Aug 29, 2022·edited Aug 29, 2022Liked by Classical Wisdom
The age of Abundance is not over for everyone. In today's world we see the elite Oligarch's and politicians living in guarded mansions with high walls and flying around in private jets. They sell the unwashed the biggest hoax in history; that the world is coming to an end because of climate. They don't believe that lie for one moment. They are buying up farmland in America in the millions of acres to ensure their abundance never ends. They refuse to build nuclear power plants that would provide an abundance of clean energy, instead they build windmills that scar the landscape, and destroy fish and wildlife while providing us with Brownouts in the summer months. Their answer is to increase greater demand for electric in the future by building electric cars when the grid cannot provide for our current demands using renewable energy.
Western Civilization has provided an unparalleled standard of living for the greatest number of people in history as evidenced by the number of people from third world countries who want to come here. The ancient elites controlled the land and let the peasants farm it for subsistence living conditions. That is the process that is repeating itself again. Little by little they are taking the land, the means of transportation, and the freedom to disagree. The final coup will come when they take the means to resist away. History surely does repeat itself. At the end of the Second World War, we said: "Never Again", and yet here we are, again. We have changed the words from Dictator and Tyrant to President, Oligarch, and Dear Leader, but outcome is always the same, poverty and degradation for the middleclass while the band plays on in the penthouse suites.
Voltaire said it best: " Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." That is the lesson we never seem to learn for long.
Better late than never? Re: the Nobel lie. Had my medical career insisted on the stark truth, very few people would submit to anesthesia, surgery or chemical therapy until they were so desperate, it would then be to late to be of any help. It is controlled trauma to achieve healing.
This week’s topic. Less abundance May be because too many people are no longer working. Further many of those are being supported by those that do. It seems governments have been encouraging this trend by massive inflation. Besides it’s use as a medium of exchange, money serves keep man’s infinite desires for more, in check. It forces us to prioritize our desires, needs over wants. When citizens of any government believe that all their needs will be provided for, all money becomes available for only wants. After all, why save for a rainy day or buy insurance?
This foolishness seems to occur every 3 generations and has to be relearned over & over. “There will be much screaming and gnashing of teeth in the darkness” as the learning is bitter medicine indeed.
Why are we always unprepared? Or nearly always? I can think of several reasons. First is that we tend to believe that what has happened recently will continue to happen, while all those bad things (wars, pandemics, etc.) happened long ago and are not likely to happen again in our immediate future, at least where we live. And in general this is true. Life goes on pretty much the same year to year, until it doesn't.
Another reason is that preparation for these bad things requires investment of time and money, and if nothing bad happens, it feels like we wasted it. Not to mention that we may worry that if others find out that we are a "prepper", we may be mocked or need to find a different social circle.
Again, do we need to prepare to flee or to shelter in place? The details of preparation are quite different, as fleeing is not possible with several months worth of food and supplies. And if we prepare for the wrong emergency, then we are no better off than if we didn't prepare at all.
And sometimes, even with the best of foresight and preparation, things don't work out well. I am reminded of the apocryphal story of a Dutchman, in the 1930s, who could see that things were not looking good in Europe, and decided to avoid it all. He bought a plantation on the other side of the world in an out-of-the-way place no one had ever heard of where he hoped to ride out all the trouble he could see coming. The name of the place where he bought his plantation? Guadalcanal.
Amazing how asleep most people are. Government spends them $30 trillion in debt and all they seem to want is for someone to talk about baseball or how good a Dodger Dog would be. No matter what, 20 year occupations of Afghanistan, the looting of America's treasury of all it's gold, the 11 million illegal aliens, the 43 million Americans of food-stamps or the 150,000 homeless sleeping in tents on city streets. One could argue the gig is over.
The age of Abundance is not over for everyone. In today's world we see the elite Oligarch's and politicians living in guarded mansions with high walls and flying around in private jets. They sell the unwashed the biggest hoax in history; that the world is coming to an end because of climate. They don't believe that lie for one moment. They are buying up farmland in America in the millions of acres to ensure their abundance never ends. They refuse to build nuclear power plants that would provide an abundance of clean energy, instead they build windmills that scar the landscape, and destroy fish and wildlife while providing us with Brownouts in the summer months. Their answer is to increase greater demand for electric in the future by building electric cars when the grid cannot provide for our current demands using renewable energy.
Western Civilization has provided an unparalleled standard of living for the greatest number of people in history as evidenced by the number of people from third world countries who want to come here. The ancient elites controlled the land and let the peasants farm it for subsistence living conditions. That is the process that is repeating itself again. Little by little they are taking the land, the means of transportation, and the freedom to disagree. The final coup will come when they take the means to resist away. History surely does repeat itself. At the end of the Second World War, we said: "Never Again", and yet here we are, again. We have changed the words from Dictator and Tyrant to President, Oligarch, and Dear Leader, but outcome is always the same, poverty and degradation for the middleclass while the band plays on in the penthouse suites.
Voltaire said it best: " Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." That is the lesson we never seem to learn for long.
I am not sure about this "Age of Abundance" being over, but I am certain the "Age of Humanity" is almost there.
The end of modern technological life as we know it is in serious trouble, but life will continue. It just may be at the level of the 1600s or so.
Good to see you back Miss.
Better late than never? Re: the Nobel lie. Had my medical career insisted on the stark truth, very few people would submit to anesthesia, surgery or chemical therapy until they were so desperate, it would then be to late to be of any help. It is controlled trauma to achieve healing.
This week’s topic. Less abundance May be because too many people are no longer working. Further many of those are being supported by those that do. It seems governments have been encouraging this trend by massive inflation. Besides it’s use as a medium of exchange, money serves keep man’s infinite desires for more, in check. It forces us to prioritize our desires, needs over wants. When citizens of any government believe that all their needs will be provided for, all money becomes available for only wants. After all, why save for a rainy day or buy insurance?
This foolishness seems to occur every 3 generations and has to be relearned over & over. “There will be much screaming and gnashing of teeth in the darkness” as the learning is bitter medicine indeed.
Why are we always unprepared? Or nearly always? I can think of several reasons. First is that we tend to believe that what has happened recently will continue to happen, while all those bad things (wars, pandemics, etc.) happened long ago and are not likely to happen again in our immediate future, at least where we live. And in general this is true. Life goes on pretty much the same year to year, until it doesn't.
Another reason is that preparation for these bad things requires investment of time and money, and if nothing bad happens, it feels like we wasted it. Not to mention that we may worry that if others find out that we are a "prepper", we may be mocked or need to find a different social circle.
Again, do we need to prepare to flee or to shelter in place? The details of preparation are quite different, as fleeing is not possible with several months worth of food and supplies. And if we prepare for the wrong emergency, then we are no better off than if we didn't prepare at all.
And sometimes, even with the best of foresight and preparation, things don't work out well. I am reminded of the apocryphal story of a Dutchman, in the 1930s, who could see that things were not looking good in Europe, and decided to avoid it all. He bought a plantation on the other side of the world in an out-of-the-way place no one had ever heard of where he hoped to ride out all the trouble he could see coming. The name of the place where he bought his plantation? Guadalcanal.
Amazing how asleep most people are. Government spends them $30 trillion in debt and all they seem to want is for someone to talk about baseball or how good a Dodger Dog would be. No matter what, 20 year occupations of Afghanistan, the looting of America's treasury of all it's gold, the 11 million illegal aliens, the 43 million Americans of food-stamps or the 150,000 homeless sleeping in tents on city streets. One could argue the gig is over.
sa