Consequences Of The Civil War Revisited

Consequences Of The Civil War Revisited

Early next spring the 150^th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War will be celebrated. Maybe.

Twenty-five years ago there was definitely more fanfare throughout the country during the 125^th celebrations and observances that occurred. I still have plenty of friends in the reenacting community. It seems like that part of the population is still just as enthusiastic as ever. This is good. We must never forget the sacrifices that were made 150 years ago.

But in a larger sense we have forgotten the lessons of 150 years ago. What is even worse is that we are primed right now for an even larger conflagration with in our country. We have allowed our nation to be broken down not by state, region, or even political affiliation. We have allowed ourselves to be herded into special interest groups, be they political, social, economic, or etc.

We don't even know the neighbors in our own neighborhoods any more. It has taken my family several years to begin to crack the self imposed isolation that many of our neighbors have developed. Some still refuse to acknowledge that we exist. It is amazing that we have allowed it to become such and the speed of which it happened. It speaks unwritten volumes to one of the failures of our modern society.

So this is the reason why I posit that when the next civil war begins, the killing and the slaughter will be so much worse than before. We have zero connections with our neighbors. No shared sense of mutual self interest. We have created our own islands of isolation and have nobody to blame but ourselves.

Just consider what happened in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s for two brief more modern examples. Also study the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Then ask yourself, could that happen here as well?

Something To Contemplate: The Spanish Civil War As Prototype To The Next American Civil War

I had 24 hour CQ duty last week and ran across this documentary. It is over 4 hours long and is rather dated. It was broadcast in the early 1980s. However, many of the survivors and movers and shakers of the conflict were still alive and able to tell their side of the story.

One of the things that will confuse most people right away is the different definitions for such terms as "Republican", "Nationalist", and so on. However, the varied and diverse kinds of political groupings should look very familiar to most of us.

There were unique political and social situations to the Spanish at the time, however, it does not require great leaps of logic to see similar situations here in the United States. If you do not have the time to watch all of the documentary, just do some research on the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 and see what you think.

Why Are They Attracted To Islam and ISIS?

Most days you can peruse the internet news pages and see another news story about some Western young person who has decided to throw in their lot with ISIS. The writers then lament asking the question "why?"

My wife and I were discussing this the other day. I may have an idea why.

The Appeal of Islam. Think about people you have know in your own life who were hellions and then suddenly went straight and narrow in an extreme sort of way. Islam may have that kind of appeal to youth here in the West. Think on this: Today, America and the West is better known around the world for its "anything goes - no boundary society." When some people come up out of the slums of their life, they look for an outside source of discipline and total life belief that appeals or makes sense to them. Since academia and media has done an excellent job of castrating many of the traditional Western sources of this discipline (the military, the Church, etc), these same people start looking for the non-Western ways of life. This satisfies two goals in their mind: 1) attaining the discipline and boundaries that they seek, and 2) still sticking it to whomever they were rebelling against in the first place.

What better way to achieve this total life makeover than through Islam. It will totally schedule and direct your life!

But why ISIS? They are the current super soldiers of Islam. Everyone wants to be with the winner, right? Right now they are. They have attention of the world and they are on the march. Will the West wake up in time? Europe is already lost in many corners of it. What Islam could not do originally by the sword, they are doing by the birthrate.

Tom Kratman wrote a very interesting novel back in 2008 called "Caliphate" which describes an Islamic Europe in another 100 years. When I first read the novel I really appreciated the unblinking truthful look at how horribly women and children are treated in caliphates. One of the things I have noticed lately is a resurgence in Militant Christianity, or a rejection in the idea of total Christian pacifism. More people are realizing that they are their own when it comes to the the protection of their and their family's lives. The recent Moore, Oklahoma beheading really shook a lot of people I know.

Thoughts?

Signs Of Our Times

Ebola.

D68.

The mysterious polio-like paralysis virus that may or may not be connected to the D68 virus.

ISIS (or ISIL if you prefer), their reach, and their origins.

Public corruption in high places.

Misinformation from media (at best).

Economic woes (stagflation at best, inflation/depression at worst).

Government intrusion into everyday life.

Small percentage interest groups dictating ways of life.

Near oppression of certain religious thought and expression, while other religions are not only untouched, but celebrated and protected.

All of the above remind me of the old saying: “May you live in interesting times.”

Man's history on this planet is replete with the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, and civilizations. Some were quick. Others not. Since my college days I have long discussed and debated how civilizations were rarely brought down by one single event. It was almost always a grouping or series of events that would ultimately relegate an empire or civilization to the dustbin of history. You as the reader may not agree with the assertion above, but, I will bet that we would agree that like today, those civilizations did not realize until it was too late that their way of life was almost gone, AKA “the normalcy bias.”

There have been Cassandras of every lost civilization. We have our own today. Like Cassandra of Troy, they have been largely ignored, until recently. However, by and large, they are still criticized and pushed to the fringe by the very people they are trying to warn and save.

It is arrogant to think that our current civilization and way of life will buck the trend. Our country has for far too long been complacent behind its walls of water to be worried or concerned about events and happenings on distant shores that may have direct consequence on our own shores. We have locked into our own normalcy bias.

All the items listed at the beginning of this piece are real. Not fantasy. Not illusion.

Real.

With real consequences.

Try to ignore that.

Out Of The Field

I have been in the field the last four days. Finally got back in. Shot a lot. Slept on the tops of Strykers under the most brilliant stars I have seen in years. But the world has gone to the crapper in those four days. I have tried as hard as I can to inform and educate people that I know. At this point I am beginning to think it is too late.

Oh well. Happiness is a mushroom....cloud.

I Apologize For The Dearth Of Posts. I Offer A Repost.

Life (read job) has been getting in the way all this last week. I need to focus on the family today.

There is a lot in the news to consider and ruminate on. Keep planning, sharpen your knives and 'hawks, and keep your powder dry.

I offer the following repost:

http://wearethenewbarbarians.blogspot.com/2014/07/who-am-i.html

Who Am I?

Something I have been thinking about and finally put down into words:

Who Am I?
I am fascinated by the world and its processes. I believe in God and His Son. I enjoy learning new things and ideas. I look for the good in people, but I see evil in all its forms everywhere. I long for peace, but prepare myself and my family for defend ourselves. I love to learn, but so many of our institutions of higher learning have become nothing more than profit centers enslaving our young and their future. I love vigorous but courteous debate.

I know that change is inevitable, but that it is not always good. Just because we can do it does not mean that we should. I enjoy good stories well told, whether by the fire, on the couch, at the table, or on the stage and screen. Family and friends help form the tribes of our lives, regardless of distance. I believe that government, like fire, can be either a helpful servant or a fearsome master. I may not have much, but I will help you with what I have. I have learned that sometimes it is better to walk than run, to stand when you cannot walk, and to accept the leaning help of a friend when you cannot even stand.

I have been blessed to be loved by three women in my life: my mother who bore and raised me, my wife who is my life long companion and fellow dream sharer, and my daughter who deserves the moon and stars to be laid down at her feet. My wife's and my four sons are like the cardinal points of the compass rose. Each one distinctly different in his own way, yet, they all have the potential to entirely encompass their worlds. I have been mentored by the best of men, and I have called many of them Friend and Brother. But only one have I called Dad, and my debt to him can never truly be totally repaid. I have lost friends, family and Brothers to sickness, war, and the crushing weight of life. They will never be forgotten.

I long for the undiscovered country, the unknown frontiers of old, where wonder and amazement can be found beyond the known horizon. I hope for the future, but keep the rhymes and rhythms of history ever present in mind. I enjoy the thinker, the poet, the singer, the inventor. I may not be rich or famous, but if wealth is measured by the relationships we have, I am truly among the wealthiest in the world. I love to grow and make things that others will enjoy. I have learned to enjoy the sunrise, the sunset, and the stars as they wheel through an incredible night sky. I admire the wizened eyes of the elderly man. I enjoy watching the innocence of a small child experiencing their world. Sometimes the simplest pleasures in life are also the most memorable and best to experience. If you and I disagree on something, it is okay. Let us find what we can agree on and go from there. If you cannot reconcile on that, then peace be unto you and you may go your way. Life is too short to hold grudges.

Yet, there is so much more to learn, love, share, and celebrate. So I face in another direction and step forward...

Thoughts?

Born For Such A Time As This

Esther 4:14 "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mark 13:6-8 "6"Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. 7"When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8"For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.…"

It is hard not to get caught up in the maelstrom of concern and worry over events in today's world. Between World War E(bola), Syria, ISIL, Russian moves in Ukraine, ISIS in Juarez, volcanoes erupting around the world, and a general grimness in economic news, one has to wonder what is going on. Having been fed a steady diet of Protestant End-Times Theology growing up, it is hard not to play connect the dots. But the professionally trained historian in me also realizes that this turmoil is nothing new. History is replete with time after time where civilization was reportedly on the brink of not only collapse, but total annihilation. 

Many reading this may know people who rather not want to know or deal with what is going on in the world. "If it is not good news, I'd rather not know it." I understand this mentality. But I believe it is the wrong one to have. Evil and catastrophe can be visited on you or your family at any given moment. No one or agency is responsible for your individual safety or your family's well being. Only you, and maybe a small community of family, friends, and neighbors who may share your ideas and convictions, have that responsibility. But ultimately, it is you.

I look at my children and I worry for their future. What will it be for them? Will they witness the fall of a way of life? Have I taught them enough? Have other parents worried the same in the past? Did my parents worry as I worry? Am I worrying too much? 

I don't think so.

Conflict and conquest have been an ever present companion of human existence on this planet. The myth of the peaceful native "at one with its surroundings" needs to be thrown out. Now. The rewriting and the erasing of "undesirable" historical fact needs to stop. Now. The acceptance of the fact that large portions of people around this planet despise the ideals of what America stands for, even if America does not actively stand for them currently, needs to start. Now. The acceptance of the fact that those same people would rather have you on your knees, marching away your loved ones to brutally short, horror filled lives after your own death, needs to be understood and believed. Now. I am not talking in hyperbole. I am speaking in fact. Look it up. Gird yourself. It is looking into the abyss.

The tolerance crowd and the naysayers will talk moral relativity and equivalency. They will trot out "this massacre" conducted by us, or a fact about "behavior during the crusades or this war." Atrocities are committed by all sides in conflict. This is not an excuse. Just fact. But here is another fact, traitors and quislings are usually the first ones led squawking to their own death by the very people they wanted to tolerate or cooperate with.

What do we do?

Do we continue to hide our heads in the sand, cover our ears to stop hearing the news we do not wish to hear, turn our backs against the appeals for help? This country, though still powerful, is broken. Our rudder is broken, and we are being tossed about on the sea of turmoil with no way to keep ourselves pointed straight. The reasons for this are legion, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. We can wallow in self pity and fear. We can wail at the heavens and beat our breast, lamenting our birth and existence. Many have done this in the past. Their bones litter the land. But what did Esther do when faced with her own possible death and the eradication of her people and their way of life?

She fasted and prayed for three days along with her people. She conformed herself with God's Will. She steadfastly and resolutely faced her fate, whether it was life or death. She faced it. She did not hide from it or shirk it. 

The evil of our time is not new. It has many faces. Many are deceptive. Some are not. We must be just as steadfast and resolute as Esther in our stand. Good men and women have stood against evil before and beat it back for a time. What will our story be? 

We must stand against evil in all its forms. This takes courage. This takes faith.  This takes will. This takes love. 

We may live. We may die. We all WILL die at some point. What are you willing to do against such relentless and reckless hate? How can it be stopped? Will it be stopped? Trust me, that same population group is teaching their children and their grandchildren to absolutely hate you and yours. Teach your children. Teach your grandchildren. Teach your neighbor. Do not teach them to hate. Teach them how to stand and face evil. You have no idea whose life you will touch by your example.

You were born for such a time as this.