Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Jack Is Winning
When I was in elementary school, I was in a program called “TAG” for kids that were “Talented And Gifted.” We had class together one day a week at the high school, and our sainted teacher did her best to guide and challenge 12 very, very active minds. Not so easy. My 6th grade year we read Lord of the Flies, a great book that I didn’t like at all. The point of the story, of course, is the conflict between Ralph and Jack, who represent peaceful law-based democracy (Ralph) and violent mob-based tyranny (Jack). An interesting plot device, naturally. But the part that bothered me was how the boys, who were about my age at the time (around 12) became so merciless and violent when left to their own devices. It bothered me because I knew it was real.
Our teacher asked the class if we were surprised that the boys descended from civilization to a vicious mob in only 15 months on an island. I answered that I was surprised by that, because if that had been me and my friends, it would have taken a few days. The class laughed. The teacher looked at me incredulously. I paused, then said, “Maybe a week, tops.” The teacher was probably hoping that I was joking. But I wasn’t. I was a little boy, as were most of my friends. I knew. Which is why I didn’t like the book. I started wondering what, exactly, was separating us little boys from ruthless violence, and I wasn’t sure. Which bothered me.
I’m still not sure what that thing is. Mothers and fathers, together? Church? Teachers who understand the differences between boys and girls? Sports, with good coaches? Hunting and fishing? Learning responsibility from chores, etc.? What exactly is it that molds naturally violent young boys into mature, responsible men?
Again, I’m not sure what that is, but whatever it is, it would appear to be missing in our cities today. I’m reminded of the characters from The Lord of the Flies – Jack would be an enthusiastic member of Antifa, and Ralph would be hiding, just like he was in the book, waiting for all this to be over.
And even more interestingly, Jack would vote Democrat, and Ralph would vote Republican. Obviously.
I don’t see how anyone could possibly argue that point. You don’t even have to speculate. It’s not hypothetical. How many Antifa members vote Republican?
Which tells you everything you need to know about America’s two largest political parties.
The ongoing race riots bother me a great deal. We are not all that far from open war in some of our cities. What happens then? The boys in Lord of the Flies were rescued by a passing ship, just before Ralph was killed. I wouldn’t count on that, in our case.
Peaceful democracy is not that natural state of humans. We are never all that far from open war. We are never all that far from allowing our natural violent tendencies to gain the upper hand.
I watch the news, and I think, “Jack is winning.” And that bothers me.
Published in General
Jonestown, Guiana. Jim Jones takes the role of Jack.
I found this post very interesting. I gave it some thought. It seems to me that had I been on the island at that age I would have gone as Ralph did. It isn’t an unwillingness to use violence. I lived my entire youth in a two parent household and never saw my father ever display anything resembling violence towards anyone. I have avoided violence when possible, but I have never been afraid to use it when it occurred to me that it was needed. I think that the determining factor as to which direction you go is where you stand on the alphabet scale of leadership. My father was an alpha. I am an alpha. In seeming contradition, I have almost no desire to seek out leadership positions, but at the same time, I have absolutely no desire to be told how to act or what to do. I tend to respect those in the lead, but do not ever assume that they have all of the answers or that their answers are necessarily correct. When in the lead I have always attempted to lead by example. I believe that these characteristics are innate. In one form or the other they have always been a part of my personality.
On the other hand, I look at those people rioting in the streets. My impression is that they are, for the most part, betas or lower. They are simply responding to a lack of structure in their environment. They pushing against nonexistent walls trying to find limits which they do not have within themselves. They want structure. They are screaming for it, terrified that it no longer exists.
In my years of teaching I always maintained a very structured classroom with very well defined limits. As a consequence, my students who in their previous schooling had been literal hellions were, in fact, happy, relaxed and safe. Adminstrators who came to my classroom said that they had never seen a classroom that felt as safe. My goal had always been to provide that sense of safety. Interestingly, in all the years I taught, I never had a student revolt against the system once they had tested the limits.
Now, at all levels of education we have students being allowed to do as they please, assess their professors in annual evaluations, demand changes in curriculum, demand “safe spaces” even though they have no idea what it is they actually want. They push and the authority figures recoil in fear. What would you expect in a circumstance like that other than what we are seeing? Until they meet a wall of resistance that does not fail they will continue to push outward beyond the bounds of civility. They have no father to reprimand them, no god or religion on which to base a system personal responsibility. They are children on an island left unsupervised resorting to the only things they think will get them what they need.
Sorry. Could not resist. :-) :-)
Laughing but agreeing wholeheartedly with your point about Lord of the Flies. :-) :-)
Touché. But Moby Dick is boring.
I understand that in the Hawaiian traditional religion, there is a saying: “A monster cannot survive in an atmosphere of gratitude.”
Extendible to: “The absence of gratitude breeds monsters.”
I don’t get it. Why would anyone be grateful for monsters?
I think the idea is not that you’re grateful for the monster, rather, that you’re grateful for a lot of other things, and the monster can’t stand that.
Perhaps that Lord Of The Flies involved ALL BOYS explains a lot of it too.
But so did the real-life island-stranding experience that I and a couple others linked above.
It’s interesting that a historian thinks this provides a justification for a universal basic income, even though there is no evidence that the boys on the island adopted a universal basic income.
Indeed, we have a historical case study in UBI…it was called the Plymouth Colony.
What is UBI?
Universal basic income.
The Plymouth Colony is one of my stand-out examples of well-intended Christian community and the failings inherent in the human condition. It’s a lesson never needing to be repeated.
But… socialism now, from the ignorant (NTTAWWT).
Back in the seventies we debated this. It was then called Guaranteed Annual Income, a more straightforward and understandable designation, I think.
More honest, and hence rejected by the left.
My son’s own experience in a “talented and gifted” school program (called GATE) somewhat counters the premise of “Lord of the Flies.” The program in which my son participated brought together once every two weeks students from several schools to one location. At recess the boys quickly realized that each school from which they came had its own unique “rules” for games like handball or tetherball. The boys asked the teachers what the “GATE rules” were, and the teachers told them there were none. So the boys figured out among themselves a set of rules to use at the GATE location.
Names change to protect the guilty.
Too Gai for the times.
Wasn’t Too Gais a delicatessen in Jupiter?
Too Gais Goo Pan?
Or something…
Something like that. Oh wait, it was TooJays deli. How could I get that wrong.
I don’t think the author was at all trying to imply that Ralph and Jack’s experience was inevitable. It was an allegory for the way mankind has often, but not at all times, devolved into war. For those who cite the real boys who were stranded on an island, I’m pretty confident that had they stayed there (assuming some were female) for a few generations then a war would certainly have broken out at one point or another. That’s what we do, we are humans. No one has found a solution yet. That’s why it is critical to be strong and it’s critical to have civilization, to forestall that result as long as possible. It’s why our nation is so great (recent events not withstanding) because we protect individual rights and freedoms and that righteous policy also acts to make us strong.
Lord of the Flies is not about boys on an island. Lord of the Flies is about what happens to a society that no longer observes civilized rules.