Vacuousa a la Roma

The ethical decline of selfish “elites,” and the spiritual vacuousness of the West in general, and the US in particular, are demonstrated in how many non-elites are willing to join anything with a sense of surety, even if that surety comes with a violent and regressive nature, as with the Islamic State group.  If that surety is also trying to overthrow the often corrupt and often self-serving Western and Western-supported order, it finds even more attraction.  Those willing to join have morphed from Middle-Eastern related people to people of all kinds.  Will this cause the West, and especially the US, to look at itself?  Unlikely.  What is more likely is that the West will merely escape into more diversion, denial, and blind reaction.  A foundational crisis—already in motion from environmental and other factors—could be in the offing, and failing to meet that crisis would signal the decline and fall, however slowly or quickly, of Western civilization.  Ironically, just as much of the world wants so many elements of that civilization. 

Rather like Rome less than 2000 years ago.

Help With The Head Scratching

The new pan-Arab Muslim caliphate in forming seems to have thrown the establishment and everyday Americans for a loop.  While far too complex to delve into in a few lines, here’s some points to consider, although, like many such ponderings, it might make you uncomfortable:

1.     When populations are kept in poverty and ignorance, the simplistic appeal of those with certainty and determination/fanaticism will increase.  It isn’t all about terrorism or fear.

2.     When divisions and sectarianism predominate, “us against them” can get a population to overlook much.

3.     When “Great” powers are content with, or even foment, local strongmen or the corrupt instead of justice, they earn the disdain of the oppressed.

4.     When “Great” powers intervene, and especially when they intervene arrogantly and with little knowledge, care, or respect, let alone whether the intervention is even warranted, the second and third order effects they create can sometimes be gargantuan and disastrous.

5.     When those who are dismissed as merely fanatics or terrorists get basic services (electricity, water, transportation) to consistently and reliably work for a population, you don’t have to have in-depth knowledge of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to understand why a populace might give tacit support.

6.     Movements, even deeply flawed or questionable movements, don’t grow by terrorism and fear alone; look to the above for some reasons why they can be strong and why those who oppose them may not be.

Civic Duty

The common refrain from people is that their lives are too busy, that they have so many other things to accomplish, they can’t devote time to making things right or opposing those who are doing injury to the common good.  I think the right answer was perhaps best summed up by the professional woman who turned out to join the Occupy protesters:  “This is my civic duty.  This is my day off.  I am the 99%.”

Amazing That It's Not Amazing

I have people tell me, with a straight face, the most fantastical things.  They say these things even though they know I am a PhD.  Like I should believe them, based on an article they supposedly read that was allegedly written by some supposedly smart-whip scientist, instead of believing what 97% of scientists have concluded.  Most of the time I find something else to do rather than poke on their emotional, factless, mis/disinformation bubble, but occasionally I’ll ask where I can find the article.  Most of the time, they can’t recall.  The few times they can, it’s not from some scientific journal, but only something on a website NOT affiliated with a government, educational organization, or research center.

GD America, quit showing Hedges to be correct.  Because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to be correct!

Skin In The Game

I travel a lot.  On one of my recent trips, I found myself with a little time.  Watched what appeared to be a hardworking (strong, calloused hands) black man in tan overalls and a hoodie waiting for his ride to pick him up.  The looks he received, even the stares.  The cops who came to ask questions. 

There is a lot that an African-American male, especially one of the poor working class, typically has to go through.  Things that we with the melanin-deficient skin rarely consider.  Like consider what an assault on one’s psyche that must be…