[SirJohnBarleycorn]

Christopher, Ted Kennedy and a few family members had gathered one night and were having a drink in Mr. Lawford's mother's apartment in Manhattan. Teddy was expansive. If he hadn't gone into politics he would have been an opera singer, he told them, and visited small Italian villages and had pasta every day for lunch. "Singing at la Scala in front of three thousand people throwing flowers at you. Then going out for dinner and having more pasta." Everyone was laughing. Then, writes Mr. Lawford, Teddy "took a long, slow gulp of his vodka and tonic, thought for a moment, and changed tack. 'I'm glad I'm not going to be around when you guys are my age.' I asked him why, and he said, 'Because when you guys are my age, the whole thing is going to fall apart.' "

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

[beyond the sea]

A Separate Peace (Peggy Noonan) -----

And to think ........... "A Seperate Peace" was a very good book.

[beyond the sea]

things are broken and tough history is coming

And to think ......... it is all being done consciously.

[beyond the sea]

I think those who haven't noticed we're living in a troubling time continue to operate each day with classic and constitutional American optimism intact. I think some of those who have a sense we're in trouble are going through the motions, dealing with their own daily challenges.

And some--well, I will mention and end with America's elites. Our recent debate about elites has had to do with whether opposition to Harriet Miers is elitist, but I don't think that's our elites' problem.

This is. Our elites, our educated and successful professionals, are the ones who are supposed to dig us out and lead us. I refer specifically to the elites of journalism and politics, the elites of the Hill and at Foggy Bottom and the agencies, the elites of our state capitals, the rich and accomplished and successful of Washington, and elsewhere. I have a nagging sense, and think I have accurately observed, that many of these people have made a separate peace. That they're living their lives and taking their pleasures and pursuing their agendas; that they're going forward each day with the knowledge, which they hold more securely and with greater reason than nonelites, that the wheels are off the trolley and the trolley's off the tracks, and with a conviction, a certainty, that there is nothing they can do about it.

I suspect that history, including great historical novelists of the future, will look back and see that many of our elites simply decided to enjoy their lives while they waited for the next chapter of trouble. And that they consciously, or unconsciously, took grim comfort in this thought: I got mine. Which is what the separate peace comes down to, "I got mine, you get yours."

****

So very true!

[Loyal Buckeye]

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.

[pageonetoo]

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!

[gobucks]

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.

[wolfcreek]

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

[slowhandluke]

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.

[jpl]

We're still in the relatively early stages of a new World War that is probably going to continue to get worse for a while before it gets better. Of course there's a sense out there that "the trolley is coming off the tracks"! If people didn't have that sense it would mean that there was something seriously wrong with society's psychological state. I guarantee you it's the same way people felt during the ascension of Hitler and Stalin.

We've managed to come through dark days before, and I have no doubt whatsoever that we will again, but not before experiencing a lot more pain and suffering first.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

The basic problem is that what passes for the "elites" is pretty much the bottom sediments of our society.

Kakistocracy is the word, I think.

[neutrino]

The entire article is well worth reading. The trolley is off the tracks; however, there remain quite a number of passengers who aren't aware of the problem yet.

Not to worry. Events will help them develop greater insight.

[GOPJ]

Our elites, our educated and successful professionals, are the ones who are supposed to dig us out and lead us. I refer specifically to the elites of journalism and politics, the elites of the Hill and at Foggy Bottom and the agencies, the elites of our state capitals, the rich and accomplished and successful of Washington, and elsewhere. I have a nagging sense, and think I have accurately observed, that many of these people have made a separate peace. That they're living their lives and taking their pleasures and pursuing their agendas; that they're going forward each day with the knowledge, which they hold more securely and with greater reason than nonelites, that the wheels are off the trolley and the trolley's off the tracks, and with a conviction, a certainty, that there is nothing they can do about it.

I suspect that history, including great historical novelists of the future, will look back and see that many of our elites simply decided to enjoy their lives while they waited for the next chapter of trouble. And that they consciously, or unconsciously, took grim comfort in this thought: I got mine. Which is what the separate peace comes down to, "I got mine, you get yours."

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.

Peggy's right. This is happening, people are hunkering down.