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Robert Fausti's avatar

Remember when we were kids? The Ruskies were the "Godless Communists" and we were the Christian Nation protecting of 2000 years of Western Civilization and its sacred values.

And Now?

The world is turned upside down. >>>>> and you are now a stranger in a strange land.

or, to help provoke thoughtful consideration.... ask yourself a question.......

"What does it mean to be considered normal in an insane and perverted society?"

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ML's avatar

So true! To your last question: what does it mean that I’ve despaired of the woke politicized clergy of the Anglican church (fill in the blank) I grew up in (apparently “all creatures great and small” wasn’t inclusive enough!). OTOH, Putin’s words echo from some long lost place of belief, commitment, meaning and divine purpose…the divide is staggering.

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St's avatar

Rejection of Christianity is what gave rise to colonialism. "great thinkers" from around 1500 in the west ditched Christianity and virtue ethics for zero sum game philosophers like Machiavelli, Hobbs, Mandleville, Adam Smith, Malthus, Locke, Darwin etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWFaKRS8iic&t=1s

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Jun 24, 2024
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dissonant1's avatar

Agree completely with your last paragraph. Just to note, many have also pointed to Louis XI as a prototypical "Prince" for Machiavelli's observations. Although I am no expert I have studied that period of European history and tend to agree with that assessment. As a side note, Isabella has historically been seen as the "brains" (the strategic thinker) and "brawn" (more courageous one) of the Spanish Catholic monarchs.

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ML's avatar

Louis XI, the “Universal Spider.” He is one of France’s most cunning rulers. His father, Charles VII, imprisoned him at Loches as a boy and then exiled him to the Dauphiné. Coming to the throne he knew something about power relations and set about unifying the fractious royal families - Armagnacs and Bourgignons - which later led to the English being kicked out of Calais many years later. A professor from Jayhawk land, Paul Murray Kendall, has written the most fascinating biography! Link below. Also on this period, the great Dukes of Burgundy (Dijon), great rival to the Valois, Joseph Calmette’s unbeatable “Les Armagnacs et les Bourgigons.”

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dissonant1's avatar

ML, I am very impressed (but not entirely surprised ;) at your familiarity with and level of knowledge about Louis XI! Thanks for the links. A lot has been written about him in the last number of years as more original source materials have come to light. That is also a testament to the growing recognition of his importance. Of course, the most important source has always been this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Philippe-Commines-Lord-Argenton/dp/1015682073/ref=sr_1_29?s=books&sr=1-29

When I was a child I happened to read a romanticized, idealized biography of Louis XI: (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3024402-the-spider-king). That book helped kindle my interest in European history. So when I saw the de Commines book in my high school library I jumped on it. Unfortunately it was written in Middle French, so it took awhile for me to navigate it. Alas in the end I think I did better reading Middle French than I ever did with the modern version :) - but not particularly well with either.

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ML's avatar

Intriguing! You had an impressive school library! Perhaps we have a modern-day version of Louis XI, played by Putin, and Commynes, by Lavrov! In any case, he is out-spinning the West in statecraft - military and diplomatically.

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dissonant1's avatar

Maybe not quite so intriguing. On reflection, I think it HAD to be the local college library, which was about 1/2 mile from our house. Why would a high school library ever have a book like that? Well, I plead the mists of time and an addled brain after all of these years... I truly don't remember.

I can certainly see Putin as a modern day "Spider King." He certainly has many of the same skills and perhaps most importantly the same passionate goals: to unify, strengthen, and preserve his country.

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LaMaisonGelat's avatar

The three Abrahamic religions are essentially the same... Born from the Sun and Ashkenaton and Nefertiti... Three way fun night... Or day... I'm up for returning to polytheism and the Gods of small things, personally... I am currently praying to the God of Land Rover Discovery and may he/she/it/they bless my reparations.... Organising religion or cats, Bastet knew best.

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Steel's avatar

That the three are essentially the same is something I've been pondering myself lately. Don't tell the Jews their religion is foreign/Egyptian though; they'll get angry. To be fair, monotheism might be something the Hebrews got from Egypt but the bulk of the Hebrew faith is probably their own as far as I can tell. Some say there's a substantial Babylonian/Persian influence in the Talmudic ideas; I couldn't say. I always wonder if the retaining of the Old Testament by Christians means they are just a Jewish sect. O_o

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

LOL. I pray that my 2003 Nissan Sentra gets me to work and back each day.

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