Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A Separate Peace (Peggy Noonan)
OpinionJournal.com ^ | October 27, 2005 | Peggy Noonan

Posted on 10/26/2005 10:31:00 PM PDT by SirJohnBarleycorn

America is in trouble--and our elites are merely resigned.

It is not so hard and can be a pleasure to tell people what you see. It's harder to speak of what you think you see, what you think is going on and can't prove or defend with data or numbers. That can get tricky. It involves hunches. But here goes.

I think there is an unspoken subtext in our national political culture right now. In fact I think it's a subtext to our society. I think that a lot of people are carrying around in their heads, unarticulated and even in some cases unnoticed, a sense that the wheels are coming off the trolley and the trolley off the tracks. That in some deep and fundamental way things have broken down and can't be fixed, or won't be fixed any time soon. That our pollsters are preoccupied with "right track" and "wrong track" but missing the number of people who think the answer to "How are things going in America?" is "Off the tracks and hurtling forward, toward an unknown destination."

snip

That's what I think is going on with our elites. There are two groups. One has made a separate peace, and one is trying to keep the boat afloat. I suspect those in the latter group privately, in a place so private they don't even express it to themselves, wonder if they'll go down with the ship. Or into bad territory with the trolley.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: moat; mote; peggynoonan; trolleysgalore
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-97 next last
To: Pontiac

right on


61 posted on 10/27/2005 3:38:39 AM PDT by beyond the sea (Gloria Borger is Andrea Mitchell on Peyote)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: hsalaw

"...you can't ruin this country even with politics."

Guess that depends on one's definition of "ruin".




62 posted on 10/27/2005 3:38:43 AM PDT by ladyrustic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: ladyrustic

LOL


63 posted on 10/27/2005 3:41:14 AM PDT by beyond the sea (Gloria Borger is Andrea Mitchell on Peyote)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: SirJohnBarleycorn

9/11 changed a lot of things. Not only was one of enemies brought into focus, it gave license to others, external and internal, to become more open in their opposition to our country.


64 posted on 10/27/2005 3:43:21 AM PDT by Loyal Buckeye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SirJohnBarleycorn
I'm 58. I am building a new home. It is 23,000 sq ft, and has a concrete roof, with 3-4 ft of dirt on top. It faces south, for solar heating. It is located next to a 29000 acre WV WMA (Hunting) area.

It will have a 158,000 gallon fresh water aquarium inside, that will act as a heat sink/source, with LP gas backup for heat, and for cooking, lighting, etc. I have a solar 12/24v DC system, as well as a standard 115/230AC. It is on the side of a mountain, with a seasonal stream, and springs, keeping my new two acre pond, in front of the house. I have a 480 ft deep well for fresh water. There is over 1000 sq ft of storage for foods and other long term necessities. It has steel roll-ups on all openings, for security.

I have enough TP for five years. I also have a good wine cellar growing.

I own four other houses, in four different areas, of the US, all rurally located.

I am not a doomsday guy. I am a Boy Scout!

Peggy is just reciting what many of us can see, and feel!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

65 posted on 10/27/2005 4:00:02 AM PDT by pageonetoo (You'll spot their posts soon enough!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jim Robinson

>>>I think the job of managing the federal government could be reduced to what's important by stripping out all the superfluous unconstitutional baggage and returning the bulk of the responsibility to the states and the people as intended.<<<

Amen!


66 posted on 10/27/2005 4:03:10 AM PDT by PhilipFreneau ("The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." -- Psalms 14:1, 53:1)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Jim Robinson

Hear, hear! :-)


67 posted on 10/27/2005 4:51:26 AM PDT by saveliberty (I did not break the feed. I may have lost it, but I did not break the feed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: hsalaw

To be fair, she has read history.

She does do herself a disservice when she writes in what appears to be a condescending tone.


68 posted on 10/27/2005 4:53:15 AM PDT by saveliberty (I did not break the feed. I may have lost it, but I did not break the feed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: A Balrog of Morgoth

LOL!


69 posted on 10/27/2005 4:53:41 AM PDT by saveliberty (I did not break the feed. I may have lost it, but I did not break the feed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Jim Robinson
stripping out all the superfluous unconstitutional baggage and returning the bulk of the responsibility to the states and the people as intended

If that is done, the strong will survive. If it's not done, the strong will survive a while longer to prop up the weak who depend on the nanny state to survive. Then what?

70 posted on 10/27/2005 4:55:35 AM PDT by daybreakcoming (May God bless those who enter the valley of the shadow of death so that we may see the light of day.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SirJohnBarleycorn
You're a lobbyist or a senator or a cabinet chief, you're an editor at a paper or a green-room schmoozer, you're a doctor or lawyer or Indian chief, and you're making your life a little fortress. That's what I think a lot of the elites are up to.

Peggy, a heads up for you: it is not just the elites. I would suggest you spend some time in a poor neighborhood and survey the climate. Spend some time in a middle class Sunday School room ... Methodist.

You'll find that the fortress is always in a cul de sac, or very near one. You'll find that Oprah Winfrey is worshipped.

You'll find that boys are taught, nearly forced, to remain 'guys' throughout their lives, and that the raising of Men is deeply feared.

You'll find above all that discussing just who Jesus Christ was is the fastest way to completely and totally upset people, with one exception: discussing who Paul was...

In short, the trolley has always been off the tracks Peggy. But it is nice to see one of the elites is noticing a little bit.

71 posted on 10/27/2005 4:56:56 AM PDT by gobucks (Blissful Marriage: A result of a worldly husband's transformation into the Word's wife.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gobucks

Not to throw water on everybody's doom parade, but the train has been off the tracks since the Fall of Man. It's kind of funny to watch a middle aged person act like he/she has made a major discovery: that the world is broken and can't be fixed. It's almost like how every generation thinks it's the first to figure out that war is bad and sex is pleasureable.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written over 3000 years ago, and it says the exact same thing as this article, only better.


72 posted on 10/27/2005 5:06:59 AM PDT by Warren_Piece (Nashville, TN)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: SirJohnBarleycorn

When you have to say "But here goes" it makes me think I'm fixxin to hear the ravings of a blthering idiot.


73 posted on 10/27/2005 5:11:03 AM PDT by wolfcreek
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MikeHu
How I wish that Peggy would not foist her menopausal blues on her readers. She has written some passably good columns in the past, but this is not one of them. I know I am in the minority in thinking her style is a bit too precious.

(BTW did you know that prior to her speech writing career at the WH that she used to write for Dan Rather?)

74 posted on 10/27/2005 5:15:50 AM PDT by Carolinamom (Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning......Psalm 30:5)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: daybreakcoming

Well, if the people of any given state want to set up a nanny state, and it's allowed by the state's constitution, go for it. But it definitely does not belong at the federal level.


75 posted on 10/27/2005 5:34:26 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: SirJohnBarleycorn
Teddy has been doing his best for the last 40 years to make the country fall apart.

Exactly! This is just Teddy saying that things are going according to plan.

76 posted on 10/27/2005 5:57:41 AM PDT by slowhandluke (It's hard work to be cynical enough in this age)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: beyond the sea
"You're dreaming. Time will educate you."

Perhaps in all your wisdom, you can tell me which of these statements is wrong...
1. The credibility of the mainstream media is in a tailspin.
2. We are a nation based on freedom.
3. Mainstream media outlets like the New York Times are being rejected by an increasing number of our population.
4. The red/blue election maps show we are winning.

77 posted on 10/27/2005 7:25:13 AM PDT by Rokke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: magellan
I too feel we are heading into a dark period, similar to the 1970s. Eerily similar.

That's funny. I feel we're heading to a new age of relative prosperity, albeit one pricked here and there by lunatic Muslims.

Inventions (technology) are coming fast and furious, and despite the recent energy price spike, Crude oil supplies seem to be adequate.

My children are already making more $$ than I did at their age, and there is relative peace in the world. (China's sabre rattling notwithstanding)

Home ownership in the US and the world is at an all-time high, and many segments of society around the world are being educated at a quick pace.

If we can keep WMDs out of the hands of lunatics, we'll be OK, I believe.

78 posted on 10/27/2005 7:38:28 AM PDT by Edit35
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Rokke
1. The credibility of the mainstream media is in a tailspin. -- true

2. We are a nation based on freedom. -- very nebulous

3. Mainstream media outlets like the New York Times are being rejected by an increasing number of our population. -- true 4. The red/blue election maps show we are winning. -- who is "we", and would Bush win today? NO!

***

The final thing I'm going to say to you is that I am right on this but you also make a few true and obviouslt correct observations. But you cannot avoid that the predicament that George Bush has himself in now is a DIRECT RESULT of disinformation and outright EFFECTVE AND UNRELENTING destructive bias by the old lying media.

Look at Bush's abysmal polling numbers about Iraq for instance. Look at how Americans feel about that war in general. How in the world do you explain those numbers? It's simple --- the old media is still very effective. Don't keep fooling yourself!...........By the way, this liberal media influence extends to the lam-*ss and generally anti-Bush monologues on Leno and Letterman, Stewart, etc. Get real! The old sicko liberal/socialist media still rules over most minds in America. That is a FACT.

God, when a stiff like Kerry almost wins an election you should understand that! The real reason Bush was able to win over all that anti-Bush media bias in the run up to the election was because Americans trusted him on security. Now look what the media has done to the American psyche, even after the Iraq Constitution was voted on.

How old are you, if you don't mind me asking. I'm betting that you are under 40 (not that there's anything wrong with that).

;-)

79 posted on 10/27/2005 7:57:59 AM PDT by beyond the sea (Gloria Borger is Andrea Mitchell on Peyote)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: BushMeister

There's a definite lack of deep thinking in this country right now. Stop to think about it long enough and Peggy has some very good points.


80 posted on 10/27/2005 8:07:19 AM PDT by Desdemona (Music Librarian and provider of cucumber sandwiches, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary. Hats required.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-97 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson