This is the big question in 2020. When people say or write that 'we' will not stand for X, and if They go ahead with X then 'we' will do something or another to stop it, or punish Them, or something... This all invites the childhood response: "You and whose army?".
Who Exactly is this We, and if We are so powerful, how come We have done nothing effective about anything so far?
All this tough talk (particularly from the pseudonymous) is bluster and bluff at best, but more often an evasion of the grim reality of being beaten, of being defeated and colonised.
We are not keeping our powder dry - because there is no powder. We are not waiting to pick the right fight, defend the last bridge... There is no line in the sand (and if there was, it was overrun a long time since).
The reality is that we don't each have an army to back us, nor is there any strategy - so it makes no sense (and is deceptive) to talk tactics.
Either what we Do is individual and immediate, done without expectation of back-up and in the teeth of mass hostility; or nothing will be done.
Don't kid youself. Dishonesty is a sin. If some thing should be done but you don't; then acknowledge and repent your failure. For Christians repentance is enough, but it is mandatory.
Don't pretend that you are a secret hero and your moral failures are all part of a master plan.
Those who participate in the sort of posturing you described so well here often deride those who possess a more realistic grasp of current circumstances as blackpillers. "Lack of faith" and "giving into despair" accusations are also rather common.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand this line of thinking. Coming to terms with the 'grim reality' of our current situation is not synonymous with giving into despair. If anything, it is a conscious rejection of the kinds of false hope that would surely lead to despair and a loss of faith were they ever pursued (which they ultimately won't be). Still, it's nice to dream . . .
"Don't pretend that you are a secret hero and your moral failures are all part of a master plan."
ReplyDeleteThis made me chuckle. The world is better with you in it, Bruce.
ReplyDelete"Either what we Do is individual and immediate, done without expectation of back-up and in the teeth of mass hostility; or nothing will be done."
I sympathize with the frustration, but this isn't necessarily true. Sometimes what we do is immediate and done en masse. Slaves who've taken it and grumbled, making hollow threats, up and make good due not so much to a single catalyst but just an intangible forcing galvanizing them. Whether you think it's God or not, it does happen sometimes. I'm not saying it will now, and maybe we collectively go gently into that good night/the tar pits/Sheol/the dustbin of history (take your pick), but even the meek snap and regimes topple seemingly when they're strong.
@SR - Of course you can't be disproven. But I can't think of any successful slave revolutions; and hardly any revolutions of any kind have ever made things overall better - but I can't prove that it's impossible.
ReplyDeleteI don't pretend to know what *will* happen. However, there has surely never been a time in history like now, so it is impossible to know how people will behave. All the surprises seem to be in the direction of astonishing docility, stupidity and insanity.
For a long time - decades - I haven't seen any hopeful surprises from Modern Western Man in terms of actually Doing anything Good.
(I rule-out all voting, because that is not Doing.)
This week, I took my mother to the one local Mexican restaurant. They wanted our names and numbers for "contact tracing." I simply said NO. The hostess seemed shocked, but didn't ask again or bother us.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear a mask at the stores. I've been harassed just once, but a young woman. I told her I didn't need to wear a mask, and didn't need to give her my medical condition. She said I did (the governor's executive order states that you do NOT need to tell store staff your issue). I just ignored her thereafter.
But I don't pretend that my actions will have a large effect. It's for my own benefit.
I should add that in a meeting recently, I didn't wear a mask, and most of the other men finally removed theirs. So setting an example can have an effect.
Overall, the situation is just going to pot: restaurants closing left and right.
@Frank - " "Lack of faith" and "giving into despair" accusations are also rather common. ".
ReplyDeleteThis is a particular problem, and has - I think - interesting implications. I think that most such people (and there seem to be plenty) are reporting on their own inner reactions.
For people that have a this-world-is-everything belief, then a realistic understanding of our actual situation, and esepcially of what has happened in 2020 - and what it means, is too much to bear. For such; realism is not compatible with maintaining psychological functionality.
Certainly, this is a big test for us; and I include myself. The only thing that works is an active and present faith and trust in the goodness of God. And this is *completely* effective. However, faith is not possible to maintain 100% (even among the Saints) - so the temptation never goes away.
"When people say or write that 'we' will not stand for X, and if They go ahead with X then 'we' will do something or another to stop it, or punish Them, or something... This all invites the childhood response: "You and whose army?"."
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Uncle Ted (Kaczynski), who in his writings referred to himself as "we" and his one-man army "FC".
This has been very challenging for me. During the initial phases of the birdemic I think there was enough room to doubt your insight, Dr. Charlton. I really can't, in any honesty, do so now. Your insights were right from the beginning, and now I feel much of the same frustration that you experienced.
ReplyDeletePeople, in mass, are so purposefully forgetful and shortsighted. It didn't matter everything they told has been contradicted, and they have to switch directions so quickly, that the goals have been moved and changed so rapidly that no one knows what they are - and obviously now this is very purposeful - they instead only know they must obey.
You said though in the beginning you expected (even before the global totalitarian takeover) that the system would collapse soon. You suggested the planners don't realize how much they've broken, therefore the plans will fail - this seems rather hopeful! Do you still hold that opinion?
I've come to terms with the reality that whether or not "my" side wins in this election cycle is ultimately moot.
ReplyDeleteWhoever wins in this fake binary election will be the most powerful enforcer of an intrinsically evil System. Even if a truly good man took reigns of the System he will no longer be good because the System, like the One Ring, corrupts everyone it touches. Even the macho posturing Right understand that even if they win, they have a stay of an existential threat for at most four years. They refuse to join the dots and realize that "our" guy ruling over us with the weapons of the corrupt System oppresses them.
An acquaintance of mine noted the irony of voting for Trump to prevent a disaster that already happened.
@Ing. A disaster that has already happened, Yes - and under ostensibly Right (or not officially Left) leadetshio in both UK and US. They say vote against the official Left "or else" - but we already have the or else.
ReplyDelete@MA. Well the System will collapse, but the point is to remember this is a spiritual war. So far the ?25 percent plus collapse in the world economy has apparently done net spiritual harm - in some people, who seemed decent or okay a year ago, I discern spiritual harm of an extreme degree. If people die as they now are, I think few will follow Jesus. And this is getting worse.
I feel Many people are desperately clutching at straws even if they don’t outwardly show it. If they just mindlessly follow the directives no matter how absurd and contradictory then somehow things will be back to ‘normal’. Personally, I just sense things are going to get really bad, without any specific knowledge of what is to come. In the end you can only fall back on simple faith to armour your soul against what is happening around you.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI prefer the unruly, unGodly, hedonists who party on loudly and riotously at their raves, to the Ahrimanic, conformist, office wallahs who obey the law and consider themselves model citizens.
The first lot may be immoral, feckless, stupid, dirty, and lazy, but at least they still have their own wills unlike the conformists who only have their smugness and their too-tidy minds. Jesus can do something with a wilful sinner, but I think his task is much harder with a cold automaton that has surrendered its will.
When I see that sort of 'bad behaviour' reported on the TV, it gives me hope. And when I see a politician condemn such behaviour, I know that the 'bad' people are doing something right, however blindly, and I hope that they do it some more.
Barry
ReplyDeleteI've thought about what I last wrote above, and I have changed my mind. Actually, I am ashamed of myself for misunderstanding what is going on, and I repent to God for having said it. If Covid cases rise because of young adult behaviour, it is because their will is being used for their own pleasure at the expense of their own families' lives. That is supremely selfish and cruel, and it cannot be in accord with what God wants of his children. It is also Luciferic/Bacchanalian, and a wrong use of the will, and I cheered them along.
Covid is real enough, and, yes, the Ahrimanic forces will abuse it to perpetuate nihilism, but it does not excuse the ravers and pub goers. A decent response would be to think of others with love - family should be more important than a night out. Ahriman would be better defeated with family love in the light of God, and aligning the will with that love and light.
It seems to me that the young are in the grip of Lucifer, and aligning their will with his, and government, politicians and older people are aligning with Ahriman - it is a dual assault on God's creation to subvert the wills of his children away from love into either hedonism or fear - either will do, the demons aren't fussy.
Barry
Barry, the problem with celebrating raving and pub going as a form of freedom from totalitarian tyranny has nothing to do with its (supposedly) being reckless in the face of "Teh CoViD".
ReplyDeleteIt is simply that that behaviour, per se, is just another pointless distraction which in and of itself just reinforces The System in its own way.
By the way, how "tEh cOviD" remains "an issue" people are "deeply concerned" about (since about Late April at most) is a glaring sign of either a pathological lack of vitality and lucidity, or downright malice.