of contractors. The population of these contractors are increasingly “replacement Americans.” The shrinking cost of this labor is attractive to the private equity investors paying the bills with the added bonus of their feigned ignorance and plausible deniability of what is actually occurring on the ground. I was commenting just this morning to a fellow coworker about how we may need to learn a second language if we want to continue in this industry. The increasing need to learn a foreign language to remain employed in America is unreal. Privilege indeed.
Oregon is going bilingual, like California. Very different than when we moved here 30 years ago. To welcome the cataract of new Americans who only speak Spanish, so many government jobs must go first to those with Spanish-speaking skills... because how else can government competently deliver its critical government services to the hardworking man who came here seeking a better life for himself and his family by working hard? Do you hate families???
In healthcare, education, legal services, policing... Gotta be bilingual to compete.
Very good Solovyov and Eliot quotes I had not heard before.
Mr. Z reminds us to desire God's peace and God's prosperity.
Mr. Eliot counseling patience.
I agree it's a lot to take in.
Men are social beings who need relationships. God baked that into us. We also need laws. But how many laws?
I agree with your observation that our society functions best when men are guided by an agreed-upon moral code that most of us, if not all, follow. Christianity provides such a framework to allow for the smooth functioning of society. I'm not qualified to speak about Judaism, et al, but believe they do, as well. And, atheists, agnostics, etc., can also subscribe to a moral code and we should be able to live relatively harmoniously, especially if prosperity reigns throughout the land.
As this country walks away from it's Christian or Judeo-Christian heritage, we see the ill effects. Politicians of all stripes are ready to come in and legislate.
When I was younger, I could go to our local savings and loan and withdraw money, generally no ID required. At the mom and pop grocery store, the owner would open a four-pack of butter and sell one stick to me. I could buy cigarettes from a machine at the diner even though I was underage. Before my time, kids could go to the tavern and buy buckets of beer for their dads who were playing corkball. I'm told they sipped from the foam on the way back, but that's another story. The traffic signals flashed at night, say from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM because motorists had the intelligence and discipline to self-govern their behavior. Just in case they didn't, a cop might be sitting in a dark car, ready to pull you over.
Today, the government is interested in all aspects of our life, how much you eat, how much soda you drink, if you smoke, drink alcohol. are a traditionalist Catholic or evangelical Christian, what movies you watch, if you don't think correctly.
But, the rules today mostly apply to the middle class, and, I'd argue, mostly to those who still self-regulate and are intimidated by the government. If you're rich, and well-connected are give to the Left, you can get away with murder, and whatever happened on Epstein's island. If you're poor, you're given money to keep quiet and not cause trouble.
Today we have those Leftists, including the Pope, who believe that mankind is causing climate change, that men and women can become each other, that same-sex marriage can be blessed, aliens created the universe, that evolution explains everything and that all vaccines are good.
And, you have no right to think for yourself or to worship God, free of their interference.
I think the key is that the "laws"--in the sense of positive law passed by a legislating authority--need to be informed by the authority of a higher law. Once you break that connection you're left with simple power plays--the will of men to rule over others.
In early societies, smaller, more tightly bonded because of their interdependence, having only the possessions they could carry, any male who tried to dominate the others frequently ended up pushed off the ice or simply stoned dead. I think the anthropologists refer to this as self-domestication. See eg Christopher Boehm.
We can tell ourselves that things have moved on, and sure, they have in lots of ways. But life was nasty brutish short etc for a great deal of human history. The elite class and their admin might benefit from being firmly reminded of this aspect of history. They will do, are doing, whatever they can get away with.
The essential point!
Agreed. Laws are like Meaning: without a higher meaning there can be no lesser meanings. If life is has no God-given meaning, then no meanings I try to give my life will mean a damn thing.
This reminded me of a quote from the romantic novelist Taylor Caldwell in "Dear and Glorious Physician": "Law and justice and mercy and kindness are not rooted in men, but in God, and without Him they cannot truly exist, Him who made them. Man is only the receptacle of grace; he is not grace itself.”
She has a lot of great quotes concerning the parallels between the decline of the Roman Empire and modern day America.
We also need authorities, religious and civil, with a shepherd's heart, following the example of the Good Shepherd.
I agree.
...and in the meantime there's a Skid Row in many densely populated areas
pour encourager les autres
I am in my early 60s and I remember the "good old days." Not that everything was perfect; it never was. For most of us, the handshake or your word given were enough, because you had personal beliefs that didn't allow you to break the commandments, and/or, the law.
I went to Catholic schools, grade, high and college from the late 1960s into the 80s. I was taught to love my neighbor as myself, white, black, yellow, red and brown and can honestly say that I believe in civil rights. That is why I get angry about teaching about white fragility, white supremacism, anti-male, anti-Christian. If you think about it, the Klansmen of old are largely now in academia, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), the media. Bull Connor now works for the FBI; instead of turning dogs and firehoses on people, he brings along CNN, threatens to shoot your wife, kids or dogs, and tells you that you are not to speak with your attorney. Then you are prejudged and tried in the press and social media.
If you watch the old Lone Ranger TV show with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, they have many mob scenes. I sit there and think to myself that it's just like today.
or the mall in any blue city.
Very sad.
I want to clarify a few things, because I am from St. Louis, was in an urban environment and had limited freedom. On the issue of cigarettes, I didn't buy any. When I bought the one stick of butter, I was sent to the store by my mom and when I was withdrawing money from the S & L, I was 18. It was a more trusting time.
My parents were strict in the sense that they had expectations of us and let us know if we disappointed them. It was worse than a spanking, which my dad infrequently did. The worst thing that my dad ever did was when he said to me, "I'm disappointed in you." That hurt more than any spanking.
My parents had eight kids and the boys and girl's bedroom were on the second floor. My folks had the first floor bedroom. Sometimes at night, we kids would get animated after we were in bed for the night. Dad would repeatedly say, "I'm coming up there with the belt." Eventually he did come up and give us a very light smack on the butt. I remember about four or five of us would be crying.
After Dad died, Mom told us that one reason Dad didn't come right up is because he was sitting on the steps enjoying our banter. But, he did have to keep up his fatherly pretense. Mom died in 2022 at age 92.
My dad didn't curse, he was vey gentle-natured, never knew a stranger. He was poor growing up and he did not believe in wasting money. But, he always had enough money to keep us in clothes, (hand-me-downs to the younger kids), put food on the table, send us to Catholic schools, a small vacation within 100 miles of St. Louis on a yearly basis, to buy me a trumpet when I took up that instrument and other things.
Mom knew how to stretch a dollar. When my oldest sister was dating, her boyfriend brought a college student from Nicaragua to Thanksgiving because he didn't have anywhere to go. I was resentful of his presence as he wasn't family. As I matured, it taught me about welcoming the stranger.
I was very fortunate to have the parents I had.