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Notes -
I think we are in a civilizational crisis. And the crisis is the seeds of the twentieth century and the hubris it represents coming home to roost. We’ve convinced ourselves that we are the exceptions to civilizational laws, that we can afford to ignore reality in all kinds of ways that only work when we’re protected by the natural fortresses created by oceans, seas and mountains, and guarded by military forces with huge technological advantages. When we were the only ones with a strong manufacturing and innovation. That was probably true until the end of the 1990s.
Because of those advantages, we tried to get away with all sorts of things that turn out to be really bad ideas, and lead to really bad outcomes. We no longer push for achievement. In the turn of the last century we absolutely celebrated great achievements. We celebrated big business doing great things, and people who discovered important things. We also pushed our citizens to production and industry and held education out as aspirational. We were forthright about teaching our own culture and heritage, and unabashedly claimed Christianity as the Western religion. We insisted on public and private morality and promoted heterosexual monogamous marriages that formed strong families and raised healthy children. We didn’t mollycoddle those who refused to do any work, if you didn’t work, you wouldn’t expect to live on food stamps and in government housing.
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