The best-kept secret in our country's biggest debates
No one person can fix the problems we can't seem to stop arguing over. Here's what we can do instead.
Mass shootings seem to me to have escalated into a war between citizens. Iām saddened that itās come to this, but sadness isn't helpful in a conversation like this except as a fire-starter.
I care about my fellow American citizens, and though I know runaway emotionsā true nemesis is properly-applied logic, I'm not here to argue statistics. Math isnāt the only form of non-emotional reasoning, and it is unlikely to persuade anyone in the grip of histrionic thinking. Instead of leaning into statistics, as conservatives seem wont to do, or into the emotions, which the left is far better with than I will ever be, I am taking another path: I contest that this particular argument is better made by appealing to common humanity and promoting the idea that everyday citizens have a right to become potentially-lethal threats when faced with - and perhaps appealing to parental love of children.
In a war, the only proper response to a threat is an equal and opposite reaction ā and the preparation to handle potential threat, by having weapons, and knowing how to use them (Jordan Peterson's definition of "meekness"). The harsh reality that political pundits on both sides of the aisle seem to choose to obfuscate is that no one person has the tools to change the culture so that boys have fathers in their lives instead of antidepressants and video games. Political pundits make hay off the frustration and disillusionment that ordinary individuals face because they donāt realize that they canāt make the grandiose, utopian changes they aim (this is why I always recommend that people start at the local level instead of focusing on the federal level for politics).
No, an ordinary individual is better served by going their own way. They donāt need anyoneās permission to do this. They can take steps like train themselves in situational awareness, by taking self-defense classes, by having their own mental action plan of what it would look like to face a real, lethal threat, in every new environment they enter. I know this is asking a lot of a hassled mom or an overworked dad, but every parent who truly wants the best for their children needs to know that they could someday be in the situation of the Uvalde parents: Stopped outside the school, desperately trying to get it to face a real and present danger to their children. Perhaps the road to unity is not to appeal to the left or to the right, but to fundamental human goals like being a good and responsible parent. Even amid all my cynicism of the human race, the willingness of a parent to sacrifice for their child still gives me great hope. Itās one of the last pure motivations of humanity (I suspect that Democrats are about to find that uniting parents against them will NOT work in their favor, but that remains to be seen).
A nuanced problem requires deep thought and pragmatic cultural solutions, but what we tend to get is maudlin political theater in an ad nauseum loop with no real handle on either side of what humans actually believe: The right seems to think people will be persuaded by facts and logic; the left seems to dismiss the human desire to take responsibility and pursue justice, even without institutional support, like the Uvalde dad who sprang into action to save his family by borrowing his barberās gun and helping evacuate the school. I think the endless loop of logic vs fraught emotional arguments is frustrating to even the most hyperbolic anti-gun activists, and it intrigues me that a seemingly-simple (but not easy) solution that emphasizes personal responsibility and independence could be the beginning of exerting societal pressure back against our troubling cultural contagion of gun violence. Increasing the value of fathers to the everyday person, emphasizing the role of personal independence, and encouraging acts of heroism are all great places to start, and these ideas donāt come from the top down: They come from the bottom up, and the deck is stacked against them: No one in the government wants mothers to be free of the welfare state, therefore they are motivated to keep fathers irrelevant and irresponsible. No institution wants people to think for themselves.
There is a problem here, and we are the only people who can stop it: All of us, as a culture, need to join together against the forces that want us unarmed, vulnerable, and isolated physically and emotionally from our spouses and children. Hopefully the egregious actions schools are taking to sexualize children will be the red pill to the mammoth demographic of parents.
These are difficult problems and our elected representatives often exacerbate rather than contribute to the solution. The cohesion of western society has largely depended on Christian values upon which this country was founded and the rule of law to protect them with.
As many have stated, the war we are in is a spiritual one. It is a direct attack on faith and it seems that a solution to any of all this has to come from the opposite direction as Lydia stated.
I started writing on Substack yesterday for the first time. I used to keep my thoughts private and my feelings to myself. Now, thereās really no point to being anonymous and guarded with what I believe in. I think this is a good place for us to start. Being vulnerable and honest with ourselves means being vulnerable and honest with others.
Itās community. We canāt do this on our own, but we can do it together by supporting likeminded souls. Even subscribing to a Substack helps, as it makes it easier to find more people that think along similar lines.
The more of us that know and understand one another, the more power and influence the movement has. It doesnāt need a name or title. Just good people looking to make connections. It can be built up from there.
Luke Radowski is my spirit animal. š“ Iām sure there are others as well who might say the same of Lydia. Seeking out the community that we feel reflect our values the most is far better than to be going at it on our own.
Beautifully Written Lydia! I'm so glad I found you here! PLEASE check out this portion of last night's live-cast on https://live.aflds.org/ starting @ timestamp 27:45 - 38:15, where I just found out a way to legally divorce myself from the Government as a Federal Citizen by rebuking the 14th Amendment of 1868 to regain my sovereign freedom as an "American State National". In Virginia Beach on July 29 & 30th there is a seminar which outlines how to escape the matrix and regain your personal God-given freedoms. Please check out this website https://firebrandaction.com/ for more info. These could be some interesting guests having valuable information for Timcast IRL. Bobby Lawrence, Cindy Chafian (founded Firebrand), or Ann Vandersteel who is a journalist (https://www.ourgreatawakening.org/ann-vandersteel/) and she just completed the process of becoming an "American State National" A FREE Person under law. Also, the husband/wife team Bonnie Straight, a free woman, who lives in the great nation of Texas, a republic. She and her husband, David Straight, have been educating people all over America about correcting their status and how to take dominion over the three areas of LAW: L and - common law, A ir - Ecclesiastic or Trust Law, W ater - Admiralty law. https://rumble.com/v1atjd0-july-2-2022-how-to-defeat-cps-with-bonnie-straight-an-american-state-nation.html
Please check them out as future guests on Timcast IRL. You will find more content on RUMBLE about these professional's out on a limb.
PLEASE help spread the word...
Sincerely and with great admiration of your & Tim's work,
April