"In a way, we are exactly where we should be because so many otherwise good people have left politics and every institution a man can think up to people who want to use them for their own power."
This revelation is so spot on and encourages me as I have been realizing the need for public officials to have a Fiduciary Heart. Even in the Church this quality seems to be minimized. (broad brush stroke)
This has recently become my prayer...that we can find in the local and state levels those who have been given such a heart balanced with knowledge and wisdom and will be willing to be as Washington....preferring their private life but recognizing their God given duty to serve.
I've been Spirit-pilled: my citizenship is in Heaven. And because that is where my treasure lies, my heart is there. My duty to this world is to follow Christ's commandment to love others. That means sticking to the political process as long as possible, but not pinning my hopes on anything or anyone here on earth. It is not about giving up on the world, but realizing that the world will be judged and I should not become a part of it (or stained by it) lest I share in its judgment.
The "high" never wears off Christians because it is the Spirit within us who makes us stand. Nor is the "high" a hope for this world because we know it is passing away.
David, thanks for sharing this! Jesus spoke about the drinking of the living water where we will never thirst again (John 4:14). Scripture seems to indicate it is the continual drinking of this water that allows us to maintain the “high” you speak about [the well, John 4:14, the fountains, and the rivers within (John 6:37-38-various translation/versions)] just as we are told if we [continue to] walk in the spirit we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:16). It is the continuation of the doing of something. . .
Very good take. I also feel that “purple pilled” is another option - especially if you are active in conservative circles, you will often encounter the milquetoast moderate “principles first” crowd who will always be quick to criticize any tiny deviation from the ideological principles of conservatism (which as you have said, is meaningless today especially if you are concerned with actually achieving results). In the last week and a half, these are the individuals who cannot differentiate between holding individuals who post vile comments supporting political violence and/or mocking Charlie Kirk’s murder and the cancel culture that the leftists have used for years against anyone, be they high profile or ordinary citizens, who dares to criticize the narrative or expresses an opinion outside of the ever-shifting Overton Window of the left.
Purple pilled people believe they are redpilled (or have no concept of the analogy). They are the ones who are smart enough to oppose leftist ideas and policies, but would rather be “nice” (and lose) than get real and make a real difference.
Do not despair brothers & sisters in Christ. Only run the race with faith. But as 2 Timothy says, we must run the race according to the RULES, if we be crowned with victory.
It's disheartening when the old ways and traditionally involved folks preclude new approaches and new folks - and that's often a problem because of leadership. Politics are messy but we definitely need to stay the course of involvement - you are so right.
One of the joys of my very old age is that I can lecture active people whose work I completely admire in the same way I get to admonish our beloved child. She has to endure her Dad's picking of nits because she knows she has absolute trust. The Captain is one of those people who has saved and will continue to save the Republic. Now, can he please stop believing in the idiot successors of George Washington who believed in the virtues of foreign wars - Adams, Jefferson, and Madison - and move on to the veteran who knew better - James Monroe. Here endeth the picking of the latest nit.
Having come of age preparing to meet the Soviet hordes in the Fulda Gap, I’ve always been anti-Communist and remained so, through the 90’s and 00’s when it was distinctly out of fashion. Know who your enemies are and aim to defeat them. Use the boxes in their escalating nature. There are no good Reds. Always remember that.
As someone who’s never seen The Matrix, I needed this explanation. Sounds like we need a new category for those who expect bad news and prepare for the worst without letting despair ruin a productive life.
Here's a bombshell interview Adam Carolla did recently with two guys who wrote a book about election fraud that is coming out in October; curious what you make of their assertions [which, if true, might explain Trump's sudden interest in Venezuela, other than the Stabroek oil field and Chinese exploration there]...
I agree with you about the easy cynicism and short time horizon of modern Americans; not sure what to do about it, but people's priorities will shift as the lefties become more desperate.
I see three universal problems in political thinking:
1. The ever-stricter party purity tests for candidate messaging, which are rather silly considering the fluidity of party platforms over time. This is a major problem for Dems being unable to return to sanity, but we are equally at risk going forward.
2. The reason "good" people don't gravitate to high-stakes races is because both parties have been indulging voters' magical thinking for far too long, like divorced parents trying to buy their kids' affection. That creates a toxic feedback loop which is difficult to break, in the absence of a major calamity.
3. There is a perception by many Americans that our bipartisan fortress creates incentives for a "uniparty" dominated by self-dealing and contempt for the electorate, which seems evident to me. But there is a misguided notion that other parliamentary democracies with more options are better off, when they tend to suffer from the paradox of too many choices, and split loyalties as a result. Perhaps this problem is best solved by voting methods that represent partisan choice above candidate preference.
One of the difficulties here in CA is that we are currently faced with too many good alternatives on the right, so vote splitting is becoming a greater risk than before. To my mind there is only one viable candidate so far, because only one [currently a sheriff] knows how the sausage is made in the legislature, and how to peel off moderate Dems from the communist vanguard. But most people, I'm guessing, vote primarily by resonant messaging, rather than pragmatism.
Glad I found your blog; I'm interested in how your analysis is more accurate than polling. Polling can be challenging, because people don't often know their true preferences when asked, even if they choose to answer honestly. Let me know if there are particular posts I should start with...
"In a way, we are exactly where we should be because so many otherwise good people have left politics and every institution a man can think up to people who want to use them for their own power."
This revelation is so spot on and encourages me as I have been realizing the need for public officials to have a Fiduciary Heart. Even in the Church this quality seems to be minimized. (broad brush stroke)
This has recently become my prayer...that we can find in the local and state levels those who have been given such a heart balanced with knowledge and wisdom and will be willing to be as Washington....preferring their private life but recognizing their God given duty to serve.
Thank you for sharing this insight.
I've been Spirit-pilled: my citizenship is in Heaven. And because that is where my treasure lies, my heart is there. My duty to this world is to follow Christ's commandment to love others. That means sticking to the political process as long as possible, but not pinning my hopes on anything or anyone here on earth. It is not about giving up on the world, but realizing that the world will be judged and I should not become a part of it (or stained by it) lest I share in its judgment.
AKA White Pilled
The "high" never wears off Christians because it is the Spirit within us who makes us stand. Nor is the "high" a hope for this world because we know it is passing away.
David, thanks for sharing this! Jesus spoke about the drinking of the living water where we will never thirst again (John 4:14). Scripture seems to indicate it is the continual drinking of this water that allows us to maintain the “high” you speak about [the well, John 4:14, the fountains, and the rivers within (John 6:37-38-various translation/versions)] just as we are told if we [continue to] walk in the spirit we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:16). It is the continuation of the doing of something. . .
Very good take. I also feel that “purple pilled” is another option - especially if you are active in conservative circles, you will often encounter the milquetoast moderate “principles first” crowd who will always be quick to criticize any tiny deviation from the ideological principles of conservatism (which as you have said, is meaningless today especially if you are concerned with actually achieving results). In the last week and a half, these are the individuals who cannot differentiate between holding individuals who post vile comments supporting political violence and/or mocking Charlie Kirk’s murder and the cancel culture that the leftists have used for years against anyone, be they high profile or ordinary citizens, who dares to criticize the narrative or expresses an opinion outside of the ever-shifting Overton Window of the left.
Purple pilled people believe they are redpilled (or have no concept of the analogy). They are the ones who are smart enough to oppose leftist ideas and policies, but would rather be “nice” (and lose) than get real and make a real difference.
Regardless, reject the black pill at all costs.
Do not despair brothers & sisters in Christ. Only run the race with faith. But as 2 Timothy says, we must run the race according to the RULES, if we be crowned with victory.
It's disheartening when the old ways and traditionally involved folks preclude new approaches and new folks - and that's often a problem because of leadership. Politics are messy but we definitely need to stay the course of involvement - you are so right.
Thank you, Seth, for bringing some clarity to the medicine cabinet.
Beautiful
One of the joys of my very old age is that I can lecture active people whose work I completely admire in the same way I get to admonish our beloved child. She has to endure her Dad's picking of nits because she knows she has absolute trust. The Captain is one of those people who has saved and will continue to save the Republic. Now, can he please stop believing in the idiot successors of George Washington who believed in the virtues of foreign wars - Adams, Jefferson, and Madison - and move on to the veteran who knew better - James Monroe. Here endeth the picking of the latest nit.
Very informative article!
Having come of age preparing to meet the Soviet hordes in the Fulda Gap, I’ve always been anti-Communist and remained so, through the 90’s and 00’s when it was distinctly out of fashion. Know who your enemies are and aim to defeat them. Use the boxes in their escalating nature. There are no good Reds. Always remember that.
As someone who’s never seen The Matrix, I needed this explanation. Sounds like we need a new category for those who expect bad news and prepare for the worst without letting despair ruin a productive life.
Here's a bombshell interview Adam Carolla did recently with two guys who wrote a book about election fraud that is coming out in October; curious what you make of their assertions [which, if true, might explain Trump's sudden interest in Venezuela, other than the Stabroek oil field and Chinese exploration there]...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NzjzMvDJzQ
Great quote from John Adams!
I agree with you about the easy cynicism and short time horizon of modern Americans; not sure what to do about it, but people's priorities will shift as the lefties become more desperate.
I see three universal problems in political thinking:
1. The ever-stricter party purity tests for candidate messaging, which are rather silly considering the fluidity of party platforms over time. This is a major problem for Dems being unable to return to sanity, but we are equally at risk going forward.
2. The reason "good" people don't gravitate to high-stakes races is because both parties have been indulging voters' magical thinking for far too long, like divorced parents trying to buy their kids' affection. That creates a toxic feedback loop which is difficult to break, in the absence of a major calamity.
3. There is a perception by many Americans that our bipartisan fortress creates incentives for a "uniparty" dominated by self-dealing and contempt for the electorate, which seems evident to me. But there is a misguided notion that other parliamentary democracies with more options are better off, when they tend to suffer from the paradox of too many choices, and split loyalties as a result. Perhaps this problem is best solved by voting methods that represent partisan choice above candidate preference.
One of the difficulties here in CA is that we are currently faced with too many good alternatives on the right, so vote splitting is becoming a greater risk than before. To my mind there is only one viable candidate so far, because only one [currently a sheriff] knows how the sausage is made in the legislature, and how to peel off moderate Dems from the communist vanguard. But most people, I'm guessing, vote primarily by resonant messaging, rather than pragmatism.
Glad I found your blog; I'm interested in how your analysis is more accurate than polling. Polling can be challenging, because people don't often know their true preferences when asked, even if they choose to answer honestly. Let me know if there are particular posts I should start with...
Well I think you're pretty redpilled, chief. That said, who is this for? Who is despairing? Last I checked we were on the up and up.
Lots of people have dug so far into the Charlie incident they’ve found so much speculation that it leads to black pilling.
Huh, haven't seen it. All I see is mobilization.