Devolution

A friend of mine penned an email to me the other day that articulately summarizes the state not just of our nation but of the world. I reproduce it here in full (italics mine).

“Peter Zeihan (author of ‘The End of the World Is Just The Beginning’, a recommended read!) says that the world we knew in 2019 is gone and the post-Covid era will never be the same. Globalism, and the network of supply chains created in the past 50 years is fragmenting and will inevitably devolve into regional cooperatives of countries vying for fertilizers, food production, fuel, and the basics necessary to underpin civilized communities. Areas like Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia that have little or no food production and fuel sources may become hotbeds of civil unrest, starvation, and mass migration. And maybe that’s the best case.

Here, as inflation gets progressively worse and the costs of living and surviving get worse, it will undoubtedly lead to a greater chasm between rich and poor. We, too, may see civil unrest, for different reasons than those on the African or Asian continents, but unrest and lawlessness nonetheless. If the U.S. was the glue that held the world in check since WWII, the consequences of it turning inward to heal itself, may prove devastating for the world at large. I see this situation as self-inflicted by senseless policies, a government detached from reality, and priorities like climate change, that are divorced from the urgencies of today’s fragmenting world.

In all of this Biden and the Leftists dither in the world of gender pronouns and social justice while Rome burns. However, unlike Emperors before him, none now are held to account, and are destined to repeat the mistakes of the past. They never learn, or don’t want to learn.

I cannot believe the world we are in today; it’s the Upside Down and it is surely producing a generation of young that have a weak anchor to what is right or reasoned. Products of their time? Let’s hope not for all our sakes.”

Well put John, and scary as hell for anyone willing to pay attention!

PS, a follow up from John…

“I hope that my words did not come across simply as an intellectual, geopolitical treatise. I am profoundly concerned, and alarmed, at the state of the world, no…let me say, at the coming state of the world. We are silently going down the rabbit hole and most are not aware of how bad it can become… …I know that most people today are too lost in “The Bachelor” or “The View” to sense how the world is devolving. We have never experienced chaos, but I am starting to feel its potential in the air.

The U.S. must not, and can not, for all the reasons I just wrote about, throw aside the mantle of leadership, or my worst fears may be realized and the world turn in upon itself. Where are those few good men?”

Couldn’t agree more, particularly with respect to the fact that most people today “are too lost in the “The Bachelor” or “The View” to sense how the world is devolving.”

Traditional Values, Traditionalists and Traditionalism

Attributed to the American author Samuel R. Delany is the phrase “Words mean things.” Hijacking words and phrases is a powerful tool in the arsenal of the demagogue. And the twisting of usage and meaning into pretzels has always been a favorite device of politicians and pundits. With this in mind, I thought I should explain what I mean when I refer in my writing to Traditional Values, Traditionalists and Traditionalism.

Look up Traditionalism and you’ll receive a panoply of descriptions and definitions. One of the first articles that comes up from a search is: “a school of thought promulgated by a group of 20th and 21st century thinkers who believe in the existence of perennial wisdom, or perennial philosophy, primordial and universal truths which form the source for, and are shared by, all the major world religions.” Look further and one goes through the looking glass and into a rabbit warren of definitions in the context of societal norms, religion, philosophy, economics, culture, etc.

In 1964 Supreme Court Justice Potter Steward famously described obscenity (or rather, what it is not) as follows:

“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”

Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964)

Borrowing on that phrase, I will suggest that Traditionalism may be defined in a variety of ways, but in the end, Traditionalists know it when they see it.

However, a shortcut to how I define Traditionalism is: that body of ideals, values and mores that we were raised on by the Greatest Generation.

Speaking of the Greatest Generation, one of the definitions of Traditionalists refers to those who were born between 1900 and 1945. I believe it is precisely because of their espousal of Traditional Values that they were Great!

We Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 on the other hand, are split into two camps: a) those of us who listened to what our Greatest Generation parents taught us, who were grateful for the peace and prosperity they bequeathed to us and who have tried to live our lives by their example and rules; and, b) the prodigals, the “Me” generation of the sexual revolution who grew up to be the radicals of the 70’s and the yuppies of the 80’s, a few of whom have come home to Traditionalism and the balance of whom have become today’s Leftists.

So what do I mean by Traditional Values? Often the term is conflated with “Family Values.” They are similar, but Traditionalism goes beyond Family Values. To me, Traditional Values include support for:

  • individual freedom to live as we wish within the basic constraints of Judeo-Christian principles;
  • the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights as they were intended for then and all future generations;
  • fundamental patriotism, including honoring our Flag, national symbols, anthems and emblems;
  • a strong military and national defense and protection of our sovereignty;
  • the right of self-defense and to keep, bear and utilize arms to ensure that right;
  • obeying the Law and supporting those who serve in law enforcement;
  • marriage defined as between one man and one woman (including acceptance of the biological fact that men and women are different!);
  • support for nuclear families consisting of a father and mother and their children;
  • freedom of worship and expression;
  • the Golden Rule;
  • support for and defense of free-market capitalism;
  • equal opportunity, not equal outcomes; and,
  • separation of powers within a limited, and republican government.

Traditional Values also include opposition to: 

  • social engineering and bad (many wouldsay EVIL) social, economic and political ideologies such as socialism and communism;
  • crony capitalism;
  • ‘free love’ and promiscuity;
  • abortion on demand and in lieu of contraception;
  • gender confusion;
  • LGBTQ militancy;
  • fascism masquerading as liberal or progressive free expression;
  • violent protest; and,
  • collectivism, globalism, cultural marxism and so-called “progressivism”.

The Greatest Generation didn’t have to think about or debate these principles – they lived them. They were part of the fabric of their society.

Today, these principles are under constant assault.

I used to teach a lesson in Sunday School using a glass of water and a dropper full of black ink. The water represented our souls. In the context of this article, it represents the reservoir of societal values. The black drops of ink I slowly added to the water represent, for purposes of this article, Progressive/Leftist ideas, norms, habits, values. Add one drop to the water and nothing seems to happen. As successively more drops are added, however, the water starts to turn grey, then greyer, murky, and finally black.

The metaphor aptly describes what’s happening to our country.

I hope and pray I’m joined by the Silent Majority of our Boomer generation and budding Traditionalists of succeeding generations in fighting for a return to the Traditional principles that made us the greatest nation on earth and in the history of the world.

(Left) Right Before Our Eyes

In 1966 two radical, Leftist sociologists from Columbia University: Richard Cloward and Frances Piven, put forth a strategy for overloading the welfare system to the point where it would precipitate a crisis and cause the government to collapse. It was to be replaced by a socialist system of guaranteed annual income, under the guise of eliminating poverty. Sound familiar?

In 1971 Saul Alinsky wrote “Rules for Radicals” wherein he too advocated overloading the system, except he went beyond Cloward and Piven to advocate “organizing the world”, going so far as to violently overthrow governments if necessary to create the Leftists’ utopian dream.

We have only to look around ourselves to see that Acorn, Antifa, Occupy Wall Street and the myriad other radical “organizations” are manifestations of this “organize the world” strategy. It is the Leftist demagogue’s goal to ensure that the individual, and individual freedom and merit, are eliminated and supplanted with “one world order” that will bring egalitarian peace and prosperity to all.

In fact, history has demonstrated time and again what should be patently obvious: that Leftist/Utopian/One World Order visions only accelerate the destruction of great civilizations.

We see many more examples of this cancer in institutions around us today: in totalitarian regimes such as China, North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Russia (yes, Russia is still totalitarian despite feigning democracy); in globalist organizations such as the United Nations, Organization of American States and European Union that constantly promote collectivism and wealth redistribution;  in so-called philanthropic and policy entities like the World Federalist Movement, the Clinton Foundation/Global Initiative and many similar “one world government” promoters, and in countless Leftist/Social Justice societies, clubs and associations on college campuses and in communities throughout the country. And, astoundingly and regrettably, in courts and schools, and most visibly, in today’s Democrat Party.

How did these beyond-fringe-lunacy to mainstream elected representatives’ rhetoric get a foothold in our great country?

Here’s the crux of the matter. Traditionalists and Conservatives celebrate the individual, self-reliance, independence, freedom and meritocracy. The desire to be left alone, to care for ourselves, our families and loved ones compels us to resist “organizing” the way the Left has. To say the least, way down on our list of priorities is trying to create a collectivist, Utopian society!

Leftists use our value system against us by goading not just the poorer and less fortunate among us but now the entire working middle of our society to protest, to “resist”, thus fomenting class warfare, covetousness, envy and ultimately, to lay the groundwork for extortion. Alinsky’s approach, and that of virtually all “community organizers”, seeks to brain-wash and indoctrinate self-reliant individuals using airwaves saturated with propaganda, and with increasing frequency, to compel compliance with their dogma through the actions of organized mobs inciting violence and mayhem. What’s particularly insidious about this is that the Left couches their rhetoric in emotional appeals to charity and caring for others, of rooting for the underdogs, the “victims”. The hypocrisy is breathtaking!

It’s not complacency that’s allowed this to happen. Ask any hard-working middle class adults whether they see what the Left is doing and whether they care and you’ll get a resounding affirmative answer. The problem is that the productive in our society are too busy being productive and caring for themselves and their families to spend time countering the verbal diarrhea delivered by community organizers in fireside chats at the local library. Thus, Leftist dialogue, what the vast majority of the media spouts and what our eyes and ears a filled with, with the exception of a few conservative/traditional print and media outlets, goes unchecked and unchallenged.

Yes, the majority at our southern border are seeking better lives for themselves. But they are there in large part because of Leftists with sinister objectives, including, obvious to anyone with eyes, the objective of overwhelming the system. Leftist “saviors” predictably swoop in to offer anything and everything while condemning every person or action that would discourage or disallow the wholesale trampling of our sovereignty.

Why? Is it because the Left really cares about these refugees? No, it’s because the Leftists, in a move that would make Cloward, Piven and Alinsky proud, want to overwhelm the system, bring down traditional and conservative economic and societal values so they can create a permanent voting bloc that will allow them to assert control over the compliant masses, and advance their utopian agenda.

Right before our eyes the Leviathan is thus growing, and is moving ever faster to destroy our country’s values – to overload the system. Let us not be frogs in lukewarm water with the flame turned up under the pot. We simply have to carve out more time, more money and more commitment to traditional candidates, agendas, and initiatives, and we must vote at every opportunity even when we think an adverse outcome is certain, or we will end up being boiled alive.

I, for one, am feeling the heat. 

About

GrumpsReport is an unabashedly biased internet publication devoted to promoting, preserving, defending and passing on traditional ideals, values and mores. You know… the kind we were raised on by The Greatest Generation.

Our site derives its name from the nickname given to its Founder and Managing Editor by his grandchildren. “Grandpa” was conventional but boring. “Gramps” was overused. “Grampy” and “Pops” were farcical. “Grumps” just kind of fit, and the name stuck.

Grumps is not really grumpy, at least not all the time. He will admit to occasionally yelling at the TV, and at times catches himself mumbling under his breath as he sees or hears things that really put him off. But he rejects the label, “Angry Old White Man” that some would place on him.

Our Editors, Contributors and staff have a lot in common with Grumps. We too find the lessons we were raised on clash with what today has come to be accepted behavior. We share a love of our country as it once was and can be again, not as it is becoming. That’s not to suggest that we have rose-colored, “those were the good ‘ole days” glasses. However, we assert there are values, principles and traditions that transcend generations and underpin the greatest periods of growth, happiness and prosperity in the world’s history, and these are increasingly and relentlessly under assault.

Here are just a few of them:

  • We believe in personal responsibility, self-reliance, hard work, and above all, meritocracy;
  • We believe in free markets and capitalism, but not “crony capitalism”, and that socialism has always been and always will be a scourge on mankind;
  • We believe government is not the solution, but the problem;
  • We believe the U.S. Constitution is not a “living document” but an inspired charter that was meant not just for the 18th Century but the 21st as well;
  • We believe there are fundamental differences between men and women and boys and girls that must be respected;
  • Without condoning behavior we deem offensive, we nevertheless believe in treating everyone with respect, tolerance and courtesy irrespective of their creed, faith, gender, age or race;
  • We believe in traditional marriage between one man and one woman;
  • We believe the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms is a bulwark against tyranny and oppression, and needs to be defended;
  • We believe parents, not bureaucrats and not public sector unions, should control education;
  • We believe current immigration laws should be enforced;
  • We believe in God and in freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion;
  • We believe in the Golden Rule;
  • We believe in private medical care, not government-provided, universal care;
  • We believe “It Takes a Family”, not a “Village”;
  • We believe in a strong National Defense, that we should talk softly and revert to war as a last resort but carry a BIG STICK, and that we DO have a responsibility as the greatest nation the world has ever known to set an example and export democracy and our values to the rest of the world; and,
  • We believe that truth is not relative but immutable and exists whether or not one person or the entirety of mankind believes it or not, and that we should be determined to seek it.

If you subscribe to most if not all of the above tenets, you’ll find a home here. If not, you will likely be offended and probably should find other websites to visit.

And while our readers are not solely seniors, most of our original articles are written from the perspective and wisdom of 50+ adults, who make up the majority of our contributors. That, in part, is why our site is devoid of flashing lights, what’s called clickbait, and annoying features like scrolling images, comments or “discussion” sections.

We sincerely hope you will enjoy and benefit from visiting this site. Should you wish to contribute an article or essay, or comment on anything you see here, please use the contact form accessible from the header menu.

Grumps