In 1863, this day was proclaimed by President Lincoln to be a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
This is our “praise be to God” day!!!
Thanksgiving is non-negotiable, friends! It’s our national Eucharist. No, you’re not going to be seeing me march up and down the streets anytime soon, but you will see me seated at my table, with my family, and we will be celebrating Thanksgiving together. Be sure to call the authorities. They are free to arrest me.
We are in the midst of a battle the likes of which I have never seen and because we are who we are, it has global implications. In fact, the word “global” is written all over it. They want to erase our Western way of life and replace it with that which resembles something out of The Handmaid’s Tale.
A priest reminded me the other day that all the angst and passion men feel has weight and becomes fuel for the spiritual beings at work. If we could see the air, it would be thick with these energies, good and bad, fighting it out, as we fight it out here on earth.
We need the rest and sustenance Thanksgiving brings, but most importantly, we need to be able to sit around our family table and pray for God’s help.
So this Thanksgiving, it is my fervent hope you will spend time with your loved ones and give thanks to God for all we have in this blessed nation of ours. Ask for God’s forgiveness for not taking better care of it and ask Him to give us the courage, that He alone can give, to get up from our respective tables and go fight for the legacy that enables us to gather in the first place, on our own AMERICAN holiday, which is our right as AMERICAN citizens.
If you don’t think that the lock-down of Thanksgiving is a symbol of things to come, you’re not reading the tea leaves. Christmas is next. Trust me on this. The globalists want to break the back of this country. (And dare I say, our religion.) Don’t let them do it with Thanksgiving. You’re going to have to draw the line somewhere. Might as well do it here.
With regard to COVID, be prudent (I’ll let you decide what that means) and let the rest go, remembering that 95+% of the 20% of people who get really sick can now be treated. The number of cases is high, but deaths are exceedingly low. Don’t let the waning shadow of this particular virus keep you from your families. Frankly, there are worse things than death. Living in fear is one of them. Fear is the soup du jour these days, served up by that master chef, Satan. Give it over to God, who alone has providence over the life and death.
And as you pray before your meal, say prayers for the souls of our Founding Fathers whom I can almost hear whispering to us . . .
“If you care, really care, about this country of yours, paid for through the spilt blood of mere farmers, who never expected to see a day of fighting their mother country, you too, will find the courage to fight the powers-that-be to protect her, knowing you may have to pay for that privilege through the forfeiture of your own life. Never lose site of the fact that what you take for granted can be taken from you. Many will try. We, your fathers, have given you the tools to fight them. Do not squander them. Use them and use them, effectively. Don’t let them rob you and your families of the legacy that was our gift to you. Treat it like the treasured heirloom that it is. Pass it down through your children’s children. Don’t let them steal what it means to be an American, because if they do, they will bind you and push your face into the ground. They will never let you up again because they fear your very way of life. So, resist, my friends. Fight the good fight. And pray for us, your mortal fathers, who birthed an idea that you have embraced. -May our Lord God continue to bless you and protect you, and through His mighty hand, may you remain, henceforth and forever more, free.”
From George and our family to yours: Happy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. M
Great piece, my Dear!
For an example of how truly evil and stupid (evpid? stupil?)some of our leaders are, check this latest bit of insanity, awfulness and imbecility from the governor of PA:
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/11/18/pennsylvania-governor-mandates-mask-wearing-in-your-own-home-n1156454
What a different people we are from our Founding Fathers. They would have taken this miscreant, stripped him, tarred and feathered him, then rode him out of town on a rail.
Just for fun, I should send him an invitation to dinner.
If so, please put our guns away.
This is OK, dear. I’m going to greet him at the door with my gun. I won’t use it!
On another note, some of our commentators have regurgitated the mantra that there was no “credible evidence of fraud, criminality or skullduggery.
What, pray tell, would our critics call this?
https://vdare.com/posts/democrats-use-mob-pressure-to-force-gop-officials-to-cave-in-michigan
Gail, my wife and I have been together 24/7 for the last six weeks as she recovers from major shoulder surgery. She is out of her sling and allowed to go back part-time on Monday.
It has been great.
Thanksgiving will consist of her atheist daughter and grand-children, her Evangelical husband (2nd), her super-charged “Jesus” all the time mother-in-law. My wife, son and me (God willing).
Not sure if my son is coming yet. Political and religious divides galore.
OK, Thanksgiving is always challenging, my friend.
Breathe deeply, say the Jesus Prayer and have plenty open bottles of Elderberry wine around and it will all work out.
Whatever Mary says, is “right.” And praise God that we can have these sorts of weird, somewhat stressful family gatherings!
Happy Thanksgiving.
Sounds “interesting”, Michael. Gail is right: have elderberry wine nearby.
The rest of the story Gail: my step daughter calls me Daddy(she is 47) and I love her dearly; her husband is a strong and protective man who genuinely loves Jesus and his wife.⁹
His mother is crazy but after our last gathering, Jesus pointedly reminded me that He loves her. Which just reminded me that I am the designated Ellen wrangler because I actually kind of like her. Were she Orthodox she might be a candidate for a fool for Christ.
Always good food and my Merry can hold court anywhere.
If push comes to shove I still have some of the capacity to disappear in the middle of a crowd although it is neither as comfortable nor as easy as it used to be.
Very little wine because the head of the home does not drink.
It could be worse.
We’re planning on having a big Thanksgiving. We’ve all decided that if people can riot, loot, burn and celebrate Biden’s “victory” en mass, then we will be celebrating this day of thanks en mass as well…and we will not be wearing masks inside like a bunch of simps. God Bless
Good, boy! I knew I liked you!!! (Cause you’re kidding)
I think the general consensus up here is that everyone is tired of this BS lol. I saw today that Texas said they will not be doing any more lockdowns…my home state has made me proud yet again!
Governor Wolf and his transgender side kick have turned Pennsylvania into Marxist freak show!
https://myocn.net/thank-you-o-lord/
“Frankly, there are worse things than death. Living in fear is one of them.”
Agreed. I have many friends and family (mostly non-Orthodox or non-Christian) but also not a few Orthodox Christian friends who are gripped by an oppressive fear of the coronavirus. Can anyone recommend any especially good Orthodox prayers for those who are afflicted by a spirit of fear ?
David, two prayers come to mind: Psalm 50 and the prayer of St. Ephraim
This year, Thanksgiving falls on the Feast of St. John Chrysostom, the eve of the Nativity Fast. Though it will be the perfect day to celebrate, I will not be doing so. Out of gratitude or habit or defiance, if you intend to do so, more power to you.
I do not want to take for granted what I have over many years past. In fact, not only do I not want to take it for granted, I intend to devote the day to prayer and reflection upon what has irrevocably changed about America and the possible destinations to which we might be heading.
Sometimes, I have to wonder about my fellow Christians. If we truly believed in our heart of hearts that real live human beings were being murdered on a daily basis in abortion mills, would we not simply take up arms and shut it down, regardless of the personal consequences to us? I.e., if they were executing grown people, or even 5 year olds, in these places, would we not overwhelm them and bring it to a stop?
I raise this not to incite violence against abortion clinics but to bring home a stark reality about our present predicament. This is not like abortion which is murder-but-not-really-enough-to-get-your-hands-dirty. The Commies are a c*nt hair away from imposing a totalitarian state. That is what Americans have let it come to. They are making lists and discussing political re-education openly, just like the Chinese CP. They have already made a mockery of free speech. They intend to alter the mechanisms of government to insure no more Republican victories. They are trumpeting this from the rafters to encourage their followers.
There are a lot of things for which to be thankful to God, not just one day, but everyday. Kamala Harris IS Antifa. Having a great national feast in the midst of an atheistic anarcho-Marxist insurrection – a counter-revolution to a Christian Nationalist revolution – strikes me as a bit tone deaf, but an understandable exercise, especially when the authorities are poo-poo-ing it. The same will probably obtain with Christmas, and the churches will not be helping us in this regard as they have not in many areas by neglecting services.
And that, perhaps is the point. One thing at a time. I will certainly be glad to pray for God’s help and thank Him for preserving a remnant here relatively intact. But let us not rejoice in the glories of our New Rome as its walls come tumbling down. It was never much of a Christian Rome to begin with and, lately, more of a Whore of Babylon.
I believe America is being reborn, probably into something better than it has been. But we ain’t there yet. And the America that emerges out of this instability will likely not be a “free” country in the sense to which we are accustomed. Once the center fails, only force from one side or the other can hold it together. That is in the nature of things.
Worst case scenario, Biden founds a totalitarian state. Best case scenario, in order to prevent Dems from accomplishing the worst case scenario, Trump founds an authoritarian Christian Nationalist state that decisively and effectively represses the Left. We have come to a binary moment and though we may be thankful for it, it is nothing to celebrate.
As a matter of fact, off in the distance, almost inaudibly I think I can hear maybe three . . . no, no, . . . four, definitely four . . . horsemen.
This is not like anything we have faced since Reconstruction.
You’re at the point of *advocating* a repressive, authoritarian government? Dreher talks about the “Law of Merited Impossibility”, but I am always saddened to see talk that makes the “Merit” part have a foundation… We can oppose the crazed Left without becoming crazed, ourselves. Indeed, to be a compelling example to the younger generations, we have to be better. Plus, the same sort of argument applies to mobs and dictators: never give them power, even if they’re “on your side”, because there’s nothing to keep them from turning on you.
Exactly WHERE did Misha give you the idea that he is advocating a repressive, authoritarian government?
Wow, you are right Gail. NOWHERE. Is the answer. Misha, got you 100% on this one. May our Lord’s mercy endure forever.
Yeah, Chris, I saw nowhere where our friend Misha advocated for what you said he did.
This is not to say that we have (as Americans) never had such a government. We did: three times if memory serves. First under Lincoln, then under Wilson, then under FDR. All of those times were because of validly declared foreign wars or insurrection.
This is not unlike the appointment of the Dictator during the Roman Republic. Since then, a case could be made that since Truman took us to war in Korea,* we have lived in a more subtle, sophisticated warfare/welfare state. That’s the brief of Oliver Stone (an ultra-liberal) and the people over at LewRockwell.com (paleo-libertarians/paleo-conservatives).
*Korea and all subsequent wars were never formally declared by the Congress.
You stated, verbatim:”Best case scenario, in order to prevent Dems from accomplishing the worst case scenario, Trump founds an authoritarian Christian Nationalist state that decisively and effectively represses the Left.”
Promises, promises. A man can dream, can’t he?
Chris,
And yet what I stated, “verbatim”, is not advocating anything at all. “Best case scenario” is if we are being optimistic, “worst case scenario” pessimistic. But all of that is hypothetical based on what I see before me, not anything that I am advocating or encouraging. Advocating sounds like, “He should do this.”, or, “I encourage him to do that.” What I was doing was analyzing a situation given the facts before me. Now, I don’t pretend my analysis is unbiased by my personal proclivities. But I don’t need to be a violent person to know how a conflict between a panther and a deer is likely to turn out.
In order to get to the top of a mountain, you must climb it, or catch a helicopter, or parachute onto it, or some other motion. There are a limited number of ways to get there.
When the center collapses, there are a limited number of things that can happen in the aftermath. Generally these are not democratic or “nice”. If the only thing that two sides can agree on is that they can’t share power, one is going to dominate. It does not take a rocket scientist to ascertain this. And if one side has already shown a propensity for sustained, systematic violence over months at a time, one need not have a crystal ball to understand what the other side will have to do to prevail.
Bear in mind, I have faith it will turn out one particular way, but I don’t know. If Republicans balk, which is almost a genetic predisposition amongst the RINO’s and neocons, then it’s anybody’s guess.
The closest, in my recollection, I have ever come to calling for violence was observing that the Right needs a counterpoint to Antifa much like the Proud Boys who would show up lightly armed as a show of force to discourage Antifa antics. But I try to be quite careful about incitement to actual violence. If you’re going to do that, and I don’t encourage it, you sure as hell don’t do it on the internet.
Chris,
I am on record as a monarchist and make no apologies about it. That is the Orthodox Way. Monarchy is inherently authoritarian. And I stand on the thousand year witness of the Eastern Roman Empire and the centuries of the Orthodox Russian Empire. No doubt there were excesses, but, in principle, there is nothing for which to apologize at all.
Repressive is another matter. Gail is right that I’m not advocating for repressive measures against the Left; i.e., to say, in terms of physical violence or incarceration without a fair trial. In fact, I have stated quite unequivocally on this site that I’m not interested in fighting in any civil war here. If the American people are stupid enough to give it to them, they can have it for all I care.
That said, I am predicting repressive measures against the Left from the Trump Administration, or from any other Republican Administration if there is ever another one. They will surely have to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military into major Democrat cities. They will also have to prosecute any insurrectionist, seditious, riotous deeds that can be proved against any of the rioters to the full extent of the law as an object lesson and deterrent.
Again, I’m not advocating it, nor am I cautioning against it. This is what they will have to do in order to prevail. History is quite clear about these matters. Nature abhors a vacuum, as does power. You have to fill the void or it will be filled to your detriment. When the center collapses, as it has, it’s almost never pretty.
I was reading a column the other day about how badly the social media oligarchs have stepped in it. Without digressing, I think that is true about the Left in general in America as well. These people are not really Marxist revolutionaries in the sense of having the will to power. They think they are. But they have hit no real opposition up to this point. Just playground antics, even the stuff that cost lives.
You should take the time to read about the wars between Latin American Rightists and Marxist insurgents during the 1980’s. Death squads, mass political executions, bombings of insurgent gatherings, residences and businesses. Disappearances. Or the activities of the Klan under Reconstruction and later in the early part of the last century. You should also consider that “hands on” military experience is usually much more common on the Right than on the Left.
Again, I’m not advocating these types of measures, just pointing out that Rightists in this hemisphere have a proven track record of indiscriminate mayhem that could raise its head at any given time. Whether it be […] deer hunters who went out for a stroll, got lost and happened upon an Antifa rally, there is quite the potential for statistics to mount.
You say deaths are low, but look at this for the US overall: https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-daily-deaths
Or this one for my state, MN: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html#deathtotal
The virus doesn’t have a political agenda. If one were to be sick with the flu in a normal year, it would be expected that they excuse themselves from a family celebration. This year, we simply are all asked to do so, to prevent others (the weakest among us) from getting this disease. With ICU beds near capacity in some places (like the Twin Cities, here — I have family that work in the ER and ICU at major hospitals) folks who could have otherwise survived will soon face a shortage of proper equipment and staff.
You say this is a battle. If it really were “just” a pandemic, what would you expect to be different from what we are seeing?
And as I’ve talked with some others who have used the vague term, who, specifically, are these globalists you speak of? Some people want economic union, some political cooperation, some cultural change, etc., but even something like the UN is pretty toothless to pursue goals aside from basic services in developing nations. I think the most compelling case about “globalists” with a nefarious agenda would be about a handful of specific individuals, but even they (if we look at their track record) are laughably incapable of obtaining their desires. The world is simply too large and complex for things often alleged about shadowy groups like “globalists”. And I’m saying this as someone who is strongly localist, both politically and culturally.
The current situation is no more troublesome to me than mandatory seatbelts or insurance. And thanks to recent vaccine news, it should be over by next spring/summer, if enough folks get the shots. I can go one holiday season over video-call (there’s even fun filters & games!), rather than expose family members who are at higher risk (grandparents, family with lung conditions, etc.)
Do you know what you’re looking at, Chris?
You’re looking at case counts that include both confirmed and probable cases of COVID, which the CSTE considers appropriate for data sharing/release outside of the public health agency.
A confirmed case is one confirmed by laboratory findings.
A probable case is based on (1) a patient’s symptoms or (2) the patient had known contact with a person positive for COVID. It is a presumption and not a fact.
Neither confirmed or probable cases necessarily qualify as the “the underlying cause of death” on a death certificate.
The underlying cause of death on the death certificate is always the actual cause of death.
So if someone died of COVID, the death certificate would say the underlying cause of death was COVID, which is appropriate.
But if the patient died of breast cancer, but had COVID listed as a contributing factor on the death certificate, that case would ALSO be included in the COVID death total and it really shouldn’t be because it was not truly the cause.
You might be asking yourself: Why are we seeing data that mixes true deaths due to COVID with deaths due to other underlying causes that are NOT COVID? Answer: Because the World Health Organization guidelines state that “COVID-19 should be recorded on the medical certificate of cause of death for ALL decedents where the disease, or is assumed to have caused, or contributed to death, i.e. COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death.”
So COVID deaths are way over over represented, period.
But with that qualification, let’s compare apples to apples. Let’s look at the worst date for COVID “deaths” (which is a mixed bag, as I described above) and compare it to something more recent to see if the mortality rate is, in fact, going down.
The worst period was the week ending 4/18/20 where there were 17,087 deaths and 28,398 cases. That’s a mortality rate of 60%.
Let’s pick a more recent week to compare it to, but one far enough back where all the data would most likely be in.
On the week ending 10/31/20, there there were 5,202 deaths and 84,298 cases. That’s a mortality rate of 6%, which, again, is inflated.
This represents a substantial decrease in the death ratio, right?
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/COVID19/index.htm
Around 40% of those who die with COVID are living beyond the average life expectancy in this country and several died of underlying causes that were NOT COVID.
It is SO DIFFICULT to see this in a graph which is frankly designed to instill fear and compliance.
For example, look at this article (https://en.as.com/en/2020/10/31/latest_news/1604138137_072079.html) where the headlines reads:
– US registers 100,000 Covid-19 cases in one day, a new world record
– 47 US states report increases in coronavirus cases
– US only at ‘the beginning of the steep part’ of coronavirus pandemic, says doctor
– COVID cases in the US are ‘extremely high and unacceptable’ – Fauci
Then look at the numbers and you decide if you agree with Fauci. You have 9,126,361 cases (which don’t match the CDC for the same period, BTW). If you substract the recoveries (3,612,478), you’re left with 5,513,883 unresolved cases. If you divide the deaths by the unresolved cases, the percentage is 4% AND THIS INCLUDES DEATHS THAT REALLY DON’T BELONG IN THESE TOTALS because they aren’t truly COVID deaths. They include people who died of other things, including (perhaps especially) old age.
Cases: 9,126,361
Deaths: 230,556
Recoveries: 3,612,478
***
Many governors are woefully ignorant with respect to addressing needs. Our own state used the surge plan developed in the spring (for the fall), which didn’t account for routine or elective procedures that are taking place now, to determine whether or not we would have enough capacity, which we were assured we would. I suspect we won’t. https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/plenty-of-runway-for-covid-19-surge-medical-pros-state-data-contradict-gov-stitts-characterization/article_807d6d76-171c-52c6-9ddd-aa62baf23b70.html
***
With respect to the real battle and “globalists,” please check the UN website and search on “sustainable development.” Also check out Agenda 21. It was supposed to start in 2016 but then “Trump” happened. This is a good place to start: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
“Many governors are woefully ignorant with respect to”
mathematics, statistics, epidemic history, critical thinking etcetcetc…
I am trying to look only at deaths, specifically to eliminate the fact that cases would look worse because we’re doing much more testing. To me, ICU beds and deaths are the two numbers that matter.Your point about case fatality rates as measured and the way stats/measurements have changed is totally reasonable. Regarding mixed-cause deaths, which is a fair point, we can look to total mortality and compare against previous years. COVID is pretty clearly playing a major role here, despite reduced mortality from things like the flu, medical mistakes, and vehicle accidents.As for the globalists, I’ve yet to see what the concern with talk of green or sustainable development is. Shouldn’t conservatives be the ones trying to conserve the environment and promote sustainable development, reigning in both corporate elites who take natural resources from one area, and return only a small portion of the profits, as well as bureaucrats that subsidize the oil and gas industry? Wendell Berry or Chesterton and their sort come to mind for me here.Agenda 21 is where it starts to devolve into conspiratorial concern, in my view. It’s a diplomatic, flowery document with no teeth (it’s even intentionally non-binding). The original goal date was 2000 (the meeting took place in 1992), and then since there was no real force behind it, they moved the goalposts back to 2030… Doesn’t sound like much more than what the economic forces are already bringing about. Even the big energy companies are saying 2030 or 2050, if I recall correctly.Skimming the documents again, it’s standard UN fare — things that are reasonable (poverty and hunger are bad, and we should try to help those in need somehow or another; deforestation is preventable and does impact people negatively; paying workers a living wage is not a new idea, etc.) as well as things that are evil, but nothing new (population “control” and associated “family planning”, which is just a dance around abortion-on-demand; one would imagine transgender stuff is included, though I don’t see it called out, etc.)To me, it’s the same boring (but important!) fight for the Image of God against those who view people as mere material resources of one kind (expendable workhorses) or another (pleasure-seeking beings without obligations).
It is good to love one’s land, country, traditions and people. They are gifts to us to be appreciated.
But patriotism becomes something ugly when hatred of some other place or some other people is grafted onto feelings of normal patriotism. Fr Andrew spells this out clearly.
There is no substitute for people making their own mistakes; and learning, or not learning, by them. I have counseled this a hundred times, and been counseled this a hundred times. If the power groups of atheism and materialism (nihilism) come to power and dominate America and the world, then so be it. The love of wisdom and of learning of every good thing, and the patient practice that is our life’s purpose here, is simply not sought by many.
When men and women become teachable only when the very worst circumstances befall them, I may lament of this great tragedy, but I hesitate to say it isn’t God’s Will. I have to say that God’s Will has often been allowing human will to descend to horribly self-destructive ends for that human being to gain only the barest glimmer of an understanding of error.
From history, we know that every benevolence is betrayed, every empire falls. As William James noted over a hundred years ago, mankind has always reserved the highest praise for its poets, philosophers, and saints. And the greatest of these remain the saints.
Ours is the tragedy of living through a time when we see it happening all over again. Our solace is in the knowledge He abides in His saints, and will overcome. And God gives us all much work to do in overcoming ourselves, does He not?
Hans,
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
“There is no substitute for people making their own mistakes; and learning, or not learning, by them. I have counseled this a hundred times, and been counseled this a hundred times. If the power groups of atheism and materialism (nihilism) come to power and dominate America and the world, then so be it.”
I’m not responsible for their slow learning curve.
No, . . . hell no, . . . unh, unh.
Fight them tooth and nail, flee if you must and never surrender. These are not Romans. They are Bolsheviks, Maoists, Khmer Rouge, etc. – Amalek. By all means love these enemies. But do so while you are destroying them, praying that their death will pay for their horrific sins. Because cooperation and collaboration could work with civilized people like the Roman pagans. But not with anarchists and Marxists. We know what they will do. They have a long, horrific, bloody track record.
Convert, contain or destroy. That is an exclusive list of options. Surrender is not among them.
Regrettably Misha, this is where we are at. The only reason that the Bolsheviks did not finish their satanic plan is because the rest of the West –though on its way to secularist materialism–still had a Christian veneer. One facet of this veneer was the ability to feel horror, which the Bolsheviks foolishly provided.
As I see little old ladies and young women being beaten over the head by Antifa/BLM today on America’s streets, the horror I feel is real. Truly, I have friends oversees and they are aghast at what has befallen America’s great cities.
Does anyone think that these people can be reasoned with? Already, they are sharpening their knives for the (possibly) incoming Biden Administration.
Exactly, George. For all it’s faults, at least at that time the West was “Christian,” not so any more, western Europe and North America have gone headlong into secularization so that bullwork of Christianity that held back the tide is no longer there. I guess in a secular sense, the one thing we have on our side are sheer numbers, at least in America. If the number of ACTUAL Trump voters is to be believed, it is no small amount. Even in Europe people are fighting back against the lockdowns, more than we are it seems.
To sum up the Left vs the Right (which I think I have seen you quote before): “One side has all the ammo, and the other can’t decide what gender it is.” Broad stroke..but generally true.
There’s always a Hegelian dialectic at work, even during periods of great revolutionary stresses (like what we are experiencing). The hard Left will never get all of what it wants but it will create an opposite reaction against its programs.
As of right now, the overwhelming majority of the American people no longer believe the corporate media or have any faith at all in our national institutions.
That is the dog’s breakfast that awaits President-to-be Harris.
Lots of bloodlust in these words. Lots of anger and hate.
And I have heard since I was a boy that our battle is not against flesh and blood.
Plenty of headchoppers, no one willing to undergo the circumcision of their own heart.
“One side has all the ammo, and the other can’t decide what gender it is.” Raucous laughter around the warming fires of your militia I’m sure. You will bring and end to their confusion with a bullet. I’ll bet you’ll consider it merciful. More raucous laughter, no doubt.
What will history call your civil war? Trumpenlumpen vs Demshevik?
It’s as absurd as it sounds.
Only absurd to a bleeding heart:
“A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:8
I leave you to your own devices.
Beautifully sung by Judy Collins in 1964:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3kKqfTjsj0
Sorry: 1966
President-to-be Harris?
Trump is not done yet, George.
Yeah, I know. I for one, would not bet against the Golden Don.
BTW, did you see the new SCOTUS assignments put out yesterday?
3rd Circuit (PA): Alito
6th Circuit (MI): Kavanaugh
11th Circuit (GA): Thomas
“Hegalian Dialectc” ? George, George, George! The Dialectic is false. Even in its appearance. It assumes no God AND a ultimate false heaven or death when all the energy runs out.
Yes, it has the appearance of the way things work (sort of).
In Christ all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
The Incarnation, Crucifixion and Ressurection of our Lord triumphs in any case.
Especially as we address the seeming chaos of our times we must hold His victory in our hearts even if they give up our bodies to be burned.
Christ is Risen! Even in this time of trial, fasting and oppression.
Point taken, Michael.
Still, in this fallen world a “pendular” dialectic is always in play, is it not?
Michael, here’s an example of the historical dialectic I am talking about: Sheriffs in Los Angeles county are not going to enforce the Thanksgiving curfews put out by the Democrat governor:
https://www.breitbart.com/law-and-order/2020/11/20/every-county-sheriff-in-l-a-region-declines-to-enforce-gavin-newsoms-coronavirus-curfew/
And the New Mexico governor (a Blue State) is openly defying these strictures.
Another example would be how the Left is busy tearing each other apart and/or threatening Biden because of his corporatist policies.
George, but you specifically said “Hegelian Dialectic”. There is no question that there not “something” that acts in a manner that appears to be dialectic in nature. However, they all assume a closed system which the creation is not.
Now, most of the time God appears to be fine with that but not really or there would not be the Incarnation.
The Hegelian Dialectic in particular posits a system where in any thesis generates its antithesis. They are essentially equal in an egalitarian sense. There is no God and no hierarchy of values. Each synthesis after a struggle is “better” than before. It is mechanistic, deterministic and glorifies the struggle. Nietzsche and his Transvaluation of All Values comes next.
All kinds of evil has been generated under that umbrella. It continues to be generated and is exactly what we are seeing. A world without God, hierarchy, goodness or joy.
What you are seeing in a dialectic manner is not a true dialectic IMO and seeing it that way actually attacks everything you and Gail preach. That is why I was shocked. You are getting sucked into the lie. God forbid!
It is a powerful lie and we all partake of it to some degree.
One of the virtues of a classic monarchy, as Misha and I have discussed is its inherent ability to resist the dialectic forces which are either fallen or worse-inherently evil.
https://stream.org/i-know-sidney-powell-she-is-telling-the-truth/
I still think he’s got this. Sidney be fierce. Joan of Arc, Dragonslayer.
Do you ever wonder why the liberals, the American left, are ever evolving in their policies and morality? Truth is easy to stand on. It changeth not. That is the core of the problem with our two party system. Two parties means two truths. But there is only one truth, one reality. There is one best way to govern given modern experience and the values of prosperity, reasonable health, security, etc. What I mean is, beyond the details of this or that policy, in principle, there is really only one. It might be mixed market economics. It might be socialism. It might be libertarianism. But what it is NOT is both mixed market economics and socialism, both libertarianism and socialism, etc.. There can be only one.
What varies are people’s values. And that’s the problem in a nutshell. Homogeny is best because it is consistent and sane. This is why it is not particularly difficult to govern a homogenous population like, for example, the Japanese or my beloved Russians. Absent foreign influence, everyone has the same values, knows what needs to be done, has a pretty good idea, however rough, of how to do it, and the only thing that remains is to identify who does what.
Sovereign democracy achieves and protects this homogeny by occupying the field of the press. The press is like a second conscience for the people. Leaving it up to chance or any clique bold enough to dominate it is sheer madness. It need not be rigidly controlled, only dominated, like a healthy mind is in control of what it admits and dismisses. That’s its “sovereignty”.
Grace can flow in that sort of a society because of its righteous, self confident stability. I have vague impressions from childhood of such grace growing up in the Upper South in the early ’70’s. Idyllic, everything in place, everything made sense, no tension between moralities (plural), not drab like 70’s psychodrama’s but crisp and clear like having the gain turned up on a TV – one thing almost bleeding over into another.
It is a question of the rule of Certitude or the rule of Doubt. For most of my life, we have lived under Doubt.
Liberals are by definition incapable of creating such a society because for them truth is a moving target. It morphs dependent on the whims of the guiding clique. It is simply a variation on/from the truth, the core of which is located in the Right. But it has no origin or solidity apart from something it dare not embrace since to do so is self abnegation in the minds of The Resistance™.
In short, it is a set of reactions to a reality it is committed to denying.
Prognosis isn’t good.
.
Thanks for the reference to who Sidney is.
Enlightening…
Very well said.
Recently, I read a very good essay on the “social credit” system that is in place in China. While it sends shivers down the throats of Americans, the reality is that we have almost exactly such a system in place in America.
The only difference is that the Chinese one is bent on upholding the ethnic Han majority’s values and all things being equal, encourages moral behavior. I.e. points are subtracted for public drunkenness, criminality, etc. Think of it as digitally-monitored Confucianism.
The one we have in America however is the exact opposite. If one holds to American values of free speech for example, one can be fired from his job or denied employment. In the digital sphere, one is other de-platformed or loses his paypal account.
Looks like an accidental double-submission due to page refresh — my apologies.
I catch these as I publish them, Chris. No worries. – Welcome to the blog, BTW!
Christopher, indeed. Welcome!
“virus doesn’t have a political agenda.”
Yes, but Leftists do. I rather listen to world leading pathologist and CEO of a biotech company that manufactures COVID tests who says “social distancing is useless” and “masks are utterly useless.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/top-pathologist-claims-covid-19-greatest-hoax-ever-perpetrated-unsuspecting-public
The doctor also slammed the unreliability of PCR tests, noting that “positive test results do not, underlined in neon, mean a clinical infection,” and that all testing should stop because the false numbers are “driving public hysteria.”
Hodkinson said that the risk of death in the province of Alberta for people under the age of 65 was “one in three hundred thousand,” and that it was simply “outrageous” to shut down society for what the doctor said “was just another bad flu.”
Stay safe folks, things are getting really bumpy and Thanksgiving is likely to be additional fuel on the fire.
Since COVID-19 is in uncontrolled spread in just about all states, it’s probably a good idea to pay attention to hospital capacity in your neck of the woods. COVID-19 related hospitalizations are up 75% this month, and we’ve blown past previous records set earlier in the year. This is not going to improve in the near future:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/11/americas-best-prepared-hospital-nearly-overwhelmed/617156/
One sobering reality is that while we have gotten better at treating COVID-19, progress at reducing the CFR looks to have largely stalled out over the past few months. The current CFR is probably the best case through the current surge. If we have widespread national saturation of health resources, that metric is going to trend in the wrong direction:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/11/coronavirus-death-rate-third-surge/617150/
As it spreads more and more quickly, it will reduce the number of “spreaders” (how I hate that term), snuffing itself out. This is what viruses do. The fear, on the part of some, is that this will be over before they get those vaccines out. That’s why they’re talking about another lockdown. Can’t risk the pandemic being over too soon. They’ll try to keep us inside to prolong our vulnerability.
They should be protecting the weak and letting other people live their lives until this thing runs it’s course. But wait! I said that back in March! Before the lockdown.
Wait, like Sweden? Where life is normal?
A blessed Thanksgiving to all, most especially to George and Gail for maintaining this site and forum.
For about a decade now, every Thanksgiving time, I re-listen to Fr Thomas Hopko’s wonderful podcast on American Thanksgiving and how it most closely relates to our faith, as the “most Christian” of our American secular holidays. Here it is. It’s also available via most podcast aggregators:
https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/a_deeper_level_of_thanksgiving
I am deeply thankful for Fr Thomas Hopko’s podcasts – have learned so much from them over the years about our faith and about living the Christian life, often listening to the same ones again and again and again.
Thank you! Благодарю! Eυχαριστώ! And to be thankful for *absolutely everything,* not for just the things we like — that’s the bloody hard part.
I honestly don’t know what to file this one under:
1. Censorship?
2. Ineffectiveness of lock-downs?
3. The Oligarchy doesn’t know sh!t from shinola?
4. The Oligarchy knows what it’s doing but is evil?
5. All of the above?
Remember, this guy is a high muckety-muck over at Pfizer.
If you mean Mike Yeadon, he used to be at Pfizer.
He knows how it works – and should work.
A blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving Day to one and all!
And to you, Father.
This is another example of things not turning out the way the Progressive Left always wants:
https://unherd.com/2020/12/can-macron-save-liberalism-from-itself/
Emmanuel Macron, the golden boy of the anti-nativist American Left has turned on his own anti-nativism.