16 Comments

Information spread. The human mind is exposed to it. The rise and fall of institutions is a reflection of interest. Just like gold is the true measure of currency, thoughts are the measure of man. The currency! The greed you describe so entertainingly does not come close to the greed we exhibit from mind to mind. The digital scale is merely the funnel of transport. God gives man the value derived by the thought. A system of reward or punishment. Man turns the value of thought in monetary gain. Bereft of meaning, simply a transaction. Takes yours, and mine and sells it. Just like the liver and kidney market. All this under our noses with the piper singing its tune. Greetings Jeff.

Expand full comment

Thank you, Persephone, and greetings to you as well. Bill Bernbach, the father of modern 20th-century advertising, once observed that our intellects were never designed to pursue the truth. Rather, he opined, our intellects were designed to pursue the advantage...

Expand full comment

I enjoyed your article and agree with numerous of your points. I see n even bigger picture to the state of this world. I wrote a paper that I invite you to read. Here is a brief abstract and the link.

Throughout the world we are all witnessing the collapse of the current world order. No matter where one looks, there is perpetual war and unforeseen calamities. Every day more people are turning away from traditional religion, and some even turning entirely away from God. Institutions that mankind has relied on for many decades and centuries are failing in part due to the ever-increasing divisions between the elected and their insatiable desire for wealth, power, and control. Within every society, divisions between peoples are increasing at an unprecedented pace whereby major cities are becoming unliveable; many people are becoming homeless, and crime is rampant. Prejudice of all kinds is eating at the hearts of men. The increase in interest rates is used in the fight against perceived inflation, resulting in many unable to keep up with their mortgage payments and end up loosing their homes. Health care is in crisis in every country and territory. Food prices are skyrocketing throughout the world and everyday more people are going hungry. Economies are on the verge of collapse, and the gap between the rich and the poor increases every day. Governments are bringing laws which severely penalize those who do not comply with government mandates, but this does not solve problems, rather it makes the problems far worse. Science and technology which in the past has served the well-being of mankind is now being used against mankind. The entire world is in turmoil and as bad as it seems today, tomorrow will be even worse. Ultimately, many people are becoming wicked and evil, wishing evil and death upon those who do not agree with them or are perceived as wanting to harm them. Now the World Economic Forum is advocating for those who do not believe in the Climate Change Crisis should be put to death. We also observe leaders of nations threatening the use of nuclear weapons to settle their disputes with other nations rather than attempting to resolve disputes diplomatically. According to Baha’i Holy Scripture, nuclear war is inevitable.

Very few understand why this is happening. Most people do not want to think about these problems and what the root causes are. But trying to ignore these problems of the world will not bring about the application of an appropriate solution, and the more people ignore it, the worse it becomes. The problems of the world appear to be political, but this is only an outward manifestation of the root causes which are spiritual in nature. Some falsely think that a change in political leadership would make a difference, but even if such a leadership change took place, the root causes would not be addressed, and the problems would continue to manifest themselves. There is an appropriate solution; it has been there for 180 years, but mankind has either turned away or is ignoring it.

Truth be told, mankind is failing in its duty towards God. Mankind is being tormented for what mankind has done and what mankind continues to fail to do. God is testing every human being as to their sincerity in observing His Greater Covenant with mankind. How each human being responds will determine whether they achieve “all good” in the sight of God or have “gone astray”. Many will turn away due to their delusions and superstitious beliefs, but that is the worst thing they could do.

For a full explanation, please read my paper in its entirety, (1) Mankind is being Tormented - by David Ramer (substack.com)

David

Expand full comment

Thank you for your comment, David, and my apologies for the delayed response. Very happy in retrospect that someone sees things on a wider screen and broader scale than yours truly...

Expand full comment

"...regressive populism focused on the restoration of meaningful ritual and local autonomy."

Of course... now just help me sell it, why don'tcha??!!

Expand full comment

There are no shortcuts, Peter. Start here with How to Use My Ritual Inventory: https://open.substack.com/pub/qolrm/p/how-to-use-my-ritual-inventory?r=7hc45&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web.

Expand full comment

Thanks for reaching out, Bigs. Glad you thought so.

Expand full comment

Insightful, thanks.

Expand full comment

Jeff,

Your diagnosis is correct; and so is your prescription.

Expand full comment

Thank you for the kind validation, Mr. Holmes.

Expand full comment

In decline? I fervently hope so! But that's when things get sticky because the powers that be double down when faced with the prospect of loss of power. I was greatly encouraged about the turning of the tide when i read about what's going down in NZ, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Slovakia and a few other places. And how appropriate that a stand against the madness is happening in the Slavic states - because the foundation of these states is family, faith (Christian) and a solid work ethic. By the way, I live in Slovenia (another Slavic state), so i'm pretty much in tune with the social undercurrents in this refuge of sanity.

Expand full comment

Welcome to the Quality of Life Resistance Movement, WTF, and thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my work -- all the way from Slovenia. Quick question: Is Slovenia a good place to retire for Americans?

Expand full comment

G'day, and apologies for my tardy response to your question.

Q: "is Slovenia a good place to retire for Americans?"

A: Short answer - NO. Life here ain't easy, but if you're keen to proceed then bear the following in mind:

1. You'll need a permanent residence visa (challenging to obtain);

2. Slovenščina - be prepared to learn the language (otherwise you'll only be a tourist and never really get to know and participate in the country's cultural life). And by the way, the language is a real mother of a tongue to master;

3. Unless you have friends and/or family here, you'll be a stranger in a strange land.

A: Long answer - YES. Before i explain why, some personal context is in order.

First off, i'm only 75 which is way too young for retiring, so i can't really advise you.

Previously i was based in Australia where i had a safe, secure, easy job for life working in medical research (metabolic syndromes). The thing is, if you want to retire, then the land of Oz is the place to be: sun & surf; the average ocker is easy going with a "no worries, she'll be right" attitude; and wide open spaces. And the icing on the cake is that there's a good social support system, so you don't need to be proactive about health because there's a pill, potion or medical procedure for whatever ails you (and the government picks up the bill).

Sounds ab fab, right? The thing is, if you're a creative, progressive minded achiever who is impelled to evolve, and to leave this garden and her creatures in better shape than before, then Oz is not the place to be. So, i left in search of more fertile pastures.

And so it came to pass that i attended a bioenergy conference in Slovenia. Arriving late at night, I gained my first impression of the country - a banner at the airport with the words “I feel sLOVEnia”. My first thought was “this country needs to fire its ad agency if it wants to attract tourists”. That silly but cute slogan actually turned out to be true.

The taxi trip to the hotel provided me with my second impression - that of a feudalistic country in the throes of throwing off the yoke of Soviet imperialism. The predominant smell was manure and pigs, and I observed that many of the buildings, even the official ones, were in a sorry state of decay and disrepair. On the monetary side, goods are dear, taxes high and wages low.

Whilst going to sleep that night, I reflected on whether Slovenia was the old-world or the third-world, but in any event I was relieved that I was only going to be here for the four days of the conference. Little did i suspect that my life was about to change -- big time!

Seriously now, what could induce me to stay; what connection could I possibly have with this tiny nation of farmers who spoke a language I couldn’t understand a word of, and who were - in technological and social terms - at least 30 years behind the industrialised world?

Communicating with the natives was a challenge, as hardly anyone spoke English, but what saved my skinny ass was that I am fluent in the ancient tongue of body lingo.

Slovenia is a hidden gem tucked away in the foothills and forests of the Dolomite Alps. Scenically, it has been described as a little Switzerland. But looks ain’t everything – what really counts is not so much the stage, but the characters on it.

So, just who are Slovenians? Underneath their rough and bland exteriors I discovered a tribe of people who were on one hand, ungovernable individualists, practical, pragmatic and hard-working, with roots deep in the mountains; and on the other hand, a gentle people very much at home in the mystical and spiritual dimensions, and with their very own Christian brand of paganism. Their Christianity is maternal in that it is humane, compassionate and warm, which is very much in contradistinction to the cut and dried, masculine, authoritarian model based on Papal doctrine, and motivated by guilt and fear of eternal damnation. In such regards, the Slovenian Church is centred more on Mary, the queen of Heaven, than the mortal sufferings of Jesus.

Succinctly, Slovenia is the place to be if you desire to: raise a family in a peaceful, safe, sane and fertile environment; provide your kids with a good, no BS education; and enjoy the simple pleasures of life far from the madding crowds of DEI, drugs, PC, cancel culture, violence and sexual perversion.

Feel free to contact me (david@kinergy.life) and ring my bell if any of this rings your bell or piques your curiosity. You can get some idea of what I’m up to on my site at www.kinergy.life

Ok? Dobrodošli!

David

Expand full comment

Excellent essay, thank you 🙏🏽

Expand full comment

Thank you for the kind words, Cynthia. Glad you think so.

Expand full comment

Ditto!

Expand full comment