[img]images/clipart/Prog_Off.gif[/img] Hi, Comrades!

I read this today on the advice of a friend and was blown away. It is a speech Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave at his Harvard Commencement Address (A World Split Apart) June 8, 1978, a transcript of his hour-long speech. Yeah, it's long but worth it. Seriously. Read it. It will make you happy.

It is stunning in its prescience.

You can actually YouTube it but, I found the duet between Alexander and his translator a bit distracting, so I provided this. It is so wonderful.

I love his courageously blunt exposure of the flaws in both the left and right, how it all came about, and what must be restored to achieve a beneficial result for all mankind. Yes, our problems are indeed global, and I know you all know this.

I was quite uplifted after reading it (and I'm not that easily uplifted these days). His bluntness made his conclusion more credible and possible.

A wonderful read and everyone should read it! Here it is:

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/alexandersolzhenitsynharvard.htm

Thank you, Comrade Pammy for this reminder of a great speech. For those of us who don't read much anymore (or ever, thank you, public education)…

My dear anonemous1,

Thank you so much for responding to this post of mine. I was in tears when I posted it.

I didn't really expect much response to it because it requires at least an hours worth of listening. Yet, I noticed 6 "shares" so far. Something to be listened to "later." Actually, I can understand that.

Still, I so appreciate your response. Thank you!

Comradette Pamalinsky,

I must here point out that when I typed the following, I had only read up to Mr. Solzhenitsyn's “…Western society expanded in a triumph of human independence and power. And all of a sudden in the 20th century came the discovery of its fragility and friability.” Since typing the below, I have read all of his piece, and his description of Western bureaucratic ineptitude and cowardice is indeed prescient in describing 0bama and his “lead from behind” style of “governance”, where he is petty and bold and dictatorial over our citizens and those who were once our friends and allies, yet petty (Oh! Commonality) and meek and limp and apologetic to the remainder of the world, particularly those who mean us harm. Mr. S. also correlates these broader elements which pervade our society with our weakening will leading to our downfall. Also we see we have moved in the opposite direction of unlimited “freedoms” as “our” (actually its own for its own power) government now tamps down not only individual rights, but also individual initiative and creativity. So once again, we become a people who have “progressed” to a common repressive and controlling (for our own good, of course) government with little to differentiate it from the governments of the rest of the world, trudging along a well-worn rut in a doggedly repeating theme weaving itself throughout all of human history.

I do not believe Mr. S. would disagree with my statements on the former USA, and I like to believe he might even agree with my further observations on various philosophies, which content he touched on (though in different fashion) in his speech. Yes, these are philosophies which were prevalent when Mr. S. spoke, and prevalent today, but why? Why do people believe what they believe? Why do we do such a good job of making things bad for ourselves? While I will not attempt to expound on the root cause here, this may be a good forum to touch on some of the beliefs and assumptions which fuel the philosophies, and those beliefs and assumptions hint at their root. Also I mention the solution, which we know will not see its fulfillment until some very scary (more so than all of history has provided) – for some – events occur. So here they are for your consideration, and I hope you find them worthy of comment:

Though I am posting this in a public forum, it is chiefly for your eyes, as I know you will understand the premises. However, I post it here because if even one additional viewer can glean benefit from it, the posting will be worthwhile.

Thank you for sharing the link to this delightful speech of Mr. Solzhenitsyn. It is inspirational, and no doubt he would be pleased that there are those of us who find it so. I initially contemplated his words about society, and then found my thoughts wandering more broadly. I'd like to share them with you, even though I did not give myself the benefit of reading the remainder of the speech, so if what I say is redundant to Mr. S's words, please forgive me; I am only being true to my handle if I fall into that trap.

In bringing Western values to the people of the (in some cases former) third world, their situations improved, as long as their autonomy was maintained (that is, they were not made captive territories of the West). That is the unique gift of the United States. We brought improvements to lands we reached out to, and in turn those societies benefited, even while they maintained their sovereignty. This is in stark contrast to typical former territorial and national invasions, carried out largely for conquest. After initial territorial expansion (and this is not the forum to debate the merits of that expansion, that is best left for another time and place), the United States sought shared benefit. Other nation-states went in conquering and to conquer, as we see when we examine the Muslims (in conquests that led to Europe's expulsion of Muslims from its territories during the Crusades), Europe (in colonial expansion – although this colonialism tended to also foster more shared benefit than mere oppressive reign), and Russia (through captured satellite states in the Soviet era).

It cannot be said that America went forth conquering and to conquer, or that the American system was no better than any other. China, Japan, India – all copied elements of American industrialism and ingenuity and no one can rationally argue that they have not benefited. Indeed, the standard of living for the greatest percentage of humanity that chose to participate in this period of what has been termed the “American Era” (now gone as we are merely another part of the World of This Tuesday™) has been given the greatest boost in the shortest time than in any other period of human history.

America was never perfect, as no organization or institution built of men (although it was not built completely by men (or women) (and I'm not referring to the “You Didn't Build That™” mantra) – again, that to be explored elsewhere) can be perfect, but it was the best example in humanity's history so far of a society that has shown some of humanity's potential, when it created an environment where a large number of individual humans had the opportunity to live, conduct commerce, invent, and prosper with some degree of liberty.

However, there is much more to life than debating which society or system is better than another or has brought more wealth to more people, for that is only temporal, and all societies are swept away over the course of time. Of more pressing concern is the human condition. What we do here on this Earth is important, but is it all there is? Moving away from what man can do in any given society, and circling to broader horizons now, let's briefly examine what can be demonstrated to be the three competing human worldviews, and what they have to offer.

First, let's start with the most common philosophy we encounter in our society today, which goes by many names, such as “naturalism” or “rationalism” or “enlightened progressivism” et al, but for the sake of convenience, I will here use the familiar and largely accurate term “secular humanism”.

It must be said that this “secular humanism”, which was – and in far too many sad cases still is, as it is currently widely promoted – believed to be the philosophy that would lead to the collective salvation of humanity, has been shown to be a miserable failure. Mankind is not merely a physical creature, or merely a collection of minds with bodies; we are that and more – we have souls which long to be nourished and cause us to recognize that there must be more than this brief spark of life we are given here on earth. Those who espouse this secular humanist philosophy more often than not seek to be their own gods, or they adopt a pseudo-spirituality and cling to common pagan beliefs that vegetables, or animals, or the earth, or a crystal, or a celestial body, or some force can rescue them when they become aware of needs or desires that they cannot satisfy, so they wind up worshipping the created thing and attributing life-giving power to that which must be sustained to live. They seek out those who share their beliefs so they will not be challenged (which is only natural), or they may choose to live in relative isolation, largely separated from their fellows as they attempt to create their own realities, but the common theme which pervades their lives and is illustrated in their “art” is their sad, unsatisfied, continual quest: never finding happiness while constantly striving for it, moving from relationship to relationship without deriving more than short-term pleasure that ends when the bloom is off the rose, or when one party no longer benefits the other.

Secular humanists of all stripes have a commonality: their disbelief in a common framework of truth that directs the way the universe we know, and life contained within it, operates. In all their activities, they deny truth with the certainty that the only truth can be that there is no truth. That otherwise intelligent people fall for this logical fallacy is breathtaking, but it demonstrates that rationality is easily overcome by belief. This lack of acceptance of a universal framework of truth can manifest itself in another way, since not all can accept the illogic of the non-concept of non-existent truth. Some caught in the secular humanist trap come to believe that there is truth, but it is only individual; that it only applies to me, not to you. In this case, a framework of universal truth is still denied, and what is believed to be individual “truth” is actually individual preference. Thus, for this subdivision of secular humanists as for the first, there can be no consistent framework of guidance for how to find the elusive “thing” (power, stuff, peace, love (which typically translates to mere lust), happiness, fulfillment (there's a word you can pour any meaning whatsoever into), or what-have-you) they crave, so they constantly yearn but are never satisfied, they constantly seek but never find. And since there is no common framework to dictate behavior that nourishes and advances the individual and society, whatever behavior the individual chooses cannot be said to be unacceptable, which leads, because of man's nature, to behavior beneath that displayed by “brute beasts”.

In any event, the measure of the secular humanists' lives is indeed common: they strive to eat, drink, and be merry, and they strive to forget that one day they will die.

The secular humanist camp has another characteristic which follows from the disbelief in a universal framework of operations for life – it tends to be comprised of those who refuse to accept that they could be accountable to an overarching “god” concept, which often leads to a worldview-concept that the order they see about them was produced by chaos. This allows them to justify their felt need to manage the chaos they believe life to be through their own efforts, or by ceding control of their lives to others who claim to be masterminds.

Then there are the religious of every stripe, those who seek a creator-god invented by men (or worse). This group, in contrast to the former, recognizes that order cannot be created from chaos, and if there is a creation, there must be a creator. But it is at this point that human invention, among other influences which this posting will not take the time or space to address, diverges from continued pursuit of truth. For this group, as the previous, wants to exercise some level of deterministic control over the ultimate end of earthly individual life. Thus throughout human history there have been many who have created their own gods that fit the human frameworks of those who develop them, and who have attracted adherents with religious systems and formulas to pursue paths which their adherents are told they must follow to reach a level at which they are accepted by their invented gods. But those adherents are never sure if they are following those paths well enough, and they are never sure if their gods will accept them into the paradises they've been told wait for the faithful when it's time to die, and they live with the fear of death just as surely as the secular humanist, but with some sad cherished hope that they will be accepted by the gods they make. Or that they will be recycled to try again, as part of the ultimate “green revolution” (which perhaps influenced the idea of Soylent Green?). Often they never find any more satisfaction in this life than the secular humanist, though they struggle mightily in this life so that they may attain it in the next. Unfortunately, this group tends to spawn “leaders” who seek to control as many as possible just as secular humanist “leaders” do.

The need for control evidenced by “leaders” of these two groups is a result of natural human predilections. Children will bully and cajole and dominate their fellows to get what they want. Many adults share this characteristic. It is universal, and it is very human.

Finally, there are those who recognize that they have a problem they can't overcome, and no other human or human invention can overcome it for them, and that problem is the same that all of humanity faces (or vainly strives to deny), as previously mentioned: is this short life on this tiny earth all there is? And if not, where will I be when my life here is done? They will not be led to the realization through a merely human mental or emotional process – although both of these processes are encouraged to assist in the understanding of the realization, to the limit each individual can understand it – but there is a drawing of them which causes them to see that they can never get to the Creator, but the Creator can get to them. Those are the ones who accept Grace, and recognize that their future is assured, but not through any action of theirs. They learn to recognize the essential truth in the expression “greater love has no man than this, that he lay his life down for his friend”, and that when The One Who gives Life is The One Who laid His Life down, to accept that resurrected life in exchange for death, no one, not even the one who accepts the gift, can snatch it away, and The One Who Gives will not take it away. Thus they have assurance, no matter what befalls them in this world, and they can love others in spirit and in truth because they were first loved by Him Who Is Love. And that is the ultimate acceptance of the expression of rationality: The acceptance of that Love.

This last group, in contrast to the first two, learns that merely human control leads to strife, envy, hatred, oppression, tyranny, and despotism. This is the group that understands the concept of the servant-leader (and that is not one who leads from behind), by example of the Great Servant-Leader. This group also produces leaders, but those of this group who are true to their Leader are markedly different from those “leaders” produced by the first two groups. This third group's leaders, rather than control those led, desire to shepherd them, to allow their “flocks” to grow to the potential imbued to them by their Creator.

I must momentarily re-address that first group particularly, since we in this culture are so steeped in the results of their philosophy. I find it strange that so often those who consider themselves the most rational are unwilling to accept the rationality of the concept of truth. They delve into ever deepening spirals of irrationality to disprove what is ultimate rationality, for there can be no reason if there is no truth. Reason is recognition of truth, else all is chaos.

I know that now, even though I once fiercely denied truth and thus denied rationality, as I was for much of my life a proud and thoughtless member of that first group. I was one of those who had to be dragged kicking and screaming to Truth and Love. And I'm glad He loved me enough to drag me out of myself and into saving knowledge of His Truth and Love.

That doesn't make me a great person. It makes me greatly loved. What is so great is that He Loves each of us the same way, no more, no less, but each of us must be quickened in order to accept that Love. All I can do is agree with Paul when he wrote “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2: 8 – 10)

Redumdimski,

Do you um, like, write term papers for sale and stuff?

Well, Commissar Redumdimski, you took the very words out of my very mouth!

Just kidding. Of course, I could never say what you so beautifully elucidated here and I am so honored that you took the time to do it. It seemed to flow trippingly off your tongue, which means you really mean it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I suppose I could respond to various things you said but, just saying I agree with you is enough. I thought about it but, anything I could say would be redundant.

You blew me away with that one! Absolutely stunning. Even those who don't believe in God surely must find resonance with what you said. How could they not? One can only hope.

Comradette Pamalinsky said: wrote:I suppose I could respond to various things you said but, just saying I agree with you is enough. I thought about it but, anything I could say would be redundant.

My dear, leave that to me – it's my job.

Thank you for your kind words. Now, back to refreshment! Please join me for some Leninade (and don't tell Comrade Tovarichi I snatched his September stash) under the scuppernong arbor.

Comrade Tovarichi said: wrote:Do you um, like, write term papers for sale and stuff?

Yes, Comrade! Name a topic, I will plug it into the Redumdimski Derivative Report Generator, and it will >spit< out a finished product before your more equally Progressive professor can lecture the words “Karl Marx”!

Tovarichi wrote:Redumdimski,

Do you um, like, write term papers for sale and stuff?

You know, Tovi, I had that exact same thought. With Redumdi's help, I could get a Master's degree in anything without doing the actual work. And do it in one semester! Sounds like a deal to me.

Thing is, it's really gonna cost me, big time, what with the costs of tuition AND Redumdi's fees, (not to mention the silly moral issue) I just can't see it. I wish I could. ; • (

As a Made Prog™ I would cheat to get anything, all because of the hating cheaters from the right. They make me do it! But, when it comes to money that I have to pay out of my own pocket, not gonna happen. Go cheaters! It's only fair!

Pamski, an education at a good agricultural state school is of benefit to the entire collective. Cost is no object if using other people's money, and as for the moral issues--remember the words of the great philosopher J.R. Ewing who said "once you get past the morals, the rest is easy."

Put that in the term paper for Ethics 301...

Dear Pamalinsky, the fees are requisite (someone's got to maintain the Rancho), but remember Prog Principle Number Three: Ethics are optional – only required if there are adults in the room – and morality is passé.

Oh, and Comrade Tovarichi, the Redumdimski Derivative Report Generator was initially programmed to write five-year beet harvest forecasts, so you're in like Flint Ayers for your requested papers and dissertation for your Progressive Agricultural State School (properly Proggish to PASS)'s Beet Harvesting doctoral program.

Do you remember how easy it was to convert the former evil KKKapitalist J.R. Ewing to our side? Once we got him to slide down that imaginary morality slope, the rest just fell in line like an SEIU protest at your local increasingly expensive and lowering customer-servicing capacity for The Common Good™ fast food join'.

Tovarichi wrote:Pamski, an education at a good agricultural state school is of benefit to the entire collective. Cost is no object if using other people's money, and as for the moral issues--remember the words of the great philosopher[highlight=#FFFF00] J.R. Ewing who said "once you get past the morals, the rest is easy."[/highlight]

Put that in the term paper for Ethics 301...

WOW! That is awesome advice, Tovi. Really. But, didn't somebody shoot him, or something? I seem to recall someone did. I wonder why. Claaassic!

p.s. This would be excellent material for Ethics 301! In fact, I have it on good authority it's already been installed, if you know what I mean.

Commissar Redumdimski said;

"I find it strange that so often those who consider themselves the most rational are unwilling to accept the rationality of the concept of truth. They delve into ever deepening spirals of irrationality to disprove what is ultimate rationality, for there can be no reason if there is no truth. Reason is recognition of truth, else all is chaos."

Most equal term paper comrade commissar. Your points have helped me understand a bit better how a progressive mind works. Trying to understand how someone could deny truth is not unlike trying to think about what existed before the universe was created. The True Light of the world is dismissed by rationalists.

T.C. bunchanumbers, it's easy to get into the Prog's empty little head, as long as you're willing to suspend logic and thought. Just follow Jack Nicholson's process from "As Good as it Gets", but apply it to our oh-so-tender and fragile flowers of Proggishness: "I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability." Bingo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... se_hgca220

You're right about The True Light and those "rationalists" you mention are anything but. More accurate to call them what they are: (ill-considered) "opinionists". "Believing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

By the by, you know I can put the Redumdimski Derivative Report Generator to work for you too. Reasonable rates!

I will keep that offer high on my list of options, comrade commissar, thank you. The True Light of the world is also the Ultimate Truth, being in the Father, and the Father in Him. [img]images/clipart/Prog_Off.gif[/img]
Strangely, most of the people i know have similar opinions to mine, concerning freedom and smaller government, but we keep getting people like Al Franken and Keith Islamist Ellison elected as our representatives. Must be the Group-Think. ™ T.C. #_0907 (in case my Thought Criminal # gets hacked)

Yes T.C., it appears you have been accepted in the Beloved, and it pleases me to have you as a Sibling.


Do not fear that your account will be hacked. The Party is in the process of implementing Plan X, which will keep all Party Progs, such as us, secure from all cyberthreats, while hacking all Tearrorist interweb connected devices. Marx knows, we would never present a threat to ourselves. I believe our good Comrade Captain Craptek will be divulging more on that very subject real soon now. You no doubt are aware of our special sub-basement invite.

Comrade T.C. etc., please note positioning in the use of the “Prog Off”. We wouldn't want to add “Denounced” to your “Thought Criminal” handle.

Mind you now, I did not see or hear this myself, but a few bits were knocked to "1"s instead of "0"s by a random solar particle, and there was a flutter on the Cube PenProbe-O-Meter dial as if someone with a handle similar to yours had written something about having “friends” who do not vote the Party Line (I know this was not you and so I will not offer a bit of friendly advice to dump them, but I will continue for the benefit of our Cubemates) – they present no threat to our maintaining and increasing power in perpetuity. As you are no doubt aware, The Fix Is In – and we will always win every major election. You have no doubt noticed that has been the case since 2012. Between our dead voters, our illegal aliens undocumented Dimocretins Democrats, and our specially-tuned voting machines, we can't lose.

Not that elections have any real meaning anymore – indeed, we are going to stop using the term “RethugliKKKans” and merely call them what they are – our weaker brothers and sisters. Welcome to the Diversity of Sameness, which we tolerate inclusively… And exclusively.

[img]images/clipart/Prog_Off.gif[/img]
Someone named Carlos7 posted this today in response to an article on Townhall's Meet the American's Helping ISIS:

"And all the time—such is the tragi-comedy of our situation—we continue to clamor for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more 'drive', or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or 'creativity'. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."

—C.S. Lewis

The Abolition of Man:

https://archive.org/details/TheAbolitionOfMan_229
Excellent lecture on education by C.S. Lewis (about 70 pages)

I've been at the beet fields digging with vigor (and a shovel), hoping to avoid a denouncement. Thank you for acceptance; makes me feel most equal.

Your observation about the role of the rethuglikkkans in the government is about the same conclusion I have been reaching lately. Namely, that the Government (Democrats) tolerate them as a useful tool to blame when their policies go wrong. (Which they often do.) A world with out rethuglikkkans, as awesome as that would be, would be a place where the Government would have to, Lenin forbid, take some of the blame.

I also need to read more of C.S. Lewis' work. My liberal education did not include that author. Thanks for the link Comredette Pamalinsky.

Comrade T.C. nnn..., keep that shovel moving! "What our civilization needs is more 'drive'"!

Pamalinsky, thank you for that link. I have been wanting to read more of that subversive C.S. Lewis. We must know the enemy, even if he has passed on, because his principles (how I hate that word) have not. Have you availed yourself of a read of his space trilogy, particularly Perelandra? What his Ransom did to poor dear Prog Weston, who was such a splendid chap, possessed of a great spirit of Proggish virtue - oh, the humanity!

And then there was "That Hideous Strength". Truly, Lewis's "N.I.C.E." set the standard for all our Prog institutions. We have so many that strive to be just like it today. We need that Head!

[img]images/clipart/Prog_Off.gif[/img]Hey, Comrades,


I usually get a pretty good night's sleep but, last night I awoke around 3 a.m. and felt a panic like I have never felt before.


I had a panic attack way back in the mid-80's and lived through it without drugs or any other intervention (which, no doubt, would have involved drugs) It took me about a year to get through it. Agoraphobia, and all. I remember driving to the local market and, once entering, perceived the stalls and stands dissolving before my eyes. It took all of my strength to get back home. I couldn't even drive to work because I felt claustrophobic about driving and thought I would literally pass out.


My own strength got me through that and I knew I could survive anything after that.


I still believe that, and have, indeed, survived.


Last night's panic reached new levels of horror. I wanted to scream and wake up my darling spouse, but couldn't. Didn't really want to. Glad I didn't.


I've had many progressive "friends" who refuse to speak to me anymore. We used to delight in each other's company. I now realize these same "friends" are the ones who refuse to consider anything I say. I am a "hater", "fearrmonger", warmonger", etc. Whatever "monger" you can think of, I'm it.


I also realize these same people could decide my fate. They want me dead.


I feel we are in an existential fight that will impact all of us here in the USA, including them. Ebola, ISIS, Islamism, etc. They refuse to acknowledge that.


I also know how dreadful it is to confront evil. It is a painful process. It's much easier to just let it drift along like my progressive friends do. Until we are all imperilled!


I am so grateful for the companionship of my fellow Cubists, who provide me with a place where I can vent and say my piece to others who share my view. Please forgive me. I don't want to "bring you down."


Thanks for reading.


Love,
Pamalinsky

How dare you suggest these things about women! How dare you! We do not spend our conversations about life regarding reproduction rights. We care about life, the safety of our country, the love of our children, working, etc. We are not stupid little wymen. It is YOU who suggest this that are the idiots!

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

Uuuuuuh, hehe... Is it me comrades or is it getting warm in here?

Hammer and Loupe wrote:Uuuuuuh, hehe... Is it me comrades or is it getting warm in here?

THIS is what Global Warming is all about!