Liberty Relearned

How we reenact the Nativity each year at Christmastime without even realizing it.

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” --Luke 2:8-14

On that day, whether it was December 25th, or some other day, God gave us the gift of himself. He gave us our savior, our Messiah. This event was so sacred, so special, that His angels sang for joy about Jesus' birth. He did it, because he favors us, his children. This gift of His only begotten son also gave us a gift-- that of salvation.

As children, we make Christmas about getting gifts. We unknowingly, reenact in a way, the anticipation of His people on that first Christmas day of a Messiah who would come to free God's people, His favored. As we get older and mature, we come to know the joy of giving. We come to identify with God's part in this nativity drama, the giving part. Giving gifts then, is how we in our own small way, emulate His part in the story. We continue to love to receive gifts, to be sure, but we also learn the joy of giving. This is not insignificant; for in giving gifts, we make ourselves more like the Father. We create a cycle of joy, of simultaneous giving and receiving.

We learn, if we are wise, that we should give of ourselves, give our love to others. We also, like the shepherds in the fields and their people, anticipate His coming, and sing out with joy as the angles did, when we feel his presence among us. So, in life's Nativity play, we at times play the parts of the Shepherds, the Angels, and of our Father. Our tradition of gift-giving, receiving, and rejoicing over the whole thing is the value of the Christmas season. The hope is, that we continue reenacting the Nativity play, perpetuating the cycle of giving, receiving, and rejoicing continuously, in various ways, throughout the year.

How we reenact the Nativity each year at Christmastime without even realizing it.

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” --Luke 2:8-14

On that day, whether it was December 25th, or some other day, God gave us the gift of himself. He gave us our savior, our Messiah. This event was so sacred, so special, that His angels sang for joy about Jesus' birth. He did it, because he favors us, his children. This gift of His only begotten son also gave us a gift-- that of salvation.

As children, we make Christmas about getting gifts. We unknowingly, reenact in a way, the anticipation of His people on that first Christmas day of a Messiah who would come to free God's people, His favored. As we get older and mature, we come to know the joy of giving. We come to identify with God's part in this nativity drama, the giving part. Giving gifts then, is how we in our own small way, emulate His part in the story. We continue to love to receive gifts, to be sure, but we also learn the joy of giving. This is not insignificant; for in giving gifts, we make ourselves more like the Father. We create a cycle of joy, of simultaneous giving and receiving.

We learn, if we are wise, that we should give of ourselves, give our love to others. We also, like the shepherds in the fields and their people, anticipate His coming, and sing out with joy as the angles did, when we feel his presence among us. So, in life's Nativity play, we at times play the parts of the Shepherds, the Angels, and of our Father. Our tradition of gift-giving, receiving, and rejoicing over the whole thing is the value of the Christmas season. The hope is, that we continue reenacting the Nativity play, perpetuating the cycle of giving, receiving, and rejoicing continuously, in various ways, throughout the year.

A deeply immoral, anti-human, point of view...

Climate alarmism is bad enough, but some thought leaders who drive it, who are its philosophical torchbearers, have an even more troubling view of humanity that far exceeds the usual misanthropy you might expect from its proponents. This quote comes from a review of: The End of Nature, by Bill McKibben, published in the Los Angeles Times. Written by David M. Graber in 1989 It reflects a deeply immoral philosophy:

"Human happiness, and certainly human fecundity, are not as important as a wild and healthy planet. I know social scientists who remind me that people are part of nature, but it isn’t true. Somewhere along the line--at about a billion years ago, maybe half that--we quit the contract and became a cancer. We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth.” – David M. Graber, Mother Nature as a Hothouse Flower: THE END OF NATURE by Bill McKibben

This again, is a deeply immoral outlook on life. Sadly, it is shared by a great many of people. Morality in general terms, can be thought to be comprised of two twin values or “pillars". The first, how much an action serves life. And second, how much an action allows for free-will among humans. Both values are equal and mutually reinforcing. The world view expressed in the quote is an affront to the first pillar of morality, the life pillar. The casual disregard for billions of human lives when he writes: “We are not interested in the utility of a particular species, or free-flowing river, or ecosystem, to mankind. They have intrinsic value, more value--to me--than another human body, or a billion of them,” is shocking. Even the most generous interpretation of this quote, that the billion human lives that have less value than the ecological purity of a piece of geography are notional lives, not yet established, would still be odious. He calls himself a “biocentrist.” He would claim to be deeply invested in the life pillar; except he values no human life if it is advanced past the point of aboriginal. He speaks of valuing wilderness “for its own sake, not for what value it confers upon mankind.” He forgets or is oblivious to the fact that even in appreciating nature for its own sake, suggests a value it confers on mankind. The ability to appreciate something for its own sake, or for any sake, is an ability possessed by mankind alone. (So far as we know). One might put this riddle to him and McKibben: If a tree falls in the woods, and there are no living beings with sentience enough to value it for its own sake, does it have any true value?

A deeply immoral, anti-human, point of view...

Climate alarmism is bad enough, but some thought leaders who drive it, who are its philosophical torchbearers, have an even more troubling view of humanity that far exceeds the usual misanthropy you might expect from its proponents. This quote comes from a review of: The End of Nature, by Bill McKibben, published in the Los Angeles Times. Written by David M. Graber in 1989 It reflects a deeply immoral philosophy:

"Human happiness, and certainly human fecundity, are not as important as a wild and healthy planet. I know social scientists who remind me that people are part of nature, but it isn’t true. Somewhere along the line--at about a billion years ago, maybe half that--we quit the contract and became a cancer. We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth.” – David M. Graber , Mother Nature as a Hothouse Flower : THE END OF NATURE by Bill McKibben

This again, is a deeply immoral outlook on life. Sadly, it is shared by a great many of people. Morality in general terms, can be thought to be comprised of two twin values or “pillars". The first, how much an action serves life. And second, how much an action allows for free-will among humans. Both values are equal and mutually reinforcing. The world view expressed in the quote is an affront to the first pillar of morality, the life pillar. The casual disregard for billions of human lives when he writes: “We are not interested in the utility of a particular species, or free-flowing river, or ecosystem, to mankind. They have intrinsic value, more value--to me--than another human body, or a billion of them,” is shocking. Even the most generous interpretation of this quote, that the billion human lives that have less value than the ecological purity of a piece of geography are notional lives, not yet established, would still be odious. He calls himself a “biocentrist.” He would claim to be deeply invested in the life pillar; except he values no human life if it is advanced past the point of aboriginal. He speaks of valuing wilderness “for its own sake, not for what value it confers upon mankind.” He forgets or is oblivious to the fact that even in appreciating nature for its own sake, suggests a value it confers on mankind. The ability to appreciate something for its own sake, or for any sake, is an ability possessed by mankind alone. (So far as we know). One might put this riddle to him and McKibben: If a tree falls in the woods, and there are no living beings with sentience enough to value it for its own sake, does it have any true value?

According to Mattias Desmet in his book, The Psychology of Totalitarianism, there are four conditions needed for a large-scale mass formation:  1. Generalized loneliness 2.  Lack of meaning of life 3. “Free-floating anxiety and psychological unease.”   4.  A lot of free-floating aggression.  Leftism as a mass-formation depends on all four of these conditions being met to keep their authoritarianism going.

An article about a new NYC mask directive in the Gateway Pundit talks about how New Yorkers are being advised to resume wearing masks again indoors and in crowded situations.  They've even coined the term “tridemic” in order to strike more fear in people.  With people losing their fear over COVID-19, the authoritarian left need something to get those free-floating anxiety levels back up in order to keep their mass-formation going.

The “tridemic,” the war in Ukraine, the self-sabotage of our food and energy supplies all have the effect (some might say indented) of increasing the general level of fear and anxiety, something that fuels a totalitarian mass-formation.

This is a follow-up to the last episode: The Road to Totalitarianism. Here, I emphasize how the Left's totalitarian mass formation is akin to religion, with a distinct dogma, priests, prophets, and the persecution of heretics.

Totalitarian systems call on their members to defer reason and judgment in crucial areas to an expert class. Those swept up in the mass formation are convinced to place their faith not in God or religion, but experts and science. Just like with religion, this new machine messiah demands sacrifice and a subordination of will to itself.

This episode builds upon the topics discussed in the most recent episode of the Dystopic Journal that speak of the relationship between science and totalitarianism: Even while people take to the streets in China to protest their government's draconian zero-COVID measures, people in the West celebrate and welcome never ending COVID measures restricting personal freedom. In the East the Chinese, conditioned from birth to follow authority, shout for President Xi Jinping's resignation. In the West, Dr Fauci enjoys notoriety as he retires from public life, having led many to give up their fundamental freedoms. In one place, the sway of mass formation has reached its limit. In another, those caught up in a mass formation cling to it.

Many of those same people on the left caught up in the mass formation based on COVID-19 fears, are simultaneously caught up in another-- centered around climate-change alarmism. Not just people, but entire countries have subordinated themselves to the gods of climate-change. The twin masters of climate-change and COVID alarmism have hurled countries headlong into self-destructive behavior. National leaders have subjected their citizens to the real possibility of freezing and hunger, largely based on the say of experts and technocrats who've convinced them to self-immolate their nations' farming and energy sectors.

Also, in this episode is discussed the Deep State's part a totalitarian mass formation.  The Deep State is real and put its thumb on the scale for one of the candidates in the 2020 presidential election.  (You can probably guess which one.) A recent article in the Post Millennial goes over newly acquired information and how it fits in to what we already know about the suppression of the Biden laptop story.  The Deep States interference in the 2020 election may have swayed the outcome. If so, the lasting consequences of this interference include war in Europe and an economic downturn in the U.S. This is not the way of democracy. 

We further our discussion about The Psychology of Totalitarianism, by Mattias Desmet. It his book, Desmet talks about how in a totalitarian society, religion is replaced by science, and how experts and technocrats become the new priesthood. People caught up in the totalitarian mass formation eagerly subordinate their free will to that of the expert class.

On this, he writes:

The ideal of a technocratic society was inherent to the Enlightenment tradition, especially in its positivist branch. Positivist thinkers like Henri de Saint-Simon and Auguste Comte expressed their fanatical belief in a humanistic-technocratic society in which scientists and technocrats would take the place of the popes and priests. Not God, but human Reason should be glorified. This is the way to a utopian society without war or conflict, a Realm of Freedom.”

Even while people take to the streets in China to protest their governments draconian zero-COVID measures, people in the West celebrate and welcome never ending COVID measures restricting personal freedom. In the East the Chinese, conditioned from birth to follow authority, shout for President Xi Jinping's resignation. In the West, Dr Fauci enjoys notoriety as he retires from public life, having led many to give up their fundamental freedoms. In one place, the sway of mass formation has reached its limit. In another, those caught up in a mass formation cling to it.

Many of those same people on the left caught up in the mass formation based on COVID-19 fears, is simultaneously caught up in another-- centered around climate-change alarmism. Not just people, but entire countries have subordinated themselves to the gods of climate-change. The twin masters of climate-change and COVID alarmism have hurled countries headlong into self-destructive behavior. National leaders have subjected their citizens to the real possibility of freezing and hunger, largely based on the say of experts and technocrats who've convinced them to self-immolate their nations' farming and energy sectors.

Totalitarian systems call on their members to defer reason and judgment in crucial areas to an expert class. Those swept up in the mass formation are convinced to place their faith not in God or religion, but experts and science. Just like with religion, this new machine messiah demands sacrifice and a subordination of will to itself.

Currently in China, people have take to the streets to protests their government's draconian anti-COVID measures.  According to an articlein Just the News, people throughout China are protesting the authoritarian measures and calling for their leader, Xi Jinping to step down.  Even a people programmed to follow authority since birth have reached their limits and have begun to speak out.

Meanwhile in the West, many people are perfectly ready to be told to make back up again this winter, and to be double, triple, and quadruple vaccinated.  Dr. Fauci, in his last official public appearance, has continued to call for masks and unceasing vaccinations.

Mass formations depend upon fear to exist.  As long as people can be made to fear something, a totalitarian system can be established and maintained.