Cultural Pep Talk

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So, what’s the deal?  Are we reaching the end of the American Century and should we abandon all hope, we who enter?  Or is there any other way to approach the situation we are in?  Well, I would be accused of being a hopeless optimist if I didn’t admit that western civilization has fallen off a cliff at this point.  Looking around and seeing what passes for leadership and competency it’s impossible not to see a step change down from what existed a generation before.  Even the crooks are a couple of standard deviations below the level that used to operate in the last century.  Everything is diminished.  It’s undeniable.

Where do we go from here?

A few years ago, I read a book by a culture critic named Rod Dreher called “The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation.”  Now Dreher is a man of the right but he has had lots of fights with many other folks on his “side of the aisle.”  If I remember correctly, he’s not very fond of Donald Trump.  Oh, well.  But there was much in his book that I found interesting and helpful.  He talked about how our era had commonalities with 5th century A.D. Europe during the fall of the Roman Empire.  The Benedict in the title refers to Saint Benedict who at that time founded the Benedictine monastic order that began the slow painful process of restoring civilization to the human wreckage that existed after civil authority broke down after the barbarian hordes knocked over the Roman government.  Dreher’s point was that we no longer live in a society united under a common culture or religion.  But that doesn’t prevent us from forming our own communities to preserve the things we value and pass them on to our descendants.

And he’s absolutely correct.  Now admittedly, the left is doing everything it can to infect all areas of civil life with their Anti-American, Anti-European, Anti-Christian, Anti-western-civilization, anti-white propaganda and agenda.  But giving up because it’s difficult is the very definition of weakness.  If the things we want to see endure are worth saving then they are certainly worth fighting for.

So, I see this as the alternative to despair.  Look at the current state of affairs as a test of fitness for people and ideas.  If you’re not willing to fight for the things you value then maybe you don’t actually value them that much at all.  It certainly is a shame that the elites in this country valued the monetary advantages they could gain from globalism over the patriotic loyalty they owed to their fellow citizens and drowned our culture in third world “diversity.”  But just giving up is weak and defeatist and now that the globalists have been exposed it’s incumbent on us to support all individuals and organizations that work toward preserving the best parts of our traditional culture and do everything we can to reconstitute that culture and allow it to flourish again in this country.  Start rebuilding.

Who Will Inherit the Earth?

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Jesus told us that the meek shall inherit the Earth.  But he didn’t say when.  Maybe the meek have to wait until God disenfranchises the current owners when the Trump of Doom sounds.  But what we know for certain is that progressives mean to disinherit the Americans that were Americans before the great replacement was begun.  The globalists have decided to get rid of us.  Or more exactly, they want to get rid of our children and grandchildren.  And their plan is to drown them out with immigrants.  Bring in people who will work for less of everything; less money and less rights.  You can see the cultural trappings of it in every commercial and every social message.  Immigrants are the real Americans and they will replace these evil white people and they’ll do it right now.

But will it work?

Well, it’s a fair question.  Trump is providing a mechanism for slowing down and even reversing the flood of aliens.  And he’s challenging all of the DEI justification for the plan.  He’s declaring DEI anti-white discrimination and that is a very compelling argument and even the supreme Court has backed him on several points of his programs.  So, there is a counterweight to the Left’s push and plan.

But is it already too late?

Some people say that there are already too many aliens born her to undo the replacement.  Well, I’m not a purist on who is an American.  If I were to restrict the definition of American to even full European ancestry, I’d be leaving a whole lot of Texans out who are pretty sure they’re Americans.  And I’d agree with them.  My definition of American is a little looser.  If you came here legally, speak English, respect the people who were here before you, know who George Washington was, prefer football to soccer, believe in the Bill of Rights and hate Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton then you might convince me you’re an American even if you just got your citizen papers and were born outside the country.

My people only came here about a hundred and fifty years ago.  We were the wretched refuse at that time and I’m sure most Americans thought we should be sent packing.  But my family has always been highly patriotic and loved this country as the greatest country that has ever existed on this planet.  And when I meet legal immigrants who love this country and never show any disrespect for those who were here before them, I accept them as equals; as Americans.

And it is my belief that once the borders are secured and the great bulk of the invaders are deported we will be able to Americanize the children of immigrants that remain.  In our history immigrants wanted to assimilate.  The Left has declared that a dirty word.  But it’s exactly what needs to be done by all of these new people.  We need to make a point of requiring assimilation.  And the first order of business is eliminating the accommodation of other languages than English.  English needs to be made the official language of this country and all government business must be transacted in it.  That includes voting and all other government programs.

Well, anyway.  As far as who will inherit the Earth (or at least America), the jury is still out.  But I wouldn’t assume we’re doomed.  Far from it.

Dune (2021) – A Science Fiction Movie Review

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This isn’t really a normal review.  I won’t walk through the plot.  Instead, I’ll give my impressions of the movie.  Now, full disclosure, I’ve never read the Dune books.  That alone is pretty remarkable considering they came out in the heyday of my science fiction reading career.  I never could actually tell why I didn’t.  Just something about the story didn’t click for some reason.

The first impression I have of this film is the high quality of the cinematography.  The landscapes both desert and temperate are beautifully filmed.  And the special effects of the colossal machines, space craft and the sand worms are wonderfully done.  Of course, on the theater screen they’re even more impressive.

Next let’s look at the actors.  There is a fairly large cast so there is a range of talent and not every character is given equal attention but the actors for the principal characters do a very fine job of making their parts memorable and entertaining.

The plot is something like the situation in feudal Japan where the emperor is in competition with his warlords and internecine struggle is a constant threat.  But we clearly have House Atreides and the Fremen to root for and everyone else to hiss at.  The battle scenes are impressive and the sword fights are well done and very entertaining.

Now I guess I’m supposed to like the Fremen as they’re the “good guys.”  But honestly, I found them pretty unlikeable.  I much preferred Atreides people (whatever they’re called).  And also, the sisterhood that Paul Atreides’ mother is a member; the Bene Gesserit, I disliked them also.  If I was running that universe, I’d have them rounded up and burned as witches.  They’re very annoying.

Now of course, this first movie isn’t the full story.  The second film is out there waiting for me to watch.  So, I’ll leave this encapsulation of my impressions here.

I highly recommend this movie.  This is good storytelling.  The plot and characters are memorable and engaging.  Two thumbs up.  Bring on part two!