Uncivilization

Rome wasn't burned in a day

RADIO FAR SIDE

As if Clown World could not get any more surreal, we now have a game of Clue ongoing in the US White House over what is either some loose Bolivian Marching Powder or a bag of it: Hunter did it in the phone cubby in the West Wing; no, Kamala did it in a secure drop off near the Situation Room; no, Jill did it on the Truman Balcony during 4th of July frolics.

What’s even more entertaining is that we have an Epstein Moment running concurrently, in that none of the 1,637 surveillance cameras were working, and all of the hundreds of security personnel were either asleep or refilling their coffee at that precise moment.

We should not be surprised, since many of the Secret Service detachment were partying till dawn in Fort Worth the day JFK was assassinated, and some of them even lost their IDs during the festivities. Washington has been in a downhill spiral ever since.

One wonders what the 83 million voters who elected Joe Biden think of their choice now, given that they voted strictly on emotions whipped into a lather by blow-dried pundits who clearly and with malice aforethought lied to the American public and the world. Though I am admittedly not a Trump fan, one wonders where we would be had the Deep State remained focused on virtually assassinating him, rather than starting a global nuclear war.

There is a distinct movement here in Asia to circle the wagons and severe as many ties with the West as possible. If you imagine carving a wedge out of the globe that includes North America and Europe, that is pretty much how the rest of the world now views our planet.

There are very few Western expats here in Indonesia now. Pre-Damnpanic, there was a robust expat community - many of whom were admittedly grifters and opportunists - but for the most part there are just us lifers here now.

ASEAN has become more introspective, focusing on reimagining trade and, yes, survival without the West and China. Japan, Korea and Australia have been executing a delicate dance trying to keep fingers in both pies, though retreating to the affairs of the Eastern Hemisphere seems to be a growing sentiment.

For those who have been more involved in the Clown Show, China is suffering immensely. Its economic collapse is mirroring the West, its infrastructure - commonly referred to as “tofu dregs” for its shoddy and rushed construction and corruption - is crumbling, and the people are deeply dissatisfied. Millions of newly minted college graduates can not find a job, as foreign companies (not just Western) pull out for more fertile ground in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.

It seems that the world is quickly dividing into the three regions long planned by the Trilateral Commission. For those unaware, Orwell posited three primary powers ruling the Earth, and the very real Trilateral Commission has sought to create that structure in fact. The concept is to have the Americas as one bloc, the EU and Africa as the second, and Australasia as the third. They would behave much as Orwell described, with each bloc variously being at war with one and trading with the other, though at the meta level, they would all be part of the same fascist architecture.

Now the word “fascist” gets thrown around a lot, and most of the folks using it clearly have no idea what they are talking about. Fascism, if you’ve read my book “Paper Golem,” is nothing more than a command-and-control system that merges government, corporate and media functions into a single power structure. It is by definition a full-spectrum control “ecosystem,” to use the popular corporate euphemism.

This “ecosystem” has obviously decided it holds all the cards. We note that exactly zero of the mass protests have any effect on national policies and operations. There is a clear top-down hierarchical structure that dictates expectations and behavior, and the masses are expected to step and fetch it without gripe or grumble.

Instead, we are treated to waves of migration, burdensome taxation, egregious violations of personal privacy and bodily integrity, and an unresponsive ruling class that simply smirks at the concept of popular rule.

Through all of this, there is one single nation that holds all the cards - Russia.

Hear me out. Russia is the only nation on the planet that spans two hemispheres, has almost zero national debt (19% of GDP), and successfully merges two widely differing cultures (East and West). Russia is the lynchpin that holds the political planet together, which is why the Deep State is in such a froth to get ahold of it.

Furthermore, Russia has established a parallel alternative banking system, created an alternative trade organization (popularly called BRICS), and has the only military unfettered by a consortium of competing interests, especially since it has no colonies or territories to defend outside its borders.

From WW2 until the past decade, the source of US power was a cobbled-together system of “allies” and military bases in more than 100 countries, over which it lorded. That power base is eroding quickly, due to a failing currency and debilitating corruption at all levels. With a collapsing economic hammer, the anvil is rapidly becoming useless.

So while we boggle at the antics in Washington, it is prudent to be mindful that the rest of the world is slowly backing away. Like Indy and Marion tied to the stake in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” or Lot fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah, the world has clamped its eyes shut and won’t look back until the conflagration is over.

It is fascinating to watch the dissolution of the West from abroad. I have never identified my country with the government that runs it, so I have no emotional investment in its collapse, other than the thrill of the spectacle. I do, however, mourn for the destruction of such a rich cultural tradition. European civilization (i.e. the West) has given the world some of its rich arts and sciences, and to see it all pissed away over pronouns and genital mutilation is profoundly saddening.

As a friend of mine recently observed, Singapore may become the modern analog to the monasteries of the Middle Ages - keeping the arts and sciences in trust until such time as the West is ready to rebuild itself.

It’s an interesting thought to ponder this weekend, as the game of Clue continues to entertain in Washington. For my part, I have amassed a personal library of 9TB of books, art, films, and music. Perhaps someday it will contribute to the Great Reconstruction.

Until then, I echo Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Who mourns for Adonais?”

Source: Radio Far Side