Reflections LXIV - Treading through the Turmoil

 Most reported news today is narrative driven. Much of it is downright lies and if it does carry elements of truth one has to be cognizant to employ the necessary thinking skills to navigate the bias. There are however islands of sanity still surviving in the deluge of dross.

It is rather hilarious to see countries that refuse to recognize Israel’s existence showing tantrums over the country’s recognition of Somaliland. The lack of awareness of irony is indicative of the mess that is modern global politics.

The reality of post-colonialism is the establishment of a multitude of failed states.

The Iranian Revolution of 2026 is a litmus test for morality which is why it has been so loathed by many on the political extremes. 

From  China’s perspective it is easy to see why they fear encirclement. Historical foibles and power clashes have given them enemies in all direction – Russia to the North, India to the South, Japan to the East and the Muslim world to the West.  They have cultivated alliances with some of these parties over time but the power keg is easily refueled by long term animosities.

If Empires have a drive to exist  that may survive foreign invasion but they cannot evade the destructive effect of demographic turmoil. The people are always the nation’s greatest resource. Resource poor countries like Israel demonstrate this. Leaders that turn their back on the populace (as is the case with many a tyrant or inept politician) will ultimately destroy any legacy that they seek to achieve. The Russian leadership’s ill-treatment of its own population will self defeat any perceived progress.

To the Far Left everything is political and power is the eventual aim. Nothing exists outside the political realm and all action is a means to an end.

The primary function of the BBC is what it always has been – to protect the establishment from the popular voice of the people. The Beeb has perfected the role of hiding the truth behind a veneer of officialdom. Orwell saw this decades ago.

Reflections LXIII - Politics, History and Life

It is so tragic seeing the great buildings, superstructures and historical landmarks of Europe knowing that the civilization that resides on the continent is closing in on the terminal point of its accelerated decline. Without the Judeo-Christian soul it will in the far future become a footnote like the Mayans, Incas and Mesopotamians.

 The role of the elite has always been the same throughout history, to enslave the masses to the system they dominate. Opponents of elitism will over time become the elites they disdain thereby perpetuating the same system. There is no break to the cycle as there is no impetus for those who disdain such a cycle to break from it.  

The only freedom that matters is freedom of mind. Without this essence one is still enslaved.

A man has to take care of his family first. There is no other greater or more important role.

The main problem with Tariffs is that they are subject to the boomerang effect that multiplies their excesses in the worst possible ways. Ultimately it is this truism that ought to consign them to the scrap heap of bad economic policy. However the temptation by politicians to use them to appeal to local populist sentiments means that they are constantly resurrected by a combination of any branding necessary. They are the economic  version of Friday the 13th part n.

False dichotomies are typical of the narrative battle....two alternatives are seen as the only differentials....a classic example is the America First versus Israel first debate which is nothing more than a false flag to splinter voices on the right. One can support Israel and America and be critical of either on a purely good faith level. There is also a continuum of thought.

One has to step away from social media to maintain a degree of clear thought. It is also important to consume information that is conducive for the development of the mind. Much of social media is toxic fast food that ultimately draws at one’s life force.

Anti-Semitism has been mainstreamed by nefarious actors, bot farms  and a growing movement of voices eager to find a scapegoat for their respective problems and shortfalls. A large degree of anti-Semitic rhetoric online comes from the Middle East, China and other parts of Asia.

Are Conservatives (in the West) on the wrong side of history?

  Of all the oft-repeated myths regarding Conservatives, this one, in my opinion, is just the silliest. Yet I hear it all the time. History, just like evolution, has no specified direction. There is no end goal. Yes, I understand that the concept comes from the Hegelian understanding of history, but this is so vague in that it can be interpreted in any way that lines up with the confirmation bias of the proponent. For Hegel, the Prussian state was the ideal that history was marching towards; for Left Hegelians, it was the classless society (or a version thereof), and for Nazis, it was a Third Reich with Lebensraum.

History is not marching to a preordained beat as though it was intentionally designed to do so. File this wishful thinking. Events happen, and we, as a society and a civilization, respond to them. Perceived trajectories are constantly in a state of flux.

Does humanity need religion for its values, or can we obtain these from secular-based philosophy?

 The answer is both yes and no. Opinions will differ based on what type of society we personally prefer living in.

What is certain, though, is that if we wish to replace one value system with another, we better make sure that the alternative system has empirical worth. The burial grounds of the planet are littered with the victims of failed ideologies.

Relections LXII - Brutal Thoughts

Human Jealousy can always be relied on to rally the masses against any smaller group. The curse of the Jews has been that they succeeded too well.

Never apologize for the failure of the actions of others. It is not your responsibility and will earn you much scorn and very little respect.

There seems to be no limits of dead ends that theoretical physicists are capable of painting themselves into.

Both the Nazis and the Communists drew from the same political well, a well filled with the life blood of state terror.

Ideal political systems have a common flaw in that they rely on the rational nature of humanity and underestimate the self preservation instinct that is clouded by emotion.

The survival of the Jew against all odds is the living indictment of Islamism and Christian nationalism. So long as the Jew lives the sand foundation of both these ideologies are easily exposed. This is the template for their hatred of the Jew.

Science vs Scientism

 Pure Science is not an ideology; it is a method of examining claims through empirical investigation and then drawing a conclusion that has predictive value. It uses the framework of mathematics and statistics to analyze the evidence, thereby opening up further avenues of investigation to test deeper claims. In this regard, it has been very successful.

Having said that, the Philosopher Paul Feyerabend argues that when the practitioners of science become dogmatic and political in their outlook, they transform the practice of science into a milieu dominated by groupthink. The willful neglect of contrary evidence and the elevation of the power dynamic of credentialism then dominate.

This invariably results in stagnant thinking, the formation of a closed secular priesthood/authority, and the sacrifice of the rigorous scientific methodology to preordained conclusions.

Reflections LXI - Opening the Invisible

 It is is my experience as a teacher that many science educators revel in displaying Schrödinger’s equation on the board as it has an inherent wow factor. However it is also my observation that most have no clue whatsoever what it means. Fortunately for such teachers there are very few people who can call them out on this, as the equation together with Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle,  is one of the least understood phenomena in the mainstream milieu.

You would think that those given asylum as refugees would be grateful to their host country but as evidenced by the welfare fraud committed by Somalians in Minnesota these expectations of common decency at best fall far short of the mark. Sadly I think many will avoid prosecution as the rot of decline has infested the American Judiciary system. 

The avenue for disappointment and error of judgement is placing any individual, institution or ideology on a pedestal. Nothing is beyond criticism.

The logic of an ideologue is to rationalize oneself out of the reality check of evidence. This drive seems to know no restriction which is why the truth is the first facet to be damned.

The pieces of the puzzle fit in better when you activate the assumption that most people operate from an inflated estimation of their own abilities.