I continued browsing the archives, and found this Kurt Vonnegut short story. Unfortunately, the Left would look upon it as a guidebook. It reminds me that I need to add Vonnegut to my "will get to soon" book list.
Are you, also, not seeing a rise in sick/dying people near you? Here's the reason why. Trust me on this; my Daddy was a poker player of some note, and I know a bluff when I see it. The Left is hyping this like a soon-to-be ex-wife in court, pleading poverty and crying for a big hike in her alimony. Truth is unimportant, the perception is all, and, if the testimony is delivered with the right notes of tears and near-hysteria, the judge just might fall for it.
The Price of Fitting In - it's not just about middle school girls twisting their very essence in order to not be shunned by the Mean Girls and their Lackeys. It's hitting nearly everyone - and, most are not up to the challenge.
If being a mature and responsible adult is every to mean anything, we have to resist the fear, and stand up for the Shunned. Deliberately 'Friend' them, re-Tweet them, and publicly state your support for the American Value of Right to Free Speech.
In the end, this revolution will end up where all revolutions end. Everyone will be forced to choose sides and give over their life to the cause they choose.
This writer thinks the work ought to be focused at the local level. And, it is true that the easiest level to make lasting change is at the nearest, most local level. Same with the damage - Portland and Seattle didn't start out to be the Sh**holes they are today, and they didn't get that way overnight.
She's also right about Trump - his biggest role is to distract the opposition, while the rest of us work closer to home to change the direction of our communities.
People leave failing cities. Those with considerable wealth stay. Those without, find a way to leave, or stay. They either become part of the anarchy, or spend their lives in fear.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience of watching my hometown slowly dying as reference, I've found large industry builds facilities to isolate people from their property, have good parking lots for employee security, and service companies move to safer real estate out of the city. This leaves a populace of ignorant voters, criminals, and older folks waiting to pass on to a better existence.
The solution is always educated voters, but with the current education system, most new voters are clueless of the history behind the founding of the United States. To make things worse, they've never been taught critical thinking and believe what they find on social media.
"Truth is unimportant, the perception is all, and, if the testimony is delivered with the right notes of tears and near-hysteria, the judge just might fall for it."
ReplyDeleteI won't give the actual link - understanding I'm a guest here - but let me quote from one of my essays Rules 1 and 2:
Rule 1: It doesn’t matter what’s true, it’s what you can get people to believe.
Rule 2: If you control the information flow, you control what people believe.
I will miss Remus. His most important and oft repeated piece of advice, avoid crowds, has served me well. There is now another binary system in the heavens, he's with his dear wife.
ReplyDeleteI actually live in a small city - I'm only a few miles from actual working farmland. We're in the less trendy, older section of town. The gentrifiers live closer to actually sketchy neighborhoods, and, consequently, experience more street crime than we do. 'Course, it helps that just about everyone in my neighborhood is armed, many with multiple guns.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are in similar situations. Older communities, lots of working class/cops/city employees in them. It might be better in some ways for them to be living closer to the country, but, given the need to be near medical facilities and work, it may be the best option.
All live in highly defensible locations. In a crisis, they would be able to work with neighbors to protect their homes.
The inner city? It's been essentially a lost cause for years. Not because of the people in it, but because it suits government to have a ready source of protesters in a perpetual state of outrage. The actual inhabitants, after the initial upheaval, will probably self-organize and self-protect. Think of something like the Mafia in Sicily. Crooks, but generally controlling the safety of their turf.