Progressivism Equals Modern Day Pagan Religion

[Kishkumen]

Another juicy passage from the New Atlantic article on Karp:

If there is a single pattern of thought that defines The Technological Republic, it is that of a wavering liberal, hair-splitting his way toward civilizational chauvinism. Karp and Zamiska admit that Huntington’s division of the world into separate civilizations (“Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American and possibly African”) was “certainly reductionist.” But isn’t it a shame, they complain, that we can no longer “have serious normative discussions” about which cultures are superior to others? They offer a similar assessment of the “unapologetically aristocratic” 1969 British television series Civilisation, in which the art historian Kenneth Clark elevated the “Hellenistic” over the “Negro” imagination. “Anachronistic,” goes their clipped critique, “but is there nothing in our aesthetic lives, no sense of north or south, that ought to be retained?”

I see now. It fits right in with the rest of the degraded, reactionary and rehashed 20th-century sludge of Peterson and his ilk.

[Kishkumen]

In the process, chopping the noggin off of a squirrel, holding it up and saying "look at this giant redwood tree," fact-checkers pointing out it's a squirrel, and then trying to scrub the evidence that you are too incompetent to tell the difference between a squirrel and a redwood.

Well said, Steuss. The thing about Trump & Co. is that they hardly have to work past merely asserting in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary that they are competent. The assertion alone gives their besotted cultists enough to hang onto until those eggs drop in price. Meanwhile, our country devolves into a bad parody of Spaceballs.

[Marcus]

DOGE is like a project to make the forest safer by chopping down and hauling away all those pesky trees.

In the process, chopping the noggin off of a squirrel, holding it up and saying "look at this giant redwood tree," fact-checkers pointing out it's a squirrel, and then trying to scrub the evidence that you are too incompetent to tell the difference between a squirrel and a redwood.

Exactly. Both comments.

[Kishkumen]

The further irony in all of this is to see Hound of Heaven, a person with a Western esoteric avatar, citing with approval some dude who lazily tosses around the word pagan as the ultimate epithet. Western esotericism is all about the transmission of Hellenic wisdom through the Judeo-Christian culture which could not exist without it.

Do you even know what you are about Hound of Heaven?

It seems to me that you are damned confused and going to the wrong people to figure yourself out.

[canpakes]

Regarding Elon Musk and DOGE, he aligns with my perspective since Trump's election, suggesting that Democrats, particularly the progressives, ought to support Musk by embracing DOGE and working to eliminate waste and fraud within the federal government. He emphasizes that he has been a lifelong Democrat, yet he is becoming weary of observing the party engage in self-destructive behavior by adhering to a "Woke" narrative that seeks to undermine the positive aspects of our western society.

DOGE is like a project to make the forest safer by chopping down and hauling away all those pesky trees.

It’s hard to find a set of folks with more fragile egos, displaying their own so-called ‘woke’ mindsets, than the new Administration and the DOGE gang. Just a day or so ago, Hegseth felt the need to create a new safe space for MAGA by reinstating the former Confederate traitor names of two US bases, then further debased himself by cowardly claiming that the names were actually referring to relatively unknown soldiers who just happened to have the same last name.

Unfortunately, we’ve now managed to add a new stain on American history by throwing an actual military hero under the bus to satisfy the needs of petty, aggrieved racists.

Previously, Fort Benning was named for Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning, a Confederate officer during the American Civil War who stridently opposed the abolition of slavery.

Now, Hegseth said, Fort Benning will be named in honor of Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross who served in France during World War I. According to the Pentagon, Benning was honored for heroic actions in October 1918, when he led troops through heavy fire after his platoon leader was killed by the enemy.

The renaming of bases is resulting in decisions that insult the military heroes whose names were selected in the 2023 process, including Lt. Gen. Harold Gregory Moore Jr. and his wife, Julia.

Moore is a revered military leader who earned the Distinguished Service Cross for valor and fought in the Battle of Ia Drang in the Vietnam War. And Julia Moore was key to the creation of teams that do in-person notifications of military casualties.

Hegseth last month signed an order restoring the name of a North Carolina base back to Fort Bragg, and warned that more changes were coming.

The North Carolina base had been renamed Fort Liberty in 2023. Its original namesake, Gen. Braxton Bragg, was a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles, contributing to the Confederacy’s downfall.

https://www.wdsu.com/article/fort-benni ... g/64023709

Personally, I’d take ‘pagan worship’ any day over idolizing traitors and racists.

[Kishkumen]

Personally, I’d take ‘pagan worship’ any day over idolizing traitors and racists.

Hegseth is a loser. An obviously pathetic loser. An unserious person.

The word "unserious" is written all over this regime, from Trump on down to his lowliest supporter. These are people who do not comprehend what it means to be a serious person, because they never partook of the discipline, sacrifice, and moral rectitude required to be serious people. They are simulacra of serious people. They are deeply unserious people dressed up in big kid clothes at best.

[Gunnar]

Personally, I’d take ‘pagan worship’ any day over idolizing traitors and racists.

Hegseth is a loser. An obviously pathetic loser. An unserious person.

The word "unserious" is written all over this regime, from Trump on down to his lowliest supporter. These are people who do not comprehend what it means to be a serious person, because they never partook of the discipline, sacrifice, and moral rectitude required to be serious people. They are simulacra of serious people. They are deeply unserious people dressed up in big kid clothes at best.

Well said!

Speaking of Progressivism, why are right-wingers so terrified of it? It is like they are adamantly opposed to the very idea of progress itself. To me, being progressive merely means willingness to honestly and repeatedly reexamine and reevaluate our current beliefs and methods in the light of continually accumulating new and more complete knowledge and experience, as it becomes available, combined with a determination to modify for the better, whenever warranted. I believe that progressive is the only available alternative to regressive and is always the more reasonable and viable option, in the long run.

Without progressives, the human race would never have advanced beyond the stone age, or even as far as the stone age.

[Gunnar]

DOGE is like a project to make the forest safer by chopping down and hauling away all those pesky trees.

I love that analogy! It is so apt!

[Gunnar]

In the process, chopping the noggin off of a squirrel, holding it up and saying "look at this giant redwood tree," fact-checkers pointing out it's a squirrel, and then trying to scrub the evidence that you are too incompetent to tell the difference between a squirrel and a redwood.

Exactly. Both comments.

Agreed!

[Kishkumen]

Well said!

Thank you!

Speaking of Progressivism, why are right-wingers so terrified of it? It is like they are adamantly opposed to the very idea of progress itself. To me, being progressive merely means willingness to honestly and repeatedly reexamine and reevaluate our current beliefs and methods in the light of continually accumulating new and more complete knowledge and experience, as it becomes available, combined with a determination to modify for the better, whenever warranted. I believe that progressive is the only available alternative to regressive and is always the more reasonable and viable option, in the long run.

Without progressives, the human race would never have advanced beyond the stone age, or even as far as the stone age.

I don't know that the answers are very exciting. Fear of losing control and losing themselves. We are used to being a certain kind of person who identifies with certain things that we are well familiar with. If someone challenges that too much, it sparks a kind of vertigo that leads people to seek out something to hold onto. I think that is what motivates some folks. Others are bored and want to have a big cause to participate in. They want to be the superheroes; participating in a great cause--saving Western civilization--gives them the feeling of belonging they seek. Others are just manipulative opportunists or calculating weirdos which see the chance or necessity of controlling other people to their own advantage.

You should see John Stewart's recent monologue on The Daily Show. He and his writers put together some insightful thoughts on what is happening right now. The ideas are largely derivative--no big surprise there--but put together to powerful e/affect.