The Worst of Times, The Best of Times

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Most all Men believe that current times are much worse than they 'used' to be if not the worst ever. Most all Men are dead wrong. As an intellectual exercise let's explore that for one moment. Exactly when were the worst times ever? While shortly after Man learned we could kill one another and we were still having to hunt and gather daily for food and shelter might be a strong candidate, for simplicity let's keep the timeline within the emergence of Western civilization sometime after the Greek republic of 500-300 B.C. or so; roughly the last 2,500 years. The 100 years' war would be top choice for thems' that lived it. Certainly, if you were a Christian, Dometian's reign through about 96 A.D. would be a top choice. That crucifixion and eaten by the lions thing can be pretty bad. For Americans the Revolution while it was being lost and the Civil War were certainly terrible times. Of course the Twentieth Century gave us 2 World Wars that were horrendous in terms of human toil. However, there are two periods that stand alone in the category of worst times ever. The Black Plague of the 14th century and the 'Spanish' Flu pandemic of 1918. While the flu killed more, perhaps as many as 100 million; the Black Plague has my vote because of the lack of medical knowledge and general conditions of the time, near the end of the Dark Age. A full third of the European population died. Worldwide the toll is unknown due to the lack of information from undeveloped nations. Hell the Little Ice Age sounds like a cake walk compared to some of these but tell that to the folks trying to get food and shelter during those times. Regardless, any of the times described above are clearly worse than what we are now experiencing.

What's your point Keith? Just that despair is a useless human emotion and was not the attitude that helped Mankind overcome each and every one of these conditions to progress into what eventually became the most prosperous times in the History of Mankind thanks primarily to the Great Experiment that is America...and you have the privilege of living some of the best times of human existence. This doesn't mean that due diligence isn't required. It doesn't mean that things won't get worse before they get better. It doesn't mean that a spiritual, moral and intellectual revival is not required. What it means is that human beings have an innate capacity to take what seems as an insurmountable blow, overcome, rise up and emerge better, smarter and stronger than before. It is the most marvelous aspect of the human condition and is sometimes called the human spirit. While we indeed are capable of the most horrific, decadent and evil acts; we are twicely capable of unfathomable acts of kindness, generosity, invention and benevolence. Do NOT underestimate Mankind.

So where does that leave the aging Tiger long in tooth, jealously watching the young feline fools fecklessly flaunting their youthful prowess while recklessly risking the progeny of the Pride? Right here. Right at the point where one uses their experience and intellectual jiu-jitsu to flip the world. The savior of our nation will come from the ones just borne or soon to be borne. Hopefully it wasn't one of the aborted Martyr's!

To teach one must first learn. Read about the Founders. Study the Constitution and it's adoption. Study the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers. Learn about Marxism. Read as many renditions of the Communist Manifesto as you can, including the comments by Engels at the end of later versions. Relate these to the political path of the 20th Century. When you've honed your knowledge, put it to use. Take every opportunity to imbue this knowledge into your family and friend network. Note Marxist ideology when it shows it's ugly face. Call it out and point out the failure, especially to the masses. The elite are enriched by Marxism. One important suggestion. Some of my Dad's and Grand-dad's greatest influence came from short, seemingly innocuous remarks while observing something, i.e. While passing a vagabond one may comment to a child, "It's sad what drugs and alcohol can do to a man." Just that little comment can stick for decades. Yet if you push the issue the child will tune out. Short, terse, factual comments interjected at EVERY opportunity by a respected adult shape a child's life. Most importantly, do not seek or expect confirmation. Most men are dead and buried by the time their wisdom takes affect on the people around them.

We are indeed living in 'interesting' times (a Chinese curse actually). We have a few generations who have succumbed to the siren's song of Socialism. They have been indoctrinated in school and through cultural media that Capitalism is bad and Socialism is good. The funny thing is that they have lived under NEITHER! These kids have never experience true Liberty! They have been raised under a hybrid often called Crony Socialism by those of us that know. Their future has been stolen by selfish, hateful and envious Marxists under the lie of compassion. There is NO compassion in selling your children's future for your own edification. These kids are however, becoming disenchanted. The rise of an avowed Socialist in the Democrat primary has more to do with the failures of the Obama Socialist agenda than it does Socialism due to the despicable and dishonorable propaganda known as the main stream media. They WILL figure it out with your help. Who'd a thought that a Bush and a Clinton would be the most distrusted politicians alive? Liberty coupled with free-market capitalism is the fuel of progress and even these confused youth will figure that out if they ever get to experience same; just as you and I did under Ronaldus Maximus. No one enjoys liberty more than a youngster. They just have to be shown where it resides and where it disappears.

Finally, I will say this. Every monumental shift achieved in a short period has been accompanied by one charismatic and heroic figure. Whether it be Cicero, William Wallace, Thomas Paine, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, George Patton or YOU; great changes have been swept in by ONE great person. Today, that person needs to be a very specific person. This person will require the intellectual prescience of a Thomas Sowell, the energy of a Richard Simmons, the looks of a movie star, the 'moxy' of a Richard Branson, the Constitutional bona fides of an Antonin Scalia and the media savvy of the most shameless self-promoter. This is a tall order but the Lions of the past have appeared out of nowhere more or less and so I suspect it will be of our next hero. Just keep in mind that this person may be alive and may be under your sphere of influence. Make no mistake, St. Mary was not raising the Son of God. She was raising a good Jewish boy who would respect his family and be a positive influence on their community...God took care of the rest.

This very article was inspired by someone else than me. Love God. Live God. Trust God. He got this! Help Him work His magic on the world!

by: Keith D. Rodebush