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The Canary Is Dying

Rodin
@Rodin
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The expression “canary in the mineshaft” is a reference to an earlier time when the only way of getting an early warning of the build up of lethal gases in a mine was to station a caged canary there and if it expired the miners would hurry out to escape death.

A populace today is in need of a similar alert to conditions that will enslave us (at best) or kill us (at worst). What might those be?

  • Riots
  • Racism
  • Unequal application of law
  • Censorship
  • Public corruption
  • Popular immiseration
  • Perpetual war-making

This is not an exclusive list (and yours might be better). And a relatively small quantity of each might not kill the “canary.” But where are we?

It seems that riots are acceptable these days so long as they are conducted by preferred persons or for preferred ideas. Racism is the accepted response to grievance and does not exist if directed at Asians, Jews, and “white” people. Thought is being made a crime and theft is being ignored in far too many jurisdictions. When thought is not being prosecuted, it’s spoken form is being censored in even more places. Public corruption is evident in the highest centers of power (cf., the Bidens and all those politicians who have become startlingly wealthy at a rate that cannot be explained simply by prudent saving and investing). Inflation is immiserating everyone, but the wealthy are less affected. No single contributor to inflation is greater than energy costs and policies to prevent energy abundance at low prices. A close second is sovereign debt manipulated by corrupt officials. And, finally, to divert the people away from the source of many of their challenges, is whipping up external threats, which must exist in perpetuity lest the masses turn their energy and rage on the true source of their misery.

Is the professionally managed election process just a domestic version of the “perpetual war-making”? Does it matter anymore who holds office? If so, it only works as long as enough of us pretend that things are OK, that the levels of toxic substances are still less than lethal. Well, maybe it doesn’t actually work indefinitely, but it extends the period of the dream world in which the elders can toddle off before complete collapse. Is that the best-case scenario?

This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet's members.

Discussion (8)

  • Globalitarian Misanthropist@Flicker
    Rodin (View Post):
    A populace today is in need of a similar alert to conditions that will enslave us (at best) or kill us (at worst). What might those be?

    Sheesh, how about not knowing the difference between a male and female, and teaching this to your kids, and castrating and sterilizing them? This isn't about politics as usual, or control issues, and war machinery. This is about genocide. This is about torture. This is about lying without a trace of conscience. This is about using people, young people, for your sadistic tricks.

    This is Dark Tetrad stuff. On a national, federal governmental scale.

    This is infecting every Medical Specialty Board. Judges are siding with the psychopaths. Malignant teachers are deceiving the parents. Parents are threatened with jail for speaking about it with their children.

    This is so out of touch with reality, insanity is an understatement. This is Silence of the Lambs stuff.

  • Rodin@Rodin
    ReplyingtoGlobalitarian Misanthropist

    Globalitarian Misanthropist (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Post):

    Rodin (View Post):
    A populace today is in need of a similar alert to conditions that will enslave us (at best) or kill us (at worst). What might those be?

    Sheesh, how about not knowing the difference between a male and female, and teaching this to your kids, and castrating and sterilizing them? This isn’t about politics as usual, or control issues, and war machinery. This is about genocide. This is about torture. This is about lying without a trace of conscience. This is about using people, young people, for your sadistic tricks.

    This is Dark Tetrad stuff. On a national, federal governmental scale.

    This is infecting every Medical Specialty Board. Judges are siding with the psychopaths. Malignant teachers are deceiving the parents. Parents are threatened with jail for speaking about it with their children.

    This is so out of touch with reality, insanity is an understatement. This is Silence of the Lambs stuff.

    This.

  • Levi King@BillNowacki

    If we're talking about "boiling the frog" types of things, I have to point out the mega category to add to your list: "the gentle erosion of our right to be left alone."

    I'm no Constitutional scholar, but I've always believed that one of the promises of America was that her people were / would be allowed to live in relative anonymity (or at least to the degree each person desired). Of course, when called-upon to defend the country, the right to be left alone was to have been / should be suspended. Temporarily.

    The list of things that gently -- imperceptibly -- erode our right to be left alone include but are not limited to:

    • migration away from cash to debit and credit cards (which leave behind a digital vapor trail)
    • Alexa, Siri, smart TVs, smart fridges, smart thermostats and meters (which digitally chronicle our comings and goings)
    • IoT (internet of things) devices in our cars and trucks (ibid)
    • private and governmental health insurance (which require / ensure our most intimate details are digitally captured, shared, and stored
    • smart phones (need I say more)
    • browsers (which chronicle our digital comings and goings)
    • KYC (Know Your customer) banking regulations and ISO2022 regulations regarding remittance payments (requiring that extraordinary detail be captured and made available for regulatory reporting regarding individuals, companies, and transactions amongst them)

    . . . and on and on and on.

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