Topic: Some Rather Depressing/Sobering Thoughts From Victor Davis Hanson

[trapeze]

Saw this earlier today...

The world is changing and becoming even more dangerous — in a way we’ve seen before.

.......

We are entering a similarly dangerous interlude. Collapsing oil prices — a good thing for most of the world — will make troublemakers like oil-exporting Iran and Russia take even more risks.

Terrorist groups such as the Islamic State feel that conventional military power has no effect on their agendas. The West is seen as a tired culture of Black Friday shoppers and maxed-out credit card holders.

NATO is underfunded and without strong American leadership. It can only hope that Vladimir Putin does not invade a NATO country like Estonia, rather than prepare for the likelihood that he will, and soon.

This is the kind of stuff that I can't discuss with mrs. trapeze as long as our son is in the military.

[Dan]

It seems  like I cant discuss this  stuff with anybody in meat space.
My  wife is  still  planning for  retirement.
I  just dont see it.

[Libertas]

I understand Mrs. Trap's trepidation and wanting to focus on positive thoughts only.  But a father is going to consider everything.  I trust you both taught him well and he knows the score, have faith he will persevere and return safely.

As to the article, it jives with concerns I and others here have, and it is amplified by the fact that VDH is one of the few people on the planet who have a firm grasp of history and its true lessons...and once again a toxic brew of global mayhem is mixing and this time the catastophe could dwarf anything the preceeding generations experienced...and America has at the helm the most malignant anti-American and divisive leader the nation has ever known.

What could possibly go wrong?

Only everything.

[Glock32]

The reason jihadis see us as a "tired culture of Black Friday shoppers and maxed-out credit card holders" is because that's exactly what we are.  Liberalism is ultimately nihilistic.  It starts with that article of faith of theirs, cultural relativism.  When all things are equal, then all things are meaningless.

The West no longer has a central ethos that permeates the culture.  Nowadays the mere notion that we should have anything like an ethos, or defining characteristics of any sort, is regarded as bigoted and chauvinistic. In a sense, such a society is already dead.

[Libertas]

It's also regarded as individualistic and as such it is incompatible to both leftist and jihadi ideology, the cult of liberalism and mohammad cannot flourish until the notion of individuality and individual rights are extinguished.

OMDFB!