Today vast numbers of people celebrate the most important event in history, the entry of light into a world ruled by darkness. The Word became flesh and announced that there is such a thing as truth, that love is more powerful than hate, and that overcoming the evil within ourselves is more important than fighting it in others. It is a testament to the wickedness of the world that it tortured and killed such a messenger, but in so doing it proved His point -- the soul can overcome any harm the world might inflict on the body. His words and deeds bring everlasting life to anyone who acknowledges them.
For those on this remarkable day who see only tinsel, presents, and whatever else their hearts desire at the moment, I pity you. You are missing out on a depth of joy that no such things can ever provide.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
America No Longer World's Largest Economy
The top spot now belongs to China. Is anyone surprised about this? The only real surprise is that it didn't happen sooner.
America (which is nominally capitalist) now resembles Harrison Bergeron in that it imposes extensive and burdensome controls over every aspect of our lives -- forcible re-distribution of wealth to subsidize business and personal failures, a central bank that arbitrarily sets the interest rate, over 80,000 pages of regulations in the Federal Register, untold numbers of regulations in each of the 50 states, endless lawsuits that produce extortionate settlements or outrageous judgments, and the general inability of the ordinary citizen to plan his affairs given the renegade activity of the warlords calling themselves the government. Indeed, it is almost impossible for an American to set foot outside his door today without breaking some law or incurring some liability. Add to this the stultifying and ubiquitous religion of political correctness, and it's a wonder that we even hold second place.
China (which is nominally communist) is freer than we are, and freedom produces prosperity. It was decades ago when China rejected Maoism and figured out that central planning doesn't work. Millions of people died under the regime of Mao Tse-tung, yet America actively pursues Mao's philosophy. It is no coincidence that a prominent member of the Obama administration praised Mao. This could be the result of ignorance, but it also could be the result of a desire to pursue something other than prosperity (i.e., power).
America (which is nominally capitalist) now resembles Harrison Bergeron in that it imposes extensive and burdensome controls over every aspect of our lives -- forcible re-distribution of wealth to subsidize business and personal failures, a central bank that arbitrarily sets the interest rate, over 80,000 pages of regulations in the Federal Register, untold numbers of regulations in each of the 50 states, endless lawsuits that produce extortionate settlements or outrageous judgments, and the general inability of the ordinary citizen to plan his affairs given the renegade activity of the warlords calling themselves the government. Indeed, it is almost impossible for an American to set foot outside his door today without breaking some law or incurring some liability. Add to this the stultifying and ubiquitous religion of political correctness, and it's a wonder that we even hold second place.
China (which is nominally communist) is freer than we are, and freedom produces prosperity. It was decades ago when China rejected Maoism and figured out that central planning doesn't work. Millions of people died under the regime of Mao Tse-tung, yet America actively pursues Mao's philosophy. It is no coincidence that a prominent member of the Obama administration praised Mao. This could be the result of ignorance, but it also could be the result of a desire to pursue something other than prosperity (i.e., power).
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Fifty Shades Of Grey
This novel and the upcoming movie are not very intriguing in and of themselves. After all, men have porn, so it's only natural that women would have porn as well. Perhaps the only noteworthy aspect of such porn is the different preferences men and women display: whereas men fantasize about random, casual sex with a variety of different women, women fantasize about searching for and captivating a single man who incorporates the chest-thumping swagger of the primitive "alpha" along with the wealth and provisions of the civilized "beta." Both fantasies are incredibly shallow but entirely understandable given men's and women's natures.
What makes Fifty Shades something more than just another piece of fictional trash is the public's reaction to it and the historical context in which it occurs.
For one thing, we find the double standard by which female porn is praised and encouraged whereas male porn is shamed and condemned. Fifty Shades has been heralded as a groundbreaking phenomenon that liberates women from taboos and allows them to explore their repressed desires, the overt suggestion being that women indeed should act like this and "find their Mr. Grey." Now, imagine if a major studio produced a movie about a man who expatriates to Thailand and sleeps with a different young woman every night, discovering the sheer joy he's been missing out on during his boring life of responsible drudgery to support the women and children around him (either in his house or, thanks to modern governmental policies, around the entire country). Would such a film be celebrated? Would it spawn an entire line of merchandise praising men's desire for sexual variety? Would it be the subject of continuous and serious discussion on television talk shows? Would it motivate anyone to lament that men's desires have been ignored for too long? I don't think so. A man who loses himself in porn is viewed as pathetic and irresponsible. Personally, I view women who lose themselves in porn the exact same way, and it's rather funny to notice how unpopular my evenhanded approach is.
The blockbuster popularity of Fifty Shades tells us something even more important: feminism was a lie, or more to the point, a shit test. For you sad sacks who actually believed women wanted equality and who treated them as equals, the joke's on you. You now have irrefutable proof that the vast majority of women prefer to be objects rather than subjects; that they think less of you for your having thought more of them; and that they look either up to you or down on you. Practically every generation of men from the dawn of time up until the Baby Boomers knew this, and it's amazing that so many men forgot it so quickly. It dovetails with the emergence of pop culture and the destruction of actual culture, but you can thank Fifty Shades for a much-needed smack in the face.
As for feminism, it will continue despite Fifty Shades because there will always be a contingent of women who cannot directly manipulate men into provisioning them, so they must commandeer government machinery to obtain such provision by force. And feminism remains popular even among those women who clearly do not live a feminist lifestyle, since the welfare state gives them the provisioning of a civilized "beta" without their having to stoop to sharing a bed with one.
Some have expressed concern about the abusive relationship portrayed in Fifty Shades, but there is nothing unusual or surprising about this aspect of the fantasy. Consider Ray Rice, the NFL football player who was caught on camera knocking out his fiancée. Many people have reacted with confusion that she decided to go ahead and marry him. What they fail to appreciate is that she has a man who 1) is prone to act violently, and 2) whose violence she can trigger. He might own her physically, but she owns him mentally and emotionally, which is far greater and more intoxicating. A worse offense than abuse in her eyes -- one that surely would have motivated her to leave -- is if he didn't let her push his buttons. Violence and outbursts show that he "cares."
I watch all of this with amused detachment. Many men are retreating into video games and Internet porn, while many women are retreating into trashy novels and films, and society keeps sliding back into entropy. I and the rest of us who retain our sanity are the beneficiaries of the Chinese proverb, "may you live in interesting times."
What makes Fifty Shades something more than just another piece of fictional trash is the public's reaction to it and the historical context in which it occurs.
For one thing, we find the double standard by which female porn is praised and encouraged whereas male porn is shamed and condemned. Fifty Shades has been heralded as a groundbreaking phenomenon that liberates women from taboos and allows them to explore their repressed desires, the overt suggestion being that women indeed should act like this and "find their Mr. Grey." Now, imagine if a major studio produced a movie about a man who expatriates to Thailand and sleeps with a different young woman every night, discovering the sheer joy he's been missing out on during his boring life of responsible drudgery to support the women and children around him (either in his house or, thanks to modern governmental policies, around the entire country). Would such a film be celebrated? Would it spawn an entire line of merchandise praising men's desire for sexual variety? Would it be the subject of continuous and serious discussion on television talk shows? Would it motivate anyone to lament that men's desires have been ignored for too long? I don't think so. A man who loses himself in porn is viewed as pathetic and irresponsible. Personally, I view women who lose themselves in porn the exact same way, and it's rather funny to notice how unpopular my evenhanded approach is.
The blockbuster popularity of Fifty Shades tells us something even more important: feminism was a lie, or more to the point, a shit test. For you sad sacks who actually believed women wanted equality and who treated them as equals, the joke's on you. You now have irrefutable proof that the vast majority of women prefer to be objects rather than subjects; that they think less of you for your having thought more of them; and that they look either up to you or down on you. Practically every generation of men from the dawn of time up until the Baby Boomers knew this, and it's amazing that so many men forgot it so quickly. It dovetails with the emergence of pop culture and the destruction of actual culture, but you can thank Fifty Shades for a much-needed smack in the face.
As for feminism, it will continue despite Fifty Shades because there will always be a contingent of women who cannot directly manipulate men into provisioning them, so they must commandeer government machinery to obtain such provision by force. And feminism remains popular even among those women who clearly do not live a feminist lifestyle, since the welfare state gives them the provisioning of a civilized "beta" without their having to stoop to sharing a bed with one.
Some have expressed concern about the abusive relationship portrayed in Fifty Shades, but there is nothing unusual or surprising about this aspect of the fantasy. Consider Ray Rice, the NFL football player who was caught on camera knocking out his fiancée. Many people have reacted with confusion that she decided to go ahead and marry him. What they fail to appreciate is that she has a man who 1) is prone to act violently, and 2) whose violence she can trigger. He might own her physically, but she owns him mentally and emotionally, which is far greater and more intoxicating. A worse offense than abuse in her eyes -- one that surely would have motivated her to leave -- is if he didn't let her push his buttons. Violence and outbursts show that he "cares."
I watch all of this with amused detachment. Many men are retreating into video games and Internet porn, while many women are retreating into trashy novels and films, and society keeps sliding back into entropy. I and the rest of us who retain our sanity are the beneficiaries of the Chinese proverb, "may you live in interesting times."
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