03-13-2022, 09:10 PM
fwiw, I did not vote for him either time (in 2020 for example, I voted for Edward Snowden), but the vast majority of anyone to the left of Ted Cruise seems completely out of touch with why the American public voted him in.
The reason is glaringly obvious: we need something to feel good about. It's true that any intellectually honest, independent thinking person should be able to look the problems of their country in the face, it's true that that we have some major issues that we can no longer continue to ignore, and it's true that deriving your entire self-worth from some sort of ethno-collectivist identity is kinda pathetic. Nonetheless, the simple truth is that you need to boost morale in order to get through a crisis, and at the moment we don't have that. Instead, we've been
- spitting on masculinity for the better part of 30 years
- guilt tripping parents over concerns for overpopulation (actually, even before that. lots of Xers are justifiably salty over a childhood where they were treated like carbon machines of whom less should have been born)
- guilt tripping normal Americans for their "materialistic western lifestyle" for something as innocuous as driving to work. not all of us want cheaper oil so we can afford another voyage around the world in our yacht.
- focusing only on how we enslaved free people rather than how we freed enslaved people. we need to focus on both, not just one or the other.
- telling people they're "racist Nazis" for being nationalistic or patriotic
- talking about who "greedy and selfish" it is to have any ambition past having enough to be barely comfortable.
Seriously, everyone talks about all this "compassion" this, "empathy" that, but....no one actually shows any. 90% of the time, when you hear this term being thrown around, it's done in a bitchy, condescending tone and used to browbeat people with legitimate self-interests into shutting up because they aren't the hot cause at the moment (ex: as a gay millennial, it's hilarious to watch people from around my graduating class admonish people over absurd claims of "homophobia", after being a largely homophobic generation themselves until only a decade or so ago).
Does anyone unironically think sanctimonious college students, soccer moms and vegans are going to get us out of a crisis era? Where is the motivation? Where is the vigor, the pride, the confident pursuit of victory? Say what you will about Donald Trump, he was willing to offer these. Sure, he was cocky, braggadocios, crude, etc, but if you pay attention to his more important speeches, most of them were about reminding Americans about what we have done well, what we can continue to achieve (and yes, he includes several example of blacks, hispanics, immigrants, etc. not just WASP from the ol' boy's club).
I'm not asking for a return to the naïve days where people glorified war and impulsively charged into battle over causes they knew nothing about. That kind of unbridled emotionalism is not what we need right now. What we do need, desperately, is leadership that can boost our morale and restore some feeling of power and vitality. At this point, I don't know who it's going to be, but there is a reason America has never made it through a 4th turning without a Grey Champion, and the longer we put off looking for one who has the necessary constitution, the worse off we will be.
The reason is glaringly obvious: we need something to feel good about. It's true that any intellectually honest, independent thinking person should be able to look the problems of their country in the face, it's true that that we have some major issues that we can no longer continue to ignore, and it's true that deriving your entire self-worth from some sort of ethno-collectivist identity is kinda pathetic. Nonetheless, the simple truth is that you need to boost morale in order to get through a crisis, and at the moment we don't have that. Instead, we've been
- spitting on masculinity for the better part of 30 years
- guilt tripping parents over concerns for overpopulation (actually, even before that. lots of Xers are justifiably salty over a childhood where they were treated like carbon machines of whom less should have been born)
- guilt tripping normal Americans for their "materialistic western lifestyle" for something as innocuous as driving to work. not all of us want cheaper oil so we can afford another voyage around the world in our yacht.
- focusing only on how we enslaved free people rather than how we freed enslaved people. we need to focus on both, not just one or the other.
- telling people they're "racist Nazis" for being nationalistic or patriotic
- talking about who "greedy and selfish" it is to have any ambition past having enough to be barely comfortable.
Seriously, everyone talks about all this "compassion" this, "empathy" that, but....no one actually shows any. 90% of the time, when you hear this term being thrown around, it's done in a bitchy, condescending tone and used to browbeat people with legitimate self-interests into shutting up because they aren't the hot cause at the moment (ex: as a gay millennial, it's hilarious to watch people from around my graduating class admonish people over absurd claims of "homophobia", after being a largely homophobic generation themselves until only a decade or so ago).
Does anyone unironically think sanctimonious college students, soccer moms and vegans are going to get us out of a crisis era? Where is the motivation? Where is the vigor, the pride, the confident pursuit of victory? Say what you will about Donald Trump, he was willing to offer these. Sure, he was cocky, braggadocios, crude, etc, but if you pay attention to his more important speeches, most of them were about reminding Americans about what we have done well, what we can continue to achieve (and yes, he includes several example of blacks, hispanics, immigrants, etc. not just WASP from the ol' boy's club).
I'm not asking for a return to the naïve days where people glorified war and impulsively charged into battle over causes they knew nothing about. That kind of unbridled emotionalism is not what we need right now. What we do need, desperately, is leadership that can boost our morale and restore some feeling of power and vitality. At this point, I don't know who it's going to be, but there is a reason America has never made it through a 4th turning without a Grey Champion, and the longer we put off looking for one who has the necessary constitution, the worse off we will be.
ammosexual
reluctant millennial
reluctant millennial