I'm armed and when it came to the jabs was afraid I'd need to go down in a hail of gunfire (around the time of the 'our patience is growing thin'/'you have cost all of us' speech from our idiot president), because I damn sure wasn't going to take it and my kids weren't either.
There is an exceptionally hardened opposition to this stuff in most of the country. This is not a population like the unarmed soviets that the secret police got off on torturing and disappearing, knowing they'd go home safe at the end of the day.
Keep fighting with words and law. It will not come to that, so long as we're prepared to fight if it does.
To reiterate yet once again, that which I’ve written on several occasions, remember Lexington and Concord and the spirit of those times. It once again is time to establish Committees of Public Safety and the like, and for the same reasons.
Family is always first, Chris. As a mother who lost her only child, Jon when he was 48, knows. The only practice that has kept me sane through the societal insanity that surrounds us and the loss of my son is to remember to keep my heart open so I can feel unconditional love flowing to me from the "other side" and from me to everyone I'm near. As helpless as we sometimes feel watching those we love struggle with their health, the one thing we can always do to help is simply love them unconditionally. That always brings peace—to us and to them.
Lovely thoughts.....I'm struggling with the bullshit after nearly three years of podcasting about it. Open heart and nature help. I don't have the forgiveness piece yet. Thanks for your wisdom. So sorry about your boy....48, I know but always our "boys". I had a near miss this year with mine.
Praying for you and your family. If physical healing isn't possible, I hope and pray that enough time to make any needed family amends, speak candidly with the Almighty, etc., is given to your loved one.
I think what you say about doing right by those around you is crucial to living right. We can't let what's happening during the current political moment distract us from our duty to our own families and to our fellow man. I also think (contrary to Carl) that there is some practical benefit to doing the right thing, living generously, etc. I think we can change the world by putting goodness into it. I still believe in political engagement, outright refusal to obey indecent demands, etc., but I also believe that my making sandwiches for a homeless shelter does more good than put food in a few local stomachs.
Thank you for your work, and know that your readers care about you and are hoping for the best possible things for you and those dear to you.
We've learned in the last couple of days that physical healing isn't possible, after some pretty brutal medical interventions that failed, and are working on the next part. Very hard.
I am so sorry to hear that. I will add you and your family to my prayer list. I have numerous people in my life with very challenging issues. We ask one another for prayers and that has lifted us all up. I’m not a church goer and dropped out of the RCC as a teenager but I think prayer works and people feel better knowing that someone is thinking of them every day. I hope you feel the love and support from the community you built. We need and appreciate you. Despite the craziness and personal challenges I believe better days are coming. People are waking up to the lies, bullshit, greed, corruption, hypocrisy, and flat out evil. We can do small things like you suggest. It’s going to take all of us to create what we want and not endure what a tiny fraction of society decides we should have.
I am really, really sorry. I have seen some amazing things on the second part in my own life--forgiveness between people who haven't spoken in decades, for example. I hope and pray that you and your family get what you need.
So sorry to hear about the health issues with which you are dealing. The lifetime frustration of all doctors (good ones, anyway) is that we can seldom make everything better, and often can make nothing better. Sending good thoughts your way.
As usual, I agree with much of what you say. I think it is a mistake, however, to discount the notion that camps are in our future. Honestly, I don't see how this can end any other way unless we reverse the process that is even now accelerating.
Put another way, I think now is the time to fight as if our very lives depend upon it.
Before discounting such notions as hyperbole, maybe we should talk to the J6 political prisoners. Most went to Washington believing they were safe from such third world treatment because they lived in a land of laws that made such things impossible. They were wrong. And wrong we will be as well if we continue making that same mistake.
I feel the same way. Still, preventing armed men from taking you would take some preparation - preparation that we will not do if we think being dragged off to a camp is improbable or even impossible.
If what I am reading elsewhere is accurate, Solzhenitsyn wrote something to the effect that one of the topics that came up repeatedly in the gulags was "What if we had planned ahead to support each other when the secret police came for one of us? What if we had organized communication nets to call a small army to the aid of the intended victim? What if the secret police knew they would lose several of their number every time they tried to arrest one of us?"
That is a lot of "what ifs" but the gist of it is that they come when you least expect it (ask anyone who had their doors busted down by the FBI recently) and you don't have much, if any, time to react. But "what if" citizens were organized, ready, and most importantly, willing? As we used to say in the Army: "Prior Preparation Prevents P--- Poor Performance."
Solzhenitsyn also said, “We didn’t love freedom enough...”
I saw it myself when I lost my job of 23 years. No one tells me what to put in my body. I love my freedom. And I will die before anyone takes it from me. With all the history of past tyranny, and we’re actually having THIS conversation.
"citizens who were forced into camps lived in countries that didn't have the 2A. "
And we do? The main reason I was not in DC on January 6th was that I could not legally carry a gun in DC and I knew that the police would be looking for excuses to put protesters behind bars.
Think about it. If we can't carry a gun in your nation's capital, how can we claim to have the right to keep and bear arms?
Thanks to our own failure to fight for our rights, we have the second amendment but are losing the rights it guarantees. The same is true of the first amendment.
As Ayn Rand pointed out, there is no "we". There is only "I". And while it may make us all warm & fuzzy to think there's a really swell "we", it just isn't so, no matter how hard you wish. You come into this world alone and you will surely die that way. The basis for all that is right in the world is reason, which allows us to make millions of intelligent decisions, based on what is good. It's the basic tool we have to survive. When making an agreement with another person to do something/anything, the underlying fundamental is that it is mutually beneficial in one way or another.
Without delving into 300,000 words about the underlying epistemology, some very wise people who lived a few hundred years ago came to the conclusion that when you give a person, any person, power over another person, they will eventually abuse it. And that abuse typically consists of depriving the other person of their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Our Declaration of Independence recognizes that the natural state of man is to be free. When man is free, he pursues his own self-interest and everyone else benefits. When is not free, or, more pointedly, when others game the system of politics & powers to rob of us our life, liberty & happiness, so that they can satisfy their diabolical narcissistic tendencies, everyone else suffers. It's all of the wealth that's never created ... all of the advancements never made ... and all of the good work that never gets done.
Our current idiocracy is a symptom of a larger issue ... namely our society has lost the basic understanding of the underlying principles that created the advancement and the largesse that the parasites are fighting over. The largesse is fading away rapidly ... one can feel it evaporating at a rapidly increasing rate. The ultimate end-game of the sociopaths and narcissist who have killed the golden goose is the same as it's been through human history: death, disease & destruction. Unable to achieve what is truly good, they can only destroy it.
I would only argue about the idea of "we." I think it can exist, in small forms and with free choice. Family is mutually beneficial, but I don't read that fact in a dark light.
"The largesse is fading away rapidly" is disturbingly accurate.
"I would only argue about the idea of "we." I think it can exist..."
Amen to that. I would argue that Ayn Rand had a valid point but carried it a bit too far.
Empathy is not just some touchy-feely word; scientists have proved that it exists and that it is what binds us to one another in ways that may actually be far more consequential than indicated by the word "we". Indeed, scientists have proved that all mammals, even the lowly lab rat, not only have the capacity for empathy but, as a group, could not survive without it. What science has failed completely to do is convince the arrogant sociopaths who are born without the capacity for empathy that theirs is a birth defect, not a birth superiority.
I agree with you completely, but we are talking about two different premises. As Ms. Rand would point out (yes, she was extreme, but boy could we use her right now), your conscious decision to act on your empathy at any given time is reason-based. It brings you joy and peace and satisfaction, etc. Regardless, it's your decision. Conversely, if I put a gun in your face and tell you that I am taking 40% of your wealth so I can give it to various parasites & sociopaths that vote for my ability to rob you, you probably won't have any empathy.
You got the right perspective. Getting on a lifeboat isn't a solution for keeping the Titanic afloat, but when the ship is taking on water and starting to list noticeably, it's the best course of action in a bad situation. We're truly in uncharted territory as a postmodern first world country that has decided to thumb its nose at human biology and thoughtlessly discard traditions that have been pressure-tested across countless generations. This is like Tower of Babel territory. Who knows what comes next, but this thing can't go on. Truth, Human Nature, Reason, and timeless values will all be vindicated when this monstrosity collapses. The USA is like the dog in Old Yeller that caught rabies and had to be put down. It breaks my heart to see what this country has turned into, but the disease is terminal at this point. Get your lifeboats ready for your families and loved ones.
Chris, your perspective is aligned with the reality we observe daily, locally, nationally and globally. I agree that we are on a trajectory that will continue for some time until there is a mass awakening of the future it portends if not halted. Until then, political push-back has a place in drawing attention to the daily absurdities we endure, but seem overpowered by the corporate-owned media endless repeating the narratives that too many seem too lazy to critically examine or lack the mental power of analytical thought. God help us! And God help your family suffering with medical issues.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance on you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Hang in there. Wishing you and your family the best as you deal with this difficult time. These kinds of things just make everything so much harder. So take care of what matters and don’t worry about the Substack. We will be here when you have the time and inclination.
As far as going to camp, yeah sure , I’ll go along with my little friend. And all the counselors will say hello to my little friend. And about 10 million other campers feel the same way. So good luck with that. If the trillion dollar budget woke trans Chinese ballon fearing military that can’t beat the Taliban or the Vietnamese or the myriad terrorists and insurgent groups that keep expanding, think they can at least beat 10 million ( 3 percent of the population) fed up Americans, including a couple million vets, well good luck with that. But if I had to guess, these degenerate whores, thieves, and clowns will collapse all by themselves. The imperative therefore is to be able to survive the unwinding- food, water, transportation, communication, self defense, alcohol, sarcastic memes. In the meantime, the simplest paradigm to invoke is that we now live in a third world tin pot dictatorship.if you understand that then you understand why the trains don’t run on time, etc.
What goes down..... eventually goes back up again. There is already pushback to the transgender ideology in the UK. I agree with you fwiw. Gather your clan around you, protect your kids from the worst of it for sure, do what you can to make a difference however small.
The exchange between a citizen and legislature is deeply troubling. Can a 'credentialed' person be immoral? Corrupt? Malicious? Of course, they can. They're not the end of the discussion. They don't get to dictate what is 'right' and 'wrong' because they're 'credentialed'. It's asinine as it is an example of a civilization that has lost its ability to critically think.
Just picture our civilization like a street with lights. One by one they're shutting off.
And they will be turned back on elsewhere one day.
We're not headed for camps.
I'm armed and when it came to the jabs was afraid I'd need to go down in a hail of gunfire (around the time of the 'our patience is growing thin'/'you have cost all of us' speech from our idiot president), because I damn sure wasn't going to take it and my kids weren't either.
There is an exceptionally hardened opposition to this stuff in most of the country. This is not a population like the unarmed soviets that the secret police got off on torturing and disappearing, knowing they'd go home safe at the end of the day.
Keep fighting with words and law. It will not come to that, so long as we're prepared to fight if it does.
Best to you and your family.
To reiterate yet once again, that which I’ve written on several occasions, remember Lexington and Concord and the spirit of those times. It once again is time to establish Committees of Public Safety and the like, and for the same reasons.
There was a rant in our local paper. The White House should have a Burger King sign on it since there are so many whoppers coming from there. Boo ya!
Yep. I was waiting for the announcement of the door to door vax squads and wondering, who are they going to get to do that on day two?
Family is always first, Chris. As a mother who lost her only child, Jon when he was 48, knows. The only practice that has kept me sane through the societal insanity that surrounds us and the loss of my son is to remember to keep my heart open so I can feel unconditional love flowing to me from the "other side" and from me to everyone I'm near. As helpless as we sometimes feel watching those we love struggle with their health, the one thing we can always do to help is simply love them unconditionally. That always brings peace—to us and to them.
I'm sorry for your loss, and I feel that as a parent.
Lovely thoughts.....I'm struggling with the bullshit after nearly three years of podcasting about it. Open heart and nature help. I don't have the forgiveness piece yet. Thanks for your wisdom. So sorry about your boy....48, I know but always our "boys". I had a near miss this year with mine.
Peace, sister.
Praying for you and your family. If physical healing isn't possible, I hope and pray that enough time to make any needed family amends, speak candidly with the Almighty, etc., is given to your loved one.
I think what you say about doing right by those around you is crucial to living right. We can't let what's happening during the current political moment distract us from our duty to our own families and to our fellow man. I also think (contrary to Carl) that there is some practical benefit to doing the right thing, living generously, etc. I think we can change the world by putting goodness into it. I still believe in political engagement, outright refusal to obey indecent demands, etc., but I also believe that my making sandwiches for a homeless shelter does more good than put food in a few local stomachs.
Thank you for your work, and know that your readers care about you and are hoping for the best possible things for you and those dear to you.
We've learned in the last couple of days that physical healing isn't possible, after some pretty brutal medical interventions that failed, and are working on the next part. Very hard.
I am so sorry to hear that. I will add you and your family to my prayer list. I have numerous people in my life with very challenging issues. We ask one another for prayers and that has lifted us all up. I’m not a church goer and dropped out of the RCC as a teenager but I think prayer works and people feel better knowing that someone is thinking of them every day. I hope you feel the love and support from the community you built. We need and appreciate you. Despite the craziness and personal challenges I believe better days are coming. People are waking up to the lies, bullshit, greed, corruption, hypocrisy, and flat out evil. We can do small things like you suggest. It’s going to take all of us to create what we want and not endure what a tiny fraction of society decides we should have.
I am really, really sorry. I have seen some amazing things on the second part in my own life--forgiveness between people who haven't spoken in decades, for example. I hope and pray that you and your family get what you need.
Jesus, man. That's a tough pill to swallow. Hope you're holding it together, and your family, too. This must be brutal on all of you.
I pray for your loved one and for a soft landing.
So sorry to hear about the health issues with which you are dealing. The lifetime frustration of all doctors (good ones, anyway) is that we can seldom make everything better, and often can make nothing better. Sending good thoughts your way.
As usual, I agree with much of what you say. I think it is a mistake, however, to discount the notion that camps are in our future. Honestly, I don't see how this can end any other way unless we reverse the process that is even now accelerating.
Put another way, I think now is the time to fight as if our very lives depend upon it.
Before discounting such notions as hyperbole, maybe we should talk to the J6 political prisoners. Most went to Washington believing they were safe from such third world treatment because they lived in a land of laws that made such things impossible. They were wrong. And wrong we will be as well if we continue making that same mistake.
Maybe they're in the future for some. We won't go.
I feel the same way. Still, preventing armed men from taking you would take some preparation - preparation that we will not do if we think being dragged off to a camp is improbable or even impossible.
If what I am reading elsewhere is accurate, Solzhenitsyn wrote something to the effect that one of the topics that came up repeatedly in the gulags was "What if we had planned ahead to support each other when the secret police came for one of us? What if we had organized communication nets to call a small army to the aid of the intended victim? What if the secret police knew they would lose several of their number every time they tried to arrest one of us?"
That is a lot of "what ifs" but the gist of it is that they come when you least expect it (ask anyone who had their doors busted down by the FBI recently) and you don't have much, if any, time to react. But "what if" citizens were organized, ready, and most importantly, willing? As we used to say in the Army: "Prior Preparation Prevents P--- Poor Performance."
Solzhenitsyn also said, “We didn’t love freedom enough...”
I saw it myself when I lost my job of 23 years. No one tells me what to put in my body. I love my freedom. And I will die before anyone takes it from me. With all the history of past tyranny, and we’re actually having THIS conversation.
Amen, sister.
To be sure, those citizens who were forced into camps live(d) in countries that didn't have the 2A.
Chris, blessings upon your beloved family member and you too.
"citizens who were forced into camps lived in countries that didn't have the 2A. "
And we do? The main reason I was not in DC on January 6th was that I could not legally carry a gun in DC and I knew that the police would be looking for excuses to put protesters behind bars.
Think about it. If we can't carry a gun in your nation's capital, how can we claim to have the right to keep and bear arms?
Thanks to our own failure to fight for our rights, we have the second amendment but are losing the rights it guarantees. The same is true of the first amendment.
Patriot Act.
You’re missing a comma.
And a few exclamation points...
Exactly.
As Ayn Rand pointed out, there is no "we". There is only "I". And while it may make us all warm & fuzzy to think there's a really swell "we", it just isn't so, no matter how hard you wish. You come into this world alone and you will surely die that way. The basis for all that is right in the world is reason, which allows us to make millions of intelligent decisions, based on what is good. It's the basic tool we have to survive. When making an agreement with another person to do something/anything, the underlying fundamental is that it is mutually beneficial in one way or another.
Without delving into 300,000 words about the underlying epistemology, some very wise people who lived a few hundred years ago came to the conclusion that when you give a person, any person, power over another person, they will eventually abuse it. And that abuse typically consists of depriving the other person of their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Our Declaration of Independence recognizes that the natural state of man is to be free. When man is free, he pursues his own self-interest and everyone else benefits. When is not free, or, more pointedly, when others game the system of politics & powers to rob of us our life, liberty & happiness, so that they can satisfy their diabolical narcissistic tendencies, everyone else suffers. It's all of the wealth that's never created ... all of the advancements never made ... and all of the good work that never gets done.
Our current idiocracy is a symptom of a larger issue ... namely our society has lost the basic understanding of the underlying principles that created the advancement and the largesse that the parasites are fighting over. The largesse is fading away rapidly ... one can feel it evaporating at a rapidly increasing rate. The ultimate end-game of the sociopaths and narcissist who have killed the golden goose is the same as it's been through human history: death, disease & destruction. Unable to achieve what is truly good, they can only destroy it.
I would only argue about the idea of "we." I think it can exist, in small forms and with free choice. Family is mutually beneficial, but I don't read that fact in a dark light.
"The largesse is fading away rapidly" is disturbingly accurate.
"I would only argue about the idea of "we." I think it can exist..."
Amen to that. I would argue that Ayn Rand had a valid point but carried it a bit too far.
Empathy is not just some touchy-feely word; scientists have proved that it exists and that it is what binds us to one another in ways that may actually be far more consequential than indicated by the word "we". Indeed, scientists have proved that all mammals, even the lowly lab rat, not only have the capacity for empathy but, as a group, could not survive without it. What science has failed completely to do is convince the arrogant sociopaths who are born without the capacity for empathy that theirs is a birth defect, not a birth superiority.
I agree with you completely, but we are talking about two different premises. As Ms. Rand would point out (yes, she was extreme, but boy could we use her right now), your conscious decision to act on your empathy at any given time is reason-based. It brings you joy and peace and satisfaction, etc. Regardless, it's your decision. Conversely, if I put a gun in your face and tell you that I am taking 40% of your wealth so I can give it to various parasites & sociopaths that vote for my ability to rob you, you probably won't have any empathy.
"As Ayn Rand pointed out, there is no 'we'."
Proving that the Right was politicizing pronouns long before the Left did, I guess.
Agreed. Especially on that part about we could use Ayn Rand right now.
You got the right perspective. Getting on a lifeboat isn't a solution for keeping the Titanic afloat, but when the ship is taking on water and starting to list noticeably, it's the best course of action in a bad situation. We're truly in uncharted territory as a postmodern first world country that has decided to thumb its nose at human biology and thoughtlessly discard traditions that have been pressure-tested across countless generations. This is like Tower of Babel territory. Who knows what comes next, but this thing can't go on. Truth, Human Nature, Reason, and timeless values will all be vindicated when this monstrosity collapses. The USA is like the dog in Old Yeller that caught rabies and had to be put down. It breaks my heart to see what this country has turned into, but the disease is terminal at this point. Get your lifeboats ready for your families and loved ones.
Chris, your perspective is aligned with the reality we observe daily, locally, nationally and globally. I agree that we are on a trajectory that will continue for some time until there is a mass awakening of the future it portends if not halted. Until then, political push-back has a place in drawing attention to the daily absurdities we endure, but seem overpowered by the corporate-owned media endless repeating the narratives that too many seem too lazy to critically examine or lack the mental power of analytical thought. God help us! And God help your family suffering with medical issues.
Stay strong. Excellent post.
🙏for your family
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance on you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Thank you for all you do. I'm praying for you.
Thank you.
Best to you and yours Chris
Chris - I almost cried reading your post. We just recently went through something similar. It was a long goodbye. And ended last week.
Your essay has touched both my wife and I.
Sending our thoughts. We can empathize. We understand how difficult it can be.
Best.
I'm sorry for your loss. We're trying to get a handle on what the next weeks will look like.
Hang in there. Wishing you and your family the best as you deal with this difficult time. These kinds of things just make everything so much harder. So take care of what matters and don’t worry about the Substack. We will be here when you have the time and inclination.
As far as going to camp, yeah sure , I’ll go along with my little friend. And all the counselors will say hello to my little friend. And about 10 million other campers feel the same way. So good luck with that. If the trillion dollar budget woke trans Chinese ballon fearing military that can’t beat the Taliban or the Vietnamese or the myriad terrorists and insurgent groups that keep expanding, think they can at least beat 10 million ( 3 percent of the population) fed up Americans, including a couple million vets, well good luck with that. But if I had to guess, these degenerate whores, thieves, and clowns will collapse all by themselves. The imperative therefore is to be able to survive the unwinding- food, water, transportation, communication, self defense, alcohol, sarcastic memes. In the meantime, the simplest paradigm to invoke is that we now live in a third world tin pot dictatorship.if you understand that then you understand why the trains don’t run on time, etc.
Illegitimus non carborundum.
Nil desperandum 🙂 Even though
🗨 that which does not kill you will mutate and try again.
😉
What goes down..... eventually goes back up again. There is already pushback to the transgender ideology in the UK. I agree with you fwiw. Gather your clan around you, protect your kids from the worst of it for sure, do what you can to make a difference however small.
Hope it works out for your family.
The exchange between a citizen and legislature is deeply troubling. Can a 'credentialed' person be immoral? Corrupt? Malicious? Of course, they can. They're not the end of the discussion. They don't get to dictate what is 'right' and 'wrong' because they're 'credentialed'. It's asinine as it is an example of a civilization that has lost its ability to critically think.
Just picture our civilization like a street with lights. One by one they're shutting off.
And they will be turned back on elsewhere one day.
"Just picture our civilization like a street with lights. One by one they're shutting off."
Exactly this.
Stay strong, buddy.