And this is not a doomer post, er, well, NOT intended to be a doomer post. Just extrapolation from inputs and looking for a common denominator to things. I know the likelihood of a ‘this one wierd thing’ is far fetched, but what the hell, take the dive.
One thing I am seeing more frequently, every country where things are getting squishy and dirty: loss of purpose/spiritual stagnation. People don’t feel a purpose anymore. Especially in the western world that is so commerce driven. Chasing the next big thing, or the newest upgrade. Our world has become Planned Obselesence to the rythm of months. It started at years way back when and now boils down to a subscription service. “You will own nothing and be happy” is already here for a large percentage of the world. This boils down to a society that sees ‘property’ as intangible (intellectual property rights but can’t seem to grasp owning thier own home.)
Loss of connection to real world tangibles leads to another loss of connection. When we lose sight of being “adults of the realm” we start losing perspective of values. When a people lose the foundations of belief, they start accepting anything as ‘a value’. Those two aspects lead to electing leaders of no substance beyond being able to sell themselves as “the Best”. We end up with Narccissists and psychopaths leading us on whatever wild dream they desire and no remorse for not listening to their constituents. Kings in past tended to die when they stopped listening to thier people. The ‘Leaders’ of this age tend to retire with benefits and a speaking circuit with 5figure payouts for a one-nighter.
And then there are all of the points mentioned in that video I embedded first thing this am. The first comment in its spread “When competence is not rewarded and incompetence is not punished, there is no motivation.” Societies don’t get murdered, they commit suicide.
and Sir Glubbs rational conclusions in “Fate of Empires” riding along the 250 year windows. Even Rome was functional long past its 250 year window, much like Great Britain is still functional, but thier power, prestige, IDENTITY: dead or dying. The fact that the City of Rome is still alive and well, but (other than the power of the Church) has very little influence over world events. Even the Roman Catholic Church has lost power over time (and that opens up other thinks that religion and influence may work on different ratios, but with similar results.)
And we have further fear of Self0-Induced destruction bearing down on us. The mid-late 1900’s, we had “Cold War” and nuclear annihilation over our heads. Then the Cold war Collapsed and the PTB needed something to keep us fearful. Y2K, GWoT, The Drug Cartels, etc etc. Now we have reason to believe its AI takeover upcoming. But the real culprit is our Commercially Driven Latest and Greatest Addiction. The Corporate types See the race to bigger and better profits. The Governments see this as the next arms race (and not wrong, though wrong-headed) and the Castles are being built in the air on promises of rose gardens and Universal Basic Income as some sort of Salve to calm the masses.
Providing for someone does not FILL their soul. It breeds contempt, envy, and depression. Real humans have need of doing, and anything less lends to atrophy of the spirit and mind. It doesn’t matter if a person finds great comfort in weaving a basket or Building a building, its the nature of the DOING that counts. Some people self-educate, write blogs, books, build houses, repair cars, build primitive boats: its the DOING that counts.
The real problem with replacing a populace with alternative ‘Doers’, be they immigrants to work at lower rates, or replacing people with AI powered robotics, is the GAP that is created. It creates a vacuum that further aggravates the loss of Purpose a Consumer Society suffers. Maybe the people of our society aren’t realizing the vacuum I mentioned, but they do feel it, even if they can’t articulate what the problem is. They do know the direction if approaches from, even if they can’t finger exactly how the problem manifests.
That little video asked a question: “How many people can articulate exactly what defines their society?” I usually list this,,,
Reading that sign, instituting an UBI would be the coffin nail of this country. I don’t think there would or COULD be a replacement of such for centuries to come. The Great Experiment needs a reboot, and it MUST come from inside. There is no one coming to save us. We may not be the superpower of the world anymore, or ever again, but we SHOULD be the shining beacon on the hill against the fogs of Communism and Stagnation. Sovereignty needs to become fashionable again. Welfare support must become a personal choice again, not mandated taxation from the masses. Those in need of Welfare should be supported only so long that they can stand on their own again.
This country has an illness, infected by mal-thinking over many decades. We must teach the young what that Sign above means. And its quite obvious that those we assigned that job to, have no desire to fulfill that role. It’s on us and always has been.
The above, boils down to where my dis-satisfaction arose over the last week. I have been building something, that didn’t align well with my ‘purpose’. My purpose has been, has always been “Teach”. That purpose is why this blog never quits, never dies, just changes venue if needed and keeps plugging. I may not always have something relevant to say, but I try to teach something to anyone who will listen, even if by vicarious entertainments watching me fail at something. I learn as much as I teach, and that is something any teacher worth thier salt will tell you as well. We never stop learning, even when we aren’t trying to learn. Its hardwired into us. I just take it a step further and keep my curiousity alive. (be the kat!) Many of the most vibrant people of the world, some I have met, others only through video or interview; almost all of them have an insatiable curiousity. Those only interested in power or prestige tend to bore me or even irritate me. Those chasing the almighty dollar for the almighty dollar or power, irritate me. Those chasing the same as a tool to further thier curiousity can gain my admiration.
I went a different tact, I chose the SEEK over wealth or prestige. I know my limits: I’m not innovative like Musk is, I am a parrot in many ways. But I occasionally have the epiphany and connect two discordant dots and come up with solutions.
When it comes to the directions this country is headed in, or down as the case may be, I haven’t any dots to work with other than the Smallest Minority. The individuals of like-mind need to drive forward and teach as well as we can to whomever will listen. Get on our soapboxes and scream, (COHERENTLY PLEASE), and hope the message travels further than ‘just us’. I know I am not alone out here, its just my chosen venue has a decreasing return as the world shifts more to spoken word and video. And I have little desire to evolve any further into those realms. (note: I may (!) start doing the podcast once a week again. BUT NO MORE THAN,,, its too taxing on my creative off the cuff worded banter y’all have grown accustomed to.)
Maybe we need to ‘create a religion’ around the ideas of Self-Sovereignty, Independence, and Personal Accountability,,, Sarah Hoyt may be on to something with that,,,
Bizzy day tomorrow, outbuilding arrival, Doc visit for Da, still need to finish a gate I started last week (crew jobs kept interfereing), and somewhere in there, put together some ideas that align with my purpose in this world,,,
Love y’all Stay curious
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