Posted on 07/13/2009 9:03:28 AM PDT by iThinkBig
Thus might the next Fourth Turning end in apocalypse or glory. The nation could be ruined, its democracy destroyed, and millions of people scattered or killed. Or America could enter a new golden age, triumphantly applying shared values to improve the human condition. The rhythms of history do not reveal the outcome of the coming Crisis; all they suggest is the timing and dimension.
Strauss & Howe The Fourth Turning
(Excerpt) Read more at ragingdebate.com ...
Read the article - that was depressing. But it confirms what I feel in my gut. My intuition has been in overdrive for the past few years concerning social collapse, war, and mayhem - and the election of our first socialist president hasn’t quelled those feelings. What the author doesn’t say in his glowing appraisal of Obama, but hints at broadly, is that Obama is the Lenin of the changes coming up - but the Stalin has yet to emerge.
The other voice comes from my interactions with the Baha’i community, who fearlessly tell me that the era of large wars has ended and that we are entering a period they call “the Lesser Peace.” I can’t see that happening without the values and strength of American civil tradition intact. Perhaps we’ll get to the precipice and looking into it will be enough. On the other hand, the Lesser Peace still means turmoil, the occasional EMP blast over the Midwest, riots, and individual acts of jihad.
As always, I fear for my son, who is blissfully sitting upstairs watching cartoons.
My gut as well.
You know, a few months ago a friend was describing to me a book she was reading-its currently a bestseller on Mao. It paints the worst abuses and killings as being the brainchild of Mrs Mao.
As she described her to me, a chilling picture of our current first lady came into my mind, with the classic stomach dropping feeling of inevitability. For whatever it's worth.
Huh? Obama is a Boomer, not a Generation Xer.
succession=secession (secede)?????
I’ve noticed more people using succession. Can someone explain why that term is used in the context of seceding?
TIA
“It is very likely that Barack Obama will lead the country into the next Crisis. He will not lead us out of the Crisis, as it is unlikely to subside until 2025. “
How’s that “hope and change” working for you nitwits that voted for Obama?
Excellent article and this paragraph could not be more true.
We yearn for civic character but satisfy ourselves with symbolic gestures and celebrity circuses. We perceive no greatness in our leaders, a new meanness in ourselves. Small wonder that each new election brings a new jolt, its aftermath a new disappointment. Not long ago, America was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. Around World War II, we were proud as a people but modest as individuals. Fewer than two people in ten said yes when asked, Are you a very important person? Today, more than six in ten say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong, we now regard ourselves as individually entitled. Yet even while we exalt our own personal growth, we realize that millions of self-actualized persons dont add up to an actualized society.
Germans?
Forget it. He's rolling.
what did you think of it?
Ive noticed more people using succession. Can someone explain why that term is used in the context of seceding?
Spell checking doesn't mean a word is used correctly. Succession means that which follows. Secession means to withdraw from a group.
Probably half the people on the internet use the term loose when they mean lose. It's just an improper word use, but like loose for lose, it's so common now that many don't notice it.
Please note that I screw up sometimes, also. In recent posts I've been called out for using sew instead of sow and I said tow the line instead of toe the line.
You forgot YOUNG vs. OLD!
I agree with you about Mrs. O. I only hope hope that she is alot like her contemporary loudmouth friend, all bluster. With her indulgent tastes in purses and shoes, she is revealing herself as another used to be disgruntled leftest phony. A liberal who is pissed because they don't have what they think they should have, and thus spout cowardly hypocritical garbage about those who are successful.
I see Mrs. O as a widowed faux militant leading( as a figurehead only ) a large militancy of her former husband's supporters. Violent agitators of the newly reborn conservative United States of America.
Trouble is I have read this idea many times over the years, and it doesn’t play out very well today. Part of the problem is that with longer life spans, the gap is more than 25 years.
That is a good point.
JR - RagingDebate.com
Technically a Gen Xer although he is right on the fence in that and was his crowd of associates was the boomers of the late 1960’s early 70’s.
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