I have definitely had a shift in my views on wheth..

2 yrs

I have definitely had a shift in my views on whether or not it is worth my time to try to persuade people to X point of view. I can roughly point to gay marriage and the trans movement that came from it as the genesis of this. If you can't recognize the difference between a boy and a girl, no persuasion is possible. You may as well argue with a convinced solipsist. I still feel that two or three decades ago it was worth getting out there and debating ideas, but maybe I am wrong even about that. To me, it feels like about 1935 or so in Nazi Germany. That is, the die has been cast, and now there is nothing for it but to try to get through it, alive.

I was thinking about this when viewing a comment elsewhere on social media in response to someone advocating for having armed guards in the schools. The response was "this would not be necessary in a civilized society."

And I wondered, how could she not know that there is no such thing? Insofar as we perceive that society is civilized, it is the result of effective checks and balances against the 'uncivilized.' To wit, it is because of armed men that we enjoy the shreds of civility that we think we have. These would be the ones, in the first place, who stand watch for us in the military, and then the ones that we send into harms way during mass shootings, but also the individuals who are equipped to defend others in the moment before anyone else can arrive (who, if this woman had her way, would be kept defenseless.)

There are other checks and balances, too, because 'uncivilized' takes many shapes (eg, Fauci, Lehman Brothers, etc), but once the barbarians are in the gates, there is no more talk of checks and balances. If people are hungry enough, civility is the first thing to go. It is every man for himself.

This woman clearly knows none of this, although it is almost as plain as understanding what boys and girls are. Do I tell her, since she does not know?

No. I scroll on. There is no saving these people from the calamity that grows against them, in large part for the simple reason that it is they themselves that are fueling the conditions for the calamity.

Comment

1653562269

Knowing that you have an extensive background in on line debate, I can only comment that in my limited experience with "mass psychocis", there is clearly an anti rational element. You probably have read C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. If not, check it out.

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1653573698

Yes, I've read it. As pertinent today as ever. Some of those guys really saw clearly what was coming. GK Chesterton is another. One of his quotes: "We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which furious party cries will be raised against anybody who says that cows have horns, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening mob with the news that grass is green.”

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1653573832

The distinction between 'deception' and 'delusion' is a good one. I had not thought of it before in this context. From that point of view, I believe we have Scripture that warns us that a Delusion is coming. So, I guess we have to wonder, is what we are witnessing A delusion or THE Delusion?

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1653661939

But we can help protect and prepare our children. My mother made this children’s Bible audio “Kids, God made marriage!”after the Supreme Court decision.

sermonaudio.com/sermon/71415115240

It addresses many of the key arguments without even letting little kids know that there is a dispute. It’s sort of a pre- or preparation-apologetic. The PDF gives the text but also commentary, so the parents know the arguments that are subtly being countered and developed.

From the PDF -
PARENTS' EDITION: With Points for Parents ............................................................................... 7 Describing, Not Defining.................................................................................................................. 7
Made This Way .................................................................................................................................. 7
Eden and Beyond................................................................................................................................ 8 WhatAboutBeingBornThisWay?................................................................................................... 8 Marriage/FamiliesCameBeforeGovernments.................................................................................. 8 HealthyFamiliesMakeaHealthyCountry......................................................................................... 9 AdoptionandFosterFamilies--RestoringEden................................................................................ 9
Marriage and Families...........................................................................................................................9
But Isn't It Like Interracial Marriage?................................................................................................. 9
Made to Fit .....................................................................................................................................10 ButinEuropeThat'sHowTheyDoIt!............................................................................................. 11 It'sAbouttheChildren....................................................................................................................... 11 GodlyOffspring................................................................................................................................. 11 "LoveIsLove"................................................................................................................................... 12 LivingParables.................................................................................................................................. 12 TheBiggerFamilyPicture................................................................................................................ 13 BornHisWay!................................................................................................................................... 13 AFathertotheFatherless.................................................................................................................. 13 MoreThanFeelings........................................................................................................................... 13 FreeWillandFreeWon't.................................................................................................................. 14
Orientations and Addictions .............................................................................................................. 14
GodForgives ................................................................................................................................... 14
No Other Way ...................................................................................................................................15
On the Right Side of History............................................................................................................. 15
OtherResources................................................................................................................................. 16

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But we can help protect and prepare our children. My mother made this children’s Bible audio “Kids, God made marriage!”after the Supreme Court decision.  
 
sermonaudio.com/sermon/71415115240 
 
It addresses many of the key arguments without even letting little kids know that there is a dispute. It’s sort of a pre- or preparation-apologetic. The PDF gives the text but also commentary, so the parents know the arguments that are subtly being countered and developed. 
 
From the PDF -  
PARENTS' EDITION: With Points for Parents ............................................................................... 7 Describing, Not Defining.................................................................................................................. 7  
Made This Way .................................................................................................................................. 7  
Eden and Beyond................................................................................................................................ 8 WhatAboutBeingBornThisWay?................................................................................................... 8 Marriage/FamiliesCameBeforeGovernments.................................................................................. 8 HealthyFamiliesMakeaHealthyCountry......................................................................................... 9 AdoptionandFosterFamilies--RestoringEden................................................................................ 9  
Marriage and Families...........................................................................................................................9  
But Isn't It Like Interracial Marriage?................................................................................................. 9  
Made to Fit .....................................................................................................................................10 ButinEuropeThat'sHowTheyDoIt!............................................................................................. 11 It'sAbouttheChildren....................................................................................................................... 11 GodlyOffspring................................................................................................................................. 11 "LoveIsLove"................................................................................................................................... 12 LivingParables.................................................................................................................................. 12 TheBiggerFamilyPicture................................................................................................................ 13 BornHisWay!................................................................................................................................... 13 AFathertotheFatherless.................................................................................................................. 13 MoreThanFeelings........................................................................................................................... 13 FreeWillandFreeWon't.................................................................................................................. 14  
Orientations and Addictions .............................................................................................................. 14  
GodForgives ................................................................................................................................... 14  
No Other Way ...................................................................................................................................15  
On the Right Side of History............................................................................................................. 15 
OtherResources................................................................................................................................. 16

2 yrs

Chris Scudder

Anthony Horvath

Anthony Horvath

Paul Chamberlain

2 yrs

Chris Scudder

Anthony Horvath

Anthony Horvath

Paul Chamberlain

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