I Ask for 9 Minutes of Your Time

 

A few days ago I appeared on Ricochet’s Land of Confusion podcast (link below). We had a good time talking about all sorts of stuff. About halfway through the show, Don asked me about political yard signs in my area, which for some reason elicited from me a nine-minute discussion of the evolution of leftist movements in America over the past 100 years.

Don liked it and suggested that we transcribe it. Because it was off the cuff, it wasn’t as well organized as I would have liked, so I sat down today to write an article based on my answer to Don’s question.

I talked about sort of a lot of stuff, and it would be a pretty big job to pull all that together in a concise and well-organized essay. To heck with it. But I would be very interested in your opinion on my assertions, which are:

  • This election is not as important as we think.
  • Democrats are not being vicious because they don’t like Donald Trump.
  • Biden is irrelevant in this election, but to a certain degree, so is Donald Trump.
  • Regardless of how this election turns out, there have been structural changes in our society and our government that make ‘saving the American republic’ impossible.
  • The left recognized that leftism didn’t fit with American government or culture, so they sought out to remake both. And they have done so successfully.
  • We need to focus on what comes next, because America has been irreversibly changed into something different than what it once was.

So I ask for nine minutes of your time. Go to the link below, and go to just before the 30-minute mark. Watch the next nine minutes, and see if you agree with me. I hope you don’t, and I hope your disagreements make sense because my conclusions are concerning to me. As I often say, I really hope I’m wrong about this.

Thanks in advance for your input.

.

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  1. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    Agree with all of this except that it won’t matter even if Trump wins significantly.  If he doesn’t then it’ll be chaotic for a while and where it ends depends on too much to get my mind around.  But if Trump wins and holds the Senate, there is hope to turn things around if we can use the closed schools to change them radically.   Schools are key.  The economy will do well with a Trump win.  The country will do well internationally as well, so the key is radical change of our schools. 

    • #61
  2. Chuck Coolidge
    Chuck
    @Chuckles

    What happened to not conceding “under any circumstances”?

    • #62
  3. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    I Walton (View Comment):

    Agree with all of this except that it won’t matter even if Trump wins significantly. If he doesn’t then it’ll be chaotic for a while and where it ends depends on too much to get my mind around. But if Trump wins and holds the Senate, there is hope to turn things around if we can use the closed schools to change them radically. Schools are key. The economy will do well with a Trump win. The country will do well internationally as well, so the key is radical change of our schools.

    Very fair point.  I hope you’re right.

    • #63
  4. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    The left has successfully diminished self-reliance as an important value across the entire western world. That is the essential transformation.

    The moral basis for owning firearms, for example, is that one has a moral obligation to defend, family, property, neighbors and community and that responsibility is replaced by the state only when the threat is in the form of an invasion that requires a formal military response and even then then could be a role for militia. Taking away guns to mandate complete dependence on government is not just a transfer of power but a moral diminishment.

    That moral diminishment from similar encroachments to provide security is the fundamental ongoing change.

    The old paradigms of self-reliance were intertwined with family. A woman dependent on her husband’s protection and provision was invested in his well-being and that of the community and had a moral claim his personal loyalty.

    When I hear young women talk about “self-reliance” is it more about (a) spending power to construct a lifestyle and acquire whatever was required to effect it and (b) a relationship in which neither party is highly dependent on the other materially. She envisions a government that should be like the staff at her condo. In addition to security, utilities and dealing with problems beyond her ken or interest (clogged sink, bad wiring, roaches) government should provide guarantees of income, lifestyle and health. Her education should also provide a secure status. The idea that any of this diminishes her freedom simply does not compute (even though many condo boards are Exhibit A for Government by Karens.)

    She will only vote against the party that speaks in terms of guarantees when they betray her trust—hurt her economically, tax too high to allow her buy a better car or a better vacation package, or let crime and decay invade her neighborhood. Otherwise, she is theirs.

    Conservatives are hampered by the fact that the market does everything better except security. East Germans looked forward to a higher standard of living after German reunification but were horrified to learn that they could actually be fired from a job. Private health delivers higher quality faster but does not guarantee universal access and access can be lost. Economic freedom in an unfettered market economy is better for capable, motivated people who don’t mind disk but a land of terror for those who fear risk of any kind even though that market economy always provides widespread benefits.

    Whether and how liberty survives depends on whether there is an answer for or substantial reduction in the appetite for guarantees. Whether the presumption of property rights, freedom of contract and limited government can survive depends on whether there can be a viable public-private solution to healthcare and income security otherwise a lot of highly ‘educated’ young women and the men who think like them will soon turn us into New Zealand only worse.

     

    Brilliant points.

    • #64
  5. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    iWe (View Comment):

    I disagree, mostly because I don’t think anything is inevitable as long as free actors are willing to take risks. The trend lines are as you state them, but we are now in a period with significant White Swan events which do not seem to be diminishing. That means predicting the future is even harder than usual.

     

    Very good point.

    • #65
  6. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    I agree with everyone, m’kay? Donald Trump is most likely just a stop-gap. The best we can hope for is a revival of Christianity, and Jews should not be afraid of this since American Christians have proven to be the best friends of Jews over time. 

    Why is the Christian religion so critical to social cohesion? Because it is a school of virtue — kindness, forgiveness, humility, and most important — self-sacrifice for the good of the other. Also known as “love.” All of this is taught and learned at the feet of Christ. 

    Now, I’m trying very hard to keep my eyes on Christ and not sink into the waters of the current chaos. But, I also take seriously the admonition to be both gentle as a dove and clever as a serpent. And I’m trying to figure out if God has put me and my little family in potential danger should things go south so that He may be glorified, or if He wants me to remove my family to a safe retreat. Where that would be is still very much unknown to me, but maybe rural Ohio in the bosom of my first family. 

    Lord have mercy on us.

    • #66
  7. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I agree with everyone, m’kay? Donald Trump is most likely just a stop-gap. The best we can hope for is a revival of Christianity, and Jews should not be afraid of this since American Christians have proven to be the best friends of Jews over time.

    Why is the Christian religion so critical to social cohesion? Because it is a school of virtue — kindness, forgiveness, humility, and most important — self-sacrifice for the good of the other. Also known as “love.” All of this is taught and learned at the feet of Christ.

    Now, I’m trying very hard to keep my eyes on Christ and not sink into the waters of the current chaos. But, I also take seriously the admonition to be both gentle as a dove and clever as a serpent. And I’m trying to figure out if God has put me and my little family in potential danger should things go south so that He may be glorified, or if He wants me to remove my family to a safe retreat. Where that would be is still very much unknown to me, but maybe rural Ohio in the bosom of my first family.

    Lord have mercy on us.

    All Western Civ goes back to either Athens or Jerusalem. 

    • #67
  8. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I agree with everyone, m’kay? Donald Trump is most likely just a stop-gap. The best we can hope for is a revival of Christianity, and Jews should not be afraid of this since American Christians have proven to be the best friends of Jews over time.

    Why is the Christian religion so critical to social cohesion? Because it is a school of virtue — kindness, forgiveness, humility, and most important — self-sacrifice for the good of the other. Also known as “love.” All of this is taught and learned at the feet of Christ.

    Now, I’m trying very hard to keep my eyes on Christ and not sink into the waters of the current chaos. But, I also take seriously the admonition to be both gentle as a dove and clever as a serpent. And I’m trying to figure out if God has put me and my little family in potential danger should things go south so that He may be glorified, or if He wants me to remove my family to a safe retreat. Where that would be is still very much unknown to me, but maybe rural Ohio in the bosom of my first family.

    Lord have mercy on us.

    All Western Civ goes back to either Athens or Jerusalem.

    And non-Catholics seem to consistently leave out Rome. 

    • #68
  9. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I agree with everyone, m’kay? Donald Trump is most likely just a stop-gap. The best we can hope for is a revival of Christianity, and Jews should not be afraid of this since American Christians have proven to be the best friends of Jews over time.

    Why is the Christian religion so critical to social cohesion? Because it is a school of virtue — kindness, forgiveness, humility, and most important — self-sacrifice for the good of the other. Also known as “love.” All of this is taught and learned at the feet of Christ.

    Now, I’m trying very hard to keep my eyes on Christ and not sink into the waters of the current chaos. But, I also take seriously the admonition to be both gentle as a dove and clever as a serpent. And I’m trying to figure out if God has put me and my little family in potential danger should things go south so that He may be glorified, or if He wants me to remove my family to a safe retreat. Where that would be is still very much unknown to me, but maybe rural Ohio in the bosom of my first family.

    Lord have mercy on us.

    All Western Civ goes back to either Athens or Jerusalem.

    And non-Catholics seem to consistently leave out Rome.

    Well Rome is only important because it was based on Jesus who died in Jerusalem. Ergo, Jerusalem > Rome.

    • #69
  10. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I agree with everyone, m’kay? Donald Trump is most likely just a stop-gap. The best we can hope for is a revival of Christianity, and Jews should not be afraid of this since American Christians have proven to be the best friends of Jews over time.

    Why is the Christian religion so critical to social cohesion? Because it is a school of virtue — kindness, forgiveness, humility, and most important — self-sacrifice for the good of the other. Also known as “love.” All of this is taught and learned at the feet of Christ.

    Now, I’m trying very hard to keep my eyes on Christ and not sink into the waters of the current chaos. But, I also take seriously the admonition to be both gentle as a dove and clever as a serpent. And I’m trying to figure out if God has put me and my little family in potential danger should things go south so that He may be glorified, or if He wants me to remove my family to a safe retreat. Where that would be is still very much unknown to me, but maybe rural Ohio in the bosom of my first family.

    Lord have mercy on us.

    All Western Civ goes back to either Athens or Jerusalem.

    And non-Catholics seem to consistently leave out Rome.

    Well Rome is only important because it was based on Jesus who died in Jerusalem. Ergo, Jerusalem > Rome.

    Jesus came to establish a church as a “sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men” (CCC 780). That church became headquartered in Rome in the apostolic age and was the seat of Christendom for many, many centuries (and still is for Catholics). Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome. Western Civ rests on a three-legged stool. To deny it is to deny the church established by Christ. 

    • #70
  11. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    To deny it is to deny the church established by Christ. 

    I can do that easily. So can many other non-Catholics. My main opposition to Catholicism is not that it was established by St. Simon-Peter but that of all the human institutions that man has ever created, the Catholic Church is somehow unique in that human corruption isn’t able to destroy it. Even if St. Simon-Peter founded the early that then became the Church of Rome, I don’t see how that makes the Catholics over a thousand years later more legitimate than other Churches who attempt to become the body of Christ. But this all entirely Academic to me. 

    • #71
  12. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    To deny it is to deny the church established by Christ.

    I can do that easily. So can many other non-Catholics. My main opposition to Catholicism is not that it was established by St. Simon-Peter but that of all the human institutions that man has ever created, the Catholic Church is somehow unique in that human corruption isn’t able to destroy it. Even if St. Simon-Peter founded the early that then became the Church of Rome, I don’t see how that makes the Catholics over a thousand years later more legitimate than other Churches who attempt to become the body of Christ. But this all entirely Academic to me.

    Right. But, the academic in you should be able to acknowledge, without prejudice, that the seat of Christendom and, therefore, Western Civilization was Rome, in addition to Athens and Jerusalem. It’s kind of a huge lacuna when speaking of the origins of the West to leave it out.

    • #72
  13. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    To deny it is to deny the church established by Christ.

    I can do that easily. So can many other non-Catholics. My main opposition to Catholicism is not that it was established by St. Simon-Peter but that of all the human institutions that man has ever created, the Catholic Church is somehow unique in that human corruption isn’t able to destroy it. Even if St. Simon-Peter founded the early that then became the Church of Rome, I don’t see how that makes the Catholics over a thousand years later more legitimate than other Churches who attempt to become the body of Christ. But this all entirely Academic to me.

    Right. But, the academic in you should be able to acknowledge, without prejudice, that the seat of Christendom and, therefore, Western Civilization was Rome, in addition to Athens and Jerusalem. It’s kind of a huge lacuna when speaking of the origins of the West to leave it out.

    Absolutely. I have a pet theory that one of the greatest contributors to science in all of human history was the Catholic Church. In my experience, human are so vulgar superstitious and irrational that it’s a miracle* there was ever any scientific revolution in the first place. By taking the logic of Athens and saying that G-d wanted us to use our reason to better understand his creation and through his creation his glory the Church secured logic. Humans are more interested in religion than science so that was a great deal.

    To this day I am confused on why libertarian atheists and the new atheists are so hateful to anything faithful. Wouldn’t ten minutes of talking to your crazy Aunt about her crystal collection disavow you of that notion? Institutionally, I agree with you in regard to the importance of Rome. I still can’t view it as being as important as Jerusalem because Rome is important because of Jerusalem and Protestants also try to fuse logic and faith like Catholics do. 

    *I use the term in the colloquial and not the theological sense.

    • #73
  14. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    u of that notion? Institutionally, I agree with you in regard to the importance of Rome. I still can’t view it as being as important as Jerusalem because Rome is important because of Jerusalem and Protestants also try to fuse logic and faith like Catholics do. 

    There are no Protestants without Rome, just as there isn’t Rome without Jerusalem.

    *I use the term in the colloquial and not the theological sense.

    It works both ways. ;-)

    • #74
  15. Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… Member
    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio…
    @ArizonaPatriot

    I’m a Protestant, but I don’t leave out Rome, WC. Though I find Ancient Rome to be the significant part, as it contributed both the idea of a representative republic, and a strong system of law.

    I don’t see Catholic Rome as contributing something new of significance. It did preserve the teachings of Jerusalem.

    • #75
  16. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):
    I don’t see Catholic Rome as contributing something new of significance. It did preserve the teachings of Jerusalem.

    But putting the logic in the faith and mixing it all up was a pretty big deal.

    • #76
  17. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    This is what Dr. Bastiat said that impressed me so much.

    [transcribing…]

    I don’t think American Democrats are Marxists. They’re not Socialists. Even Democrats who call themselves Socialists, like Sanders, they don’t really talk about central government ownership of the means of production, or other things that you or I would associate with Socialism. It’s about control. They just simply want control. And they can convince large numbers of people to grant them control over their lives because they can convince them there’s no hope without the Democrat’s party.

    […]

    If you think of “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, a book that I think is overquoted, but one part of it that really struck me was where he said that the way you win a war is not killing more of the enemy’s soldiers, or burning down more of their cities. The way you win a war is by convincing the enemy that there’s absolutely no hope they could possibly win. No matter what happens, they cannot win. So you go to your opponent and you remove hope.

    Well, leftists don’t do that to their opponents, they do that to their supporters. They try to convince their supporters that there is no hope without the Democrat Party. You can’t possibly survive without us. We may be scary, but the other guy’s the worst, and you should vote for us.

    They tell women that men make more money than they do, even though they’re better at their job. They tell blacks, “Oh you could never possibly get into college without the assistance of benevolent white people.” They tell everybody we’re going to die of global warming unless you vote Democrat. They remove hope.

    (Not actually your bullet points, Dr. B, but, hey…)

    • #77
  18. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    namlliT noD (View Comment):

    This is what Dr. Bastiat said that impressed me so much.

    [transcribing…]

    I don’t think American Democrats are Marxists. They’re not Socialists. Even Democrats who call themselves Socialists, like Sanders, they don’t really talk about central government ownership of the means of production, or other things that you or I would associate with Socialism. It’s about control. They just simply want control. And they can convince large numbers of people to grant them control over their lives because they can convince them there’s no hope without the Democrat’s party.

    […]

    If you think of “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, a book that I think is overquoted, but one part of it that really struck me was where he said that the way you win a war is not killing more of the enemy’s soldiers, or burning down more of their cities. The way you win a war is by convincing the enemy that there’s absolutely no hope they could possibly win. No matter what happens, they cannot win. So you go to your opponent and you remove hope.

    Well, leftists don’t do that to their opponents, they do that to their supporters. They try to convince their supporters that there is no hope without the Democrat Party. You can’t possibly survive without us. We may be scary, but the other guy’s the worst, and you should vote for us.

    They tell women that men make more money than they do, even though they’re better at their job. They tell blacks, “Oh you could never possibly get into college without the assistance of benevolent white people.” They tell everybody we’re going to die of global warming unless you vote Democrat. They remove hope.

    (Not actually your bullet points, Dr. B, but, hey…)

    Thanks Don!

    And as I mentioned after that (or tried to – not all of it was well organized), the problem then becomes that the Democrats have spent decades convincing people that they have no hope.  Which means they have nothing to lose – get what you can today – tomorrow doesn’t matter.  They have also trained them to be jealous and resentful, thinking “Those people over there have what I want.  I can’t get it, because the deck is stacked against me.”

    Add in the move away from Judeo-Christian ethics.  And what do you get?  Widespread violence.  Of course.

    Now, if you’re a Democrat, you might also get elected as a result of this chaos.  Congratulations!  You won office by creating a bunch of hopeless resentful impulsive mobs!  Now you get to govern them!  Have fun with that.  Robespierre would have written a book about how to handle this exact circumstance, but he didn’t get around to it.

    The Democrats have spent decades creating social unrest and instability, so they could gain control.  But I don’t think they can control what they’ve built.  

    • #78
  19. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Quoting myself from comment 24 (my original comment has now disappeared because I made a mistake in how I copied from it to reproduce it here):

    It is often surprising the issues that come along seemingly out of nowhere that can burst through what seems to be a solid political front. Along with the well-known pro-life Democrats who switched parties in the eighties was another large group of voters and new Republicans–school choice supporters. Something like that will come along.

    Well, in a very amusing turn of events, here is a great article called “Why Millions of Freelancers Fear a Biden Presidency May Put Them out of Work“:

    Some freelancers are so fearful of what would happen if the PRO Act were enacted with the ABC test that this is affecting their choice of candidates. “My vote is 100% on this issue because we are talking about 100% of my income,” says Kim Kavin, a freelancer writer from Long Valley, New Jersey. She co-founded a Facebook group called Fight for Freelancers NJ to oppose a law similar to AB-5 that was proposed in New Jersey but did not make it to a vote. “Especially in the current economic situation we face, I want to keep earning a living.”

    Life takes some interesting twists and turns sometimes.

    I used to laugh at Obama’s suggestion that self-employment will be the answer to unemployment. He used to talk about this all this time. I would to think to myself, “Ha ha, and it will be the kiss of death for the Democrats. The tax advantages for self-employment are very high, and when the IRS figures out that it is losing a lot of money, the government will try to corral everyone back to work for large employers. I have news for the Democrats. People aren’t going to go. They will love self-employment for many social and financial reasons.”

    The next few years will see some surprises! :-)

    • #79
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