Posted on 12/03/2005 4:32:30 PM PST by pickrell
Visit a calibration laboratory. We measure for a living. I must tell you frankly that no device exists which can measure a soul. This much I must concede to the opposition. And yet, unlike CNN, we don't end the story, without, as Paul Harvey would quip, "..the rest of the story..."
You see, we also can find no meter which indicates decency, no instrument which responds to integrity, and no apparatus to measure honor. The mainstream media would conclude, and quite obviously has concluded that, ergo sum, these things don't exist. But oddly, one of the strongest proofs of their existence lies in the extreme extent to which the media will go, to disparage and deny their existence. Since they have found no decency, honor or integrity in their lives, but only cocaine and adulation to work a substitute, then you the commoner must purge these things from your lives also, or be ridiculed by the most powerful clique ever seen on this earth.
These qualities of faith, integrity, decency and honor- virtues acknowledged by Americans for generations before the Paris Hilton 'revolution of vacuousness' swept over Hollywood- issue from that reverence. Reverence defines the difference between the Marines, and the enemies they fight to defeat.
But reverence may well be the most counterfeited commodity in existence. Reports have shown that when Osama Bin Laudin was invited to leave Saudi Arabia decades ago, he collected his money, his camels, and his 4 wives, in that order, and left for Sudan to convince a cluster of pathetic converts that though they be devalued by all of the women in their lives, they could at least collect 72 virgins apiece in their martyrdom. And yet it is said that these creatures "revere" Bin Laudin.
The kind of sick gothic-geek that, like Bin Laudin, considers women to be such sub-creatures, utterly devoid of self determination and choice even in the afterlife, and suitable only to be "assigned" to the postlife pleasures of brain-dead mass murderers, obviously haven't the vaguest concept of reverence, of human value. And failing any possibility of ever having a woman look up into his eyes and be pleased that she was lucky enough to have found someone to love and respect, ... can at least own 72 of them to be herded and used. This kind of self-obsessed animal purports to understand reverence?
Reverence involves elevating some things above oneself; having the faith to believe that even though it can't be seen, eaten, deposited in a bank account, or worn for the cameras, true decency is a distillate beyond price. Only reverence for such things will produce the integrity that drives the young man to admit his thoughtlessness in throwing the stone that broke the window, and to accept the consequences, rather than allow the other kid across the street to suffer unjust punishment. Only reverence for such things will drive a young man to risk disfavor with his newest date by rebuking her for showing dishonor towards a paraplegic veteran, and by trying to make her understand the honor for the debt due, despite the sneers of the late night comedians that drive her thinking.
Reverence itself is the most dangerous foe of both the terrorist and the Leftist, and risks encouraging such behaviours as piety, humility and respect for the law. It is corrosive to privelege and celebrity, and risks constraining the beautiful people to the same standards of conduct as the merely common people. Only the fear it has always engendered in the 'culturati', is sufficient to overcome the risk of producing a backlash contempt for "the stars" on the part of the commoners.
This obsession drives the Left to this final push, this "Overlord" assault, on all that reverence entails. It concentrates to the point where the word "irreverence" is now offered up as a comedic virtue, and drives the ratings of the Bill Maher, and the Jon Stewart, in their safe irreverent disparagement of the believer. They earn their estates by libeling those who commit to the defense of the nation- while glowing at those with the courage to murder thousands by immolating themselves.
Yet bureaucratic research shows that, despite years of educating, shaping and entertaining the masses, family is still cherished more than "Family Business"; wives are still valued infinitely above "Desparate Housewives", and worst of all, in many homes children are taught, yes actually taught, what is expected of a worthwhile young man and young woman, by their parents...at home! That's right, without the supervision of a Licensed Guidance Counselor, and without the pamphlets about alternate lifestyles and "Tips on risk-free sex", (you know, the ones with the little bunny pictures to appeal to the 9 year olds), being available.
A corrosive attitude of courtesy towards the dignity of others, still exists is the more backward areas of the country, despite the progressive realism being innoculated by the public school system. Traces of reverence are continuously being uncovered and addressed by the ACLU, the Center for Elimination of Worship, and the Hillary for Empress movement, the latter consisting of converts eventually bored with Imelda Marcos and Eva Peron, and unable to determine the proper dosage of their medicines.
Reverence, that peculiar belief that certain virtues make the quality of life we all yearn for possible; the belief that even if benefit doesn't accrue to the practitioner himself- that some things are still worth fighting, and yes, if necessary, dying for, so that others, unknown to the ones who risk so much, may live free from the loss, pain, destruction and fear threatening us all, still seems to exist- at least outside of the pages of the New York Times.
Reverence has no exit strategy, and network achors have long since despaired of "waiting it out". Like any enemy strongpoint, "reverence" must be taken out with flanking attacks, while "fixing" attacks by loud, seasoned sappers freeze the attention of the defenders, and distract them from the real threats from behind and beside.
Reverence in all of its forms can only be attacked under complete air superority. Ridiculing reverence is a risky business, that invites brutal counterattack unless the defender can be made to believe that he is the only one left in the foxhole. Like all soldiers, he derives strength and encouragement from his compatriots in arms; the few, the committed. When the band of brothers can be separated, isolated and then "re-educated", only then can the unthinkable be normed, and the unacceptable be enforced. Only then can reverence be finally extinguished.
But complete air superiority is difficult to maintain. The voices of the opposition can unexpectedly be heard, when retired swift boat commanders, and aging veterans, long past their sell-by date, don again musty uniforms and cry out against the volumn of fire maintained by the left. These are men hardened by prior service and softened by grandchildren. They can't be hired, and can only be driven by reverence, by faith, having long ago achieved in the eyes of their brothers in arms accolades incomprehensible to the cinema heroes, and the blow-dried network anchors. Their calls resonate on a million keyboards and in a thousand barber shops- and shatter the air superiority of those who thought they owned the air.
Sometimes... whole civilizations somehow lose their reverence, under the onslaught of the irreverent, and slowly collapse as the last of the hard men find their final peace, and quit the service of warning, and protecting, the younger, untested citizens. When nothing of any meaning is left beyond what can be grabbed, held on to, enjoyed and then discarded on the sidewalk, the dreams which cause young families to risk having children and making homes...simply fade away. Without reverence, patriotism is meaningless. When nothing is revered, nothing is worth defending. The reason for younger men of the community to resist the ravagers simply fades out, and no mercenaries ever hired stood to their deaths on crucial ground to protect unknown children.
That virtue... is peculiar to United States Marines. It was and is an exercise derided and ridiculed by the bulk of "Old Europe", and the sophisticated New Englanders who understand the necessity to dupe young men about honor and then, once trapped into distasteful duty- use them to punish overseas movie-counterfeiters and other threats to the Brie and Cheese community. For if it doesn't inconvenience the blue-blooders... it has no meaning, and therefore, no existence.
In the absence of reverence, older citizens of the collapsing civilization fearfully await their final barren years hoping that the new turks- the ones pouring into the land, and the future, abandoned by the self-serving- will exercise... decency, and provide a crust of bread for them. Faith gives way to hope; hope gives way to desparation; and desparation...simply gives way. What is left is merely the historical epilog, unread and unwelcome, because it chronicled the appeasers and their abandonment of their grandchildren. In the ultimate rejection and irony, it won't even merit a B movie... from their lack-of-soul-mates in Hollywood.
It is to be hoped, on this the season of the celebration of virtue, of good will towards men- that this reverence and faith will again find renewal, and re-instill the awareness, appreciation, and determination to defend, that makes America the land of freedom for all men...and women. That this reverence will find a growth environment, rather than the rejection called for by the Senators of Sedition. Though abundance for the families who raise children, (the most priceless gift of all), seems to diminish the sense of privelege for the elites, perhaps the nation can find the determination to readjust the relative worth of the father who provides for his children... as opposed to the elite metrosexuals who simply want fresh children provided for them.
Perhaps irreverence towards those persons who would destroy all of those attributes which inconvenience their lifestyles... is, as Barry Goldwater might say, "...no vice...".
Perhaps reverence, true reverence, is the essential crystalline essence that defines the Christian, the Jew, and all decent men, and separates us from the abominations who fear the eventual liberation of their female property... and are willing to murder to prevent it.
In reverence to the season, let's wish a safe Christmas to all the policemen, fireman, soldiers, fathers... and all who bow their heads.
Your opening sentence piqued my interest in mentioning a calibration lab though. Are you by any chance a Metrology person?
Amen. Thanks for your much needed article. Have a blessed Christmas.
The essence of the article - extremely well thought out and well written. A pleasure to read.
Very nice piece-- hope you don't mind if I pass it on.
Thank you for writing and posting this.
Thank you and a Merry Christmas to you too.
Great job. Thanks!
Guilty. AFSC 32450, PMEL, ClarkAFB, Philippines. And you?
Not at all. It's why us old farts write. :')
Yes. 32470 retired on July 31, 1975.
It's why us old farts take such writing to heart. ; )
Excellent piece.
Thank you, sir.
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