Alas, Mrs. Surak was not feeling well enough to travel today. We have postponed our plans. But I will still share some pictures with you, as I promised!
This region is within the boundaries of the USA. It is a little bit different from Baltimore, Berkeley, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, and the like.
Here are some of the people.
They live as most of our ancestors lived up until about 200 years ago. They work very hard six days per week, producing much of the food we eat. They then devote one day per week to the worship of almighty God. They are very productive, self-reliant, and close-knit. As in many religious communities, those who dare to question and to leave are “shunned”.
Could you live like that now? Your ancestors did. If there were an electromagnetic pulse weapon directed at the USA, their lives would continue mostly unaware. They would survive more easily than you.
Would you live like that now? Should you live like that now? Their educational level goes up to the eighth grade, I believe. My mind could not accept such constraints. I hunger to know the architecture of God’s mind (logic, mathematics) and the glory of His universe (science, history, philosophy). I revel in the beauty uncovered by musicians and artists. I cannot be satisfied merely to labor.
Yesterday, I offered you an introductory interview with Alexander Dugin: https://www.countere.com/home/an-interview-with-russian-philosopher-alexander-dugin-countere-magazine I do not want to make too much out of Mr. Dugin, but in a time of social collapse, I open my mind to those who have questioned the basic foundations of our society.
As I recall, Dugin and others distinguish between two types of societies. One type, with which we are more familiar, lives closer to the sea, engages more in foreign trade, engages in more intellectual speculation, and is more comfortable altering the parameters of its life. Here, we might be referring to coastal America, Britain, Greece and Rome, and so on.
The other type of society is more continental, more inland, more insulated from outside influences, more traditional, and less willing to change. Presumably Russia is the archetype of such a society. These two types of society are destined to conflict.
Dugin pushes further and identifies the stable societies as those characterized by an ethnos: a specific cultural-ethnic-linguistic identity. China, India, Japan, and Russia all have that distinctive character. So did Britain, France, Germany, and Italy until the late 20th century.
A society does not need to be 100% ethnically pure in order to have a dominant culture, provided assimilation is demanded of immigrants, and the dominant culture is respected by minorities. Once that demand and that respect are declared “racist” (but only in some countries!), that society’s cohesiveness is dead, and it is but a matter of time until the country itself fractures.
I love to visit the area pictured above. I feel calmer and more grounded. Yet my intellect needs to continue to work and to strive upward. In such times, I think a lot about a particular Psalm.
A Song of Maalot [the Temple steps] of David. Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, like a child who is weaned from his mother; my soul is like a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.
Psalm 131
I think this may be the secret of the people in the pictures above.
(picture credits: Wikipedia, DiscoverLancaster.com)
surakblog 
“Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty”
There is a parable of Aesop that describes two mice, one from the city and one from the country. http://read.gov/aesop/004.html It aptly describes the two mind sets seen among the coastal elite and the interior “hewers of wood and drawers of water”: one is self-absorbed and boastful while the other is self-possessed and productive. Our dear leader Surak sees this dichotomy in the conflict between ‘authoritarian centralists’ and ‘lovers of liberty’ (neo-communists and free enterprisers).
A poorly understood aspect of free markets is the emergent feature of MORALITY. Variously described as ‘The Invisible Hand” (Smith), “the self-regulating nature of meritocracies” (Fire), the “spontaneous morality of free enterprise” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfLUCBZ1is or, “the needs of the many out weight the needs of the one” (Spock). Although religion is a conduit for the teaching of morality, in practice it comes from the reciprocal trust found in the democracy of the marketplace, where buyers can fire sellers (or acquaintances, for that matter) that cheat or displease them. There are multiplying effects that come from individual problem-solving and incremental improvements spread among participants who are all in it together. Togetherness comes from achieving “a more perfect union”. That is the last thing wanted by the neo-communists in control of North America. Best to start over.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Chuck, I never was enthusiastic about that Vulcan saying (the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few); it reminded me uncomfortably of communism… Obviously you see a new dimension in that saying that I didn’t notice.
Great video from AEI – very realistic about political arguments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“…and let us always be mindful of the wants and needs of others, in the name of our lord. Amen
Dear Surak, I agree with your skepticism, and I looked at that appended quote from Spock for a long time before commenting. Then I thought about the Grace quoted above, taught to me by my friend Canon Jackson and how service-to-others is foundational for a viable community. For belonging to the pack, or the herd, or the phyle to be advantageous, there must be a hand up from the stronger to the weaker, the basis for the Golden Rule. Judaism has it, and so does Christianity. But there is no Golden Rule in Communism, nor in Islam, nor for Klingons, for these oppositional movements suffer from the corruption found in collectives: the outsized benefits of being in charge accrue to the undisputed ruler who selfishly arrogates them to himself.
What I call a “coalition of specialists” is like a wolf pack, a communalist tribe (Eskimos, Amish) a parliament of enlighten beings, or Vulcans (same thing) and they either adhere to Lord Acton’s Dictum or the disaffected governed contrive to bring down the alpha, a non-confidence vote brings down the parliament, or the meritocracy self-regulates through shaming, shunning or disappearing the evil.
The best definition of friendship I have seen states that a friend puts your interests above his own; thus “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one)”. Put another way, “power TENDS to corrupt”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Lost in translation: “Power TENDS to corrupt” (but not always; sometimes there is a higher calling than service to self). Lord Acton’s complete quote is: “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men”. https://www.acton.org/research/lord-acton-quote-archive
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chuck, there is news that illegals coming through the border with Mexico are being flown into the interior of the nation, and mostly to the Red states. The purpose of this is obvious. The DEMs wish to overwhelm the election process with people whom they believe will vote reliably Blue, whether they have a legal right to vote, or not.
I note what I’ve said, above, because starting over might not be a possibility, in the next ten years. America has changed dramatically in the few months that the Biden Administration has been in power. I shudder to think what the nation will be like, if this pack of Marxists is in power until 2030. We are all in peril.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wolfie, I found some discussion today about the two types of society alluded to above. Dugin calls them Atlantic and Eurasian. However, Nietzsche had his own distinction: Apollonian (rational, controlled) and Dionysian (appetitive, ecstatic). This was echoed in Camille Paglia’s Sexual Personae.
Off-topic, I responded to an FPM comment by everyone’s favorite objectivist, THX 1138. He made derogatory remarks regarding Christianity as a foundation for society instead of objectivism. Here is my reply:
I am a Torah-observant Jew who also admires Atlas Shrugged. It is not my obligation to defend Christianity theologically, but I will say this. America was built by Christians, not objectivists. There is much I admire about objectivism, but it has not yet built a civilization. It is taking for granted the moral foundation laid by Christians, based on earlier Jewish sources. It is potentially a very dangerous social experiment to propose to remove Christianity from this society. You may discover, too late, that not everyone is capable of rationally deducing an ethical code. Many people need to be given it. You have the luxury of critiquing an existing system. Show us an existing, stable, objectivist country that respects life, liberty, equality before the law, and self-governance, and then I will take you seriously.
I imagine THX 1138 will reply that the American system could only be brought into existence once society had shed its old Christian superstitions. I would say it didn’t shed those alleged superstitions until the last few decades, and the last year and a half is the unpleasant result.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Grace is the facilitation of the Beneficial Other.”
Steffen, I commiserate with you. The problem of converting ideas (such as we share on this blog) into action is a daunting one, especially given the advanced state of evil in the asymmetric contest of good vs. evil. We must wait for our adversary to make a mistake. The JoBamma administration is typically Marxist, at first cajoling, full of verisimilitude, then patronizing, then full of deception and obfuscation. Instead of a Loyal Opposition, they have become disloyal opportunists. How can a moral freedom-seeker contend with an immoral power-hunting adversary?
I believe we must start here, encouraging one another toward like-minded identity. If Surakvulcan is our Beneficial Other, then letting him know he has an inspired following will support the manifestation of his grace. Canon Jackson used to say, “Everyone needs encouragement”; so does the Chief Encourager, like you.
LikeLiked by 1 person