A large portion of our nation lives in an ideological reality and no amount of facts and data seems capable of changing this. Convinced of their righteousness many even feel justified to eliminate any opposition. Voegelin saw this. When the possibility of transcendence is removed why should anyone be allowed to live who stands in the way of paradise on earth.

Many conservatives still haven’t realized this and keep trying to rationally present their positions. It’s a futile endeavor. It’s all about power. We must use it to secure the resources necessary for our survival.

Our advantage is that the ideological world doesn’t seem to require any skills to survive. Food magically appears in stores. Magic dirt provides safe neighborhoods.

People who can do productive things ought to be able to triumph over those who think that having correct beliefs is all that’s required for a prosperous country.

Re: Christian Zionism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) does believe in the Biblical prophecies that the Jews will be gathered to their former lands prior to the second coming of Christ. They also teach that as written in Genesis, Ephraim, not Judah, was given the birthright, and will stand at the head of the House of Israel. So worshiping, or letting present day Jews (who are descended from Judah) take the lead, really isn’t part of the plan.

Ernest Van den Haag foresaw this 55 years ago. He believed that as real discrimination decreased, black resentment would grow worse. He believed that black failure to achieve would be more painful without institutional barriers to blame for it. He also felt that liberal white guilt caused by their personal feelings not corresponding to their public pronouncements would allow them to be easily manipulated by blacks. He also predicted that liberal white wrath would be directed particularity at conservative whites who felt no such guilt over their feelings towards blacks and the liberals would demand ever more extreme acts of contrition.

Sounds about right.

As T.S. Eliot wrote, “It is hard for those who live near a police station to believe in the triumph of violence, do you think that the Faith has conquered the world and the lions no longer need keepers? Do you need to be told that whatever has been, can still be?…they constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within by dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will have to be good”

So many have reached adulthood completely oblivious to human nature and the conditions of our existence on this earth. They use the phrase “muh economy” to mock others as if food and other necessities spontaneously appear on supermarket shelves. It seems that only a complete collapse of our political and economic order will convince them of their errors.

A quick example. A Fire Captain was spit on recently. Years ago this would have meant an arrest and any resistance met with physical force. Now, our officer was told that if he wanted he could go to the police station and file a citizen’s arrest report.

They’re 90% there already. I’ve been with the LAFD for 30 years and the change in the LAPD has been astounding. Most have already figured out it’s more prudent just to do nothing. They’ll still police the major felonies but the lesser offenses that make the city more of a cesspool each day are ignored. Can’t really blame them. Prosecutors won’t prosecute and their own department will discipline them if they do the things they used to do.

Where’s Basil Fawlty when you need him. “We’ve got some Germans here so don’t mention ‘race,’ I said it once but I think that I got away with it.”