Always look on the light side of life…
Well, I'm still poking around all by myself here at RicMinInform, waiting for a memo from La Serenissima (Claire’s currently favored sobriquet). So far all that’s shown up was a crate of ammo. I gotta say these Bulgarian AKs are pretty good. I'm almost down to MOA shooting. And I know people complain about 5.56’s hitting power, but it’s putting some serious hurt into these Aon chairs that Ricochet seems to have bought in bulk off eBay (some of them still say “Pets.com” or “boo.com” or "hotbot.com”).
So, I’ve had a fair amount of staring-out-the-window time, and I've been thinking about the general civilizational despair that seems to grip a lot of people. Me included, from time to time. So, let's all cheer each other up.
Who or what gives you hope that our culture, country, whatever, will be thriving in a couple generations? I'm looking for stuff we can all examine and discuss, so while “my kids” might be your answer, frankly we can't judge if it's exactly those little yard apes who are going to bring the whole thing crashing down, unless you have us all over to your house. And you don't want us coming over. Trust me.
If I had to suggest someone, I'd say the Pope—in a purely secular sense. He seems to see the Catholic Church as a pillar of civilization and is doing his best to broaden and strengthen it at the same time. So it's nice to see that kind of optimism.
Who you got?
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Jun '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
The immigrants - the gathering in of millions of people who understand at the core of their being that the liberty and opportunity that America offers can't be found anywhere else.
Edited on Sep 30, 2010 at 4:18pmMay '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Eastern Europe (not, y'know, the Old Europe), India and Australia. All up and comers, all pro-America. Two of which are part of the Anglosphere. May Heav'n bless our sails and cannon. As my great uncle (Imperius Excelsior Smith) would say, in between rhino hunts and war correspondence as a Boer imbed "bally wig-wogs are scuppering our binnacle". We've latinized it and made it part of the crest.
The Anglosphere trades leaders every once and a while, but it's still the anchor of world stability. And we've won some long-standing cred in the former Soviet Bloc.
PS, Not only seen Eric Idle in concert, but also Colonel Klink. I dare anyone to beat that.
Edited on Sep 30, 2010 at 4:31pmSep '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
I like the Pope. The Pope likes cats.
May '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
I am continually impressed by the men and women serving our country in the armed forces, and by the way that many, perhaps most Americans respect and honor them. I'm grateful to the families that raised these young Americans and offered them into service. All this is evidence that there remain some very good places filled with very good people out there. So I am confident that we will find a way through.
The world may well go to pieces in the near future, but this will still be the best d*mn piece of it to live in.
Jul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
The difference between Despair
And Fear—is like the One
Between the instant of a Wreck
And when the Wreck has been—
The Mind is smooth—no Motion—
Contented as the Eye
Upon the Forehead of a Bust—
That knows—it cannot see—
May '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
I'm heartened by memories of the months following 9-11. That patriotism and charity just has to be awakened sometimes.
And I'm heartened by folks like Steyn, Limbaugh, and Kudlow, who can speak with unmovable determination without taking themselves too seriously. If Scotland had warrior poets, we have warrior jokers.
Jul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Bill Walsh:
Who or what gives you hope that our culture, country, whatever, will be thriving in a couple generations?
The impatience and general incompetence of the savages who would destroy it.
Sure, there are beasts brilliant and vicious, but the forces they marshall are often mobs, with all the attendant flaws.
And Fear—is like the One
Between the instant of a Wreck
And when the Wreck has been—
The Mind is smooth—no Motion—
Contented as the Eye
Upon the Forehead of a Bust—
That knows—it cannot see— · Sep 30 at 5:08pm
I like it, but I think Emily oversells despair (in a temporal, non-religious sense) because she discounts stubborness. Paralysis doesn't necessarily ensue.
Why fight if failure is inevitable? Because it's right, and (expletive not posted) 'em anyway. That's why.
Edited on Sep 30, 2010 at 6:50pmJul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Does it have to be a living person?
If so, I go with Alan Grayson, for his irrepresible perkiness.
Otherwise, Jeffrey Dahmer, who really knew how to welcome a stranger into his home.
Edited on Sep 30, 2010 at 10:05pmJul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Palaeologus
And Fear—is like the One
Between the instant of a Wreck
And when the Wreck has been—
The Mind is smooth—no Motion—
Contented as the Eye
Upon the Forehead of a Bust—
That knows—it cannot see— · Sep 30 at 5:08pm
I like it, but I think Emily oversells despair (in a temporal, non-religious sense) because she discounts stubborness. Paralysis doesn't necessarily ensue.
It does if you're a squishy RINO hellbent on temporarily arresting our slouch toward Gomorrah. I think what some folks do not comprehend and people like Mark Steyn and Conrad Black have pointed out is that this is not the end of the beginning, but rather the beginning of the end.
Obamacare is not just a catchphrase to mock the leader of the vanishing Free World. It fundamentally changes the relationship between State and Citizen.
And it will not be undone.
Sep '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
The fracturing of entertainment and media and popular culture is encouraging. The publishing industry is dying, the amount of television channels are growing exponentialy, and media resources are more widely disseminated due to lower costs. Competition is weakening the gatekeepers who are overwhelmingly biased to the left and hopefully political correctness will die. Maybe then we won't have new community reinvestment acts and man-caused disasters.
Jul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Michael Tee
It does if you're a squishy RINO hellbent on temporarily arresting our slouch toward Gomorrah.
I have no more desire to "slouch toward Gomorrah" than do you. I prefer mitigating disasters to accelerating them. Don't you?
Michael Tee
I think what some folks do not comprehend and people like Mark Steyn and Conrad Black have pointed out is that this is not the end of the beginning, but rather the beginning of the end.
Obamacare is not just a catchphrase to mock the leader of the vanishing Free World. It fundamentally changes the relationship between State and Citizen.
And it will not be undone. · Sep 30 at 7:33pm
You apparently agree with me. Hopefully we're wrong.
Edited on Sep 30, 2010 at 9:28pmMay '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Palaeologus
And Fear—is like the One
Between the instant of a Wreck
And when the Wreck has been—
The Mind is smooth—no Motion—
Contented as the Eye
Upon the Forehead of a Bust—
That knows—it cannot see— · Sep 30 at 5:08pm
...(in a temporal, non-religious sense)
Fear is good and our reaction to fear is good. The stress response sharpens the senses, speeds the reflexes and focuses the brain. It's why we respond as individuals, and as a population, to threats to our existence and humans invariably respond better in stressful situations than they do in a stupor. You're faster, you're smarter, you're quicker. In many ways it is an apt analogy for the situation we are in right now. The Democrats, liberals and progressives are in a stupor and they won't respond well no matter what the threat. The Conservatives' and Republicans' fear for the country causes their adrenalin to flow. The stress response is active, their reactions in response to that will be more effective and focused and possibly violent. Fight or flight. And nobody's running away.
May '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Try 7.62 x 51. It's more accurate and better stopping power. Although, the chairs don't seem very threatening.
Aug '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
I find it encouraging to see a growing immunity among the voters to various conceits of the left, such as calling ordinary people bigots, decrying normalcy as extremism, redefining the rescinding of a tax increase as a tax cut, and insisting the sky is falling when it is clearly still up there.
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
I've got Churchill's assurance that Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing, after they've exhausted all other possibilities. He's been right so far, hasn't he?
Jul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
No.
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Huh. I hadn't thought of that argument. Think I should bag it and move to Costa Rica? I reckon that's pretty far away from the nuclear fallout.
Jul '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
"An American Life" by President Reagan.
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
If all else fails, this is my fallback position.
Sep '10
Re: Always look on the light side of life…
Andrea Ryan
Try 7.62 x 51. It's more accurate and better stopping power. Although, the chairs don't seem very threatening. · Sep 30 at 9:00pm
Barrett M107 .50 cal sniper rifle, for the discerning linguist.