WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Nota Bene
byVanderleunonJanuary 20, 2019
Which mainstream ideas pose the greatest threat to traditionalism?
Global capitalism, of course. Individual materialism, obviously. But more and more a sort of Laissez-Faire Nihilism, the one exemplified by clever young people “Who wants to have children in a world going to hell?”, and interestingly, even though they call themselves Progressives and outwardly profess undying faith in humanity (despite all the problems they cause and the distresses they must be able to see in their own communities), the main culprit of this are the Globalists themselves. There are no more rabid doom-mongers than the “save the rain forest” crowd. I forgot who said it, but “forget the war on terrorism, the most important war of our time is the war between the sexes, a war that we are all losing.” In a way I agree, in the way that the hidden enemy is always the one able to inflict the most damage: Feminism is the greatest danger to our civilization. By twisting facts, by a concentrated propaganda effort, the image has been planted into the minds of women that history was sexist, that the church was anti-women and that women can be…better than men. In reality it is the couple, the man and the woman together, who make up the basic bond of humanity. The day we finally give up on this idea of love, is the day our civilization is doomed forever. “Love is reactionary”, and “Progressivism is centrifugal” (as I often say).
What would your advice be for those who want to live in more traditionalist ways, but find themselves caught in our hectic, post-modern culture?
This ties in with the previous question, but the two most important things you can do is to settle down, and to have children. Turn off the media, reduce the noise, turn of the lights. Sleep early, get up early, eat what is in season, work with your hands, your mind, your body.
One of my favorite stories of this kind is the local apiarist (beekeeper) in my neighborhood. He told me that the first seven years of him keeping bees he never had more than a couple of jars for himself. Even though he had gotten into it with the idea of selling honey, he found that he neighbors were so hostile to the idea of having bees around that he had to walk around the neighborhood after every harvest and hand out jars of honey. Hundreds of kilos every year was given away. Over time the neighbors figured out that the bees were not dangerous and that this man was not abusing their neighborhood but actually making it a better place. More people started keeping flowers in their gardens and eventually the man could start selling his produce rather than giving it away.
This story illustrates a point that everyone from your grandmother to Tahitian islanders, to the hardcore Neo-reactionary thinkers can agree on: be worthy. To be part of something you must first be of use to it. A community is only as strong as the effort put into it by its members. You must have something to offer. This is as true in urban beekeeping as in modern courtship.
Ahh, how much easier said than done.
There is a direct correlation between how informed and how angry we are. We need a single word to capture the awful admixture of toxic propaganda, outright outrage, and mind-numbing stupid that assaults us each and every day. (The excreta?) Call it what you will, it is near impossible to ignore, and it is death to happiness.
I remind myself that no amount of reading, gathering information, or making pithy comments on web-sites changes any of this. Wisdom would suggest that I invest my energies elsewhere.
And I will. Right after I check what’s new new on Ace, Porretto, Aesop, Severian, Grant, Wright, Vox Day, Zman…
I read Van Maren’s Wrath of Gnon post last year but your timing, Gerard, re-linking to it, worked out quite well. My son just called to see if I wanted to do X-country skiing ’round the property (around 120 acres) with him (present temperature -4° F.), thinking ’bout your community posting and Wrath’s tradition, told him ‘why the hell not?
“The main point is to read old books.” I smiled at this. Today is day three of my annual book dusting– pick up each and every book, dust it, gently vacuum if needed, flip the pages to give it an airing out, and either replace it, or place it elsewhere. I truly look forward to this phase of Spring cleaning– a very traditional thing to do, I might add.
Of course, between the airing out and the placing, there’s a lot of sitting and looking. One of my favorite collections is a set of topical encyclopedias titled, “Our Wonder World” (1914, but there are later editions). Volume One, The World and its People, begins with The Open Book of the Heavens:
“The heavens are an open book in which the stars are its golden letters. All one need to is to go out after dark and look up, to see what a wonderful and fascinating book it is, and to wish to read at least a little way in.”
I wonder if at least part of what ails a lot of folks these days is the inability to do this– to look up and see stars? Or tonight’s blood moon? Or perhaps it’s that they cannot go wandering about their own piece of property?
Marica in Mississippi where I was *almost* tempted by Jim in Alaska to get the dogs & go wandering about our 60 acres, but decided against it. Too dang cold– hasn’t reached 40 yet!
ghostsniperJanuary 20, 2019, 2:22 PM
6am here on the compound and I trudged from the house to my office, cup o’ mud in hand. We got a foot of snow over night and I can see for miles in the darkness. crunch, crunch, crunch, slide, crunch, crunch I stop mid-bridge, turn 180, facing north, and stare up at the stars, there’s the big dip! I take a sip, swallow, then a big deep breath through my snoot. It hurts. You know what I mean. I turn 90 to the left and look down into the forest, I can see all the way to the other side some 400 feet away. There are some large dark spots way out there, prolly deers, laying in the snow. They always know it’s peaceful here. Few years ago I startled one that was asleep under my desk window as I walked to the house. We both startled each other. It stood immediately and I stopped immediately, both of us not knowing what to do, a mere 8′ apart. So we stared at each other. But inside our brains were racing. About 8 seconds passed as we looked like statues to each other, then the deer flicked it’s tail and turned to the woods and strolled off, easily. Unthreatened. I just stood there and stared. My wife threw open the bedroom window on the 2nd floor and leaned out and said, “Wow, that was amazing!”, then, “Darn, I got snow on my night gown.”
All these “ism’s”. Everybody has to put everybody else in their proper prescribed space and everybody tries to fit into the spaces that are the most stylish of late. yawn Cattle with insufficient funds in intellectual horsepower department. One of these days they will be faded memories.
We blew up our TV
Threw away our papers
Went to the country
Built us a home
Had a lot of children
Fed ’em on peaches
They all found Jesus
On their own
– John Prine “Spanish Pipedream”
rabbit tobaccoJanuary 21, 2019, 11:04 AM
A young man saw an old man planting trees. The young man asked him why he was planting trees
since he would not be around long enough to see them grown. The old man answered because there
were trees here when I was born.
Vince`January 29, 2019, 10:07 AM
A great antidote is to find those around you that are of like mind. Pick your crowd – outdoorsmen (not the kind you most likely find at EMS), veterans, fellow church goers, etc. Make time to be with these people – it is refreshing to the soul after.
I can’t say I am thoroughgoing on WOG’s ideas or blog posts. I’ve only read over there a little when directed there from here.
Global capitalism is the greatest threat to traditionalism? Say that shit ain’t so! I was just reorganizing my 17 year-old son’s thoughts last night on capital vs socialism/communism. It’s one of the easiest arguments to make: the amassing of capital trumps the confiscation of wealth and property concept. Making things is making wealth, and that wealth which goes into the government coffers is dead-ended. I love the way my son tries out all of the ideas and wrestles with them.
Modernism, again? That dumbass. What happens if Modern doesn’t? Or didn’t occur; what would have happened in its place? Oh, sheyeeapola, I never thunk of that.
Outdoors. I have mastered more outdoors shit than a city of REI or MEI or Sierra Clubbers. I’m old now, but, by God, in my day… OK, that sounded stupid. The other day I was at a clinic and on the wall was a shiny new calendar page with January showing a beautiful photo of a Whitetail Buck with 5 large antlers on each side. Uhhhhh. In January, the bucks have all lost their antlers. Yes, my friends, we are totally separated from our roots and our founding, and the gulf increases exponentially by the day. A fucking Fox News reporter this morning reporting from Syria, reporting on the Kurds, and he’s in the farthest north place, but says he’s in the farthest south. Ishityounot! I hope he makes it home alright, and finds employment as a programmer or something.
I know I’m beyond helping the political world, but anyway I just stick around now to see what manner of shit happens next.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Ahh, how much easier said than done.
There is a direct correlation between how informed and how angry we are. We need a single word to capture the awful admixture of toxic propaganda, outright outrage, and mind-numbing stupid that assaults us each and every day. (The excreta?) Call it what you will, it is near impossible to ignore, and it is death to happiness.
I remind myself that no amount of reading, gathering information, or making pithy comments on web-sites changes any of this. Wisdom would suggest that I invest my energies elsewhere.
And I will. Right after I check what’s new new on Ace, Porretto, Aesop, Severian, Grant, Wright, Vox Day, Zman…
JWM
I read Van Maren’s Wrath of Gnon post last year but your timing, Gerard, re-linking to it, worked out quite well. My son just called to see if I wanted to do X-country skiing ’round the property (around 120 acres) with him (present temperature -4° F.), thinking ’bout your community posting and Wrath’s tradition, told him ‘why the hell not?
“The main point is to read old books.” I smiled at this. Today is day three of my annual book dusting– pick up each and every book, dust it, gently vacuum if needed, flip the pages to give it an airing out, and either replace it, or place it elsewhere. I truly look forward to this phase of Spring cleaning– a very traditional thing to do, I might add.
Of course, between the airing out and the placing, there’s a lot of sitting and looking. One of my favorite collections is a set of topical encyclopedias titled, “Our Wonder World” (1914, but there are later editions). Volume One, The World and its People, begins with The Open Book of the Heavens:
“The heavens are an open book in which the stars are its golden letters. All one need to is to go out after dark and look up, to see what a wonderful and fascinating book it is, and to wish to read at least a little way in.”
I wonder if at least part of what ails a lot of folks these days is the inability to do this– to look up and see stars? Or tonight’s blood moon? Or perhaps it’s that they cannot go wandering about their own piece of property?
Marica in Mississippi where I was *almost* tempted by Jim in Alaska to get the dogs & go wandering about our 60 acres, but decided against it. Too dang cold– hasn’t reached 40 yet!
6am here on the compound and I trudged from the house to my office, cup o’ mud in hand. We got a foot of snow over night and I can see for miles in the darkness. crunch, crunch, crunch, slide, crunch, crunch I stop mid-bridge, turn 180, facing north, and stare up at the stars, there’s the big dip! I take a sip, swallow, then a big deep breath through my snoot. It hurts. You know what I mean. I turn 90 to the left and look down into the forest, I can see all the way to the other side some 400 feet away. There are some large dark spots way out there, prolly deers, laying in the snow. They always know it’s peaceful here. Few years ago I startled one that was asleep under my desk window as I walked to the house. We both startled each other. It stood immediately and I stopped immediately, both of us not knowing what to do, a mere 8′ apart. So we stared at each other. But inside our brains were racing. About 8 seconds passed as we looked like statues to each other, then the deer flicked it’s tail and turned to the woods and strolled off, easily. Unthreatened. I just stood there and stared. My wife threw open the bedroom window on the 2nd floor and leaned out and said, “Wow, that was amazing!”, then, “Darn, I got snow on my night gown.”
All these “ism’s”. Everybody has to put everybody else in their proper prescribed space and everybody tries to fit into the spaces that are the most stylish of late. yawn Cattle with insufficient funds in intellectual horsepower department. One of these days they will be faded memories.
We blew up our TV
Threw away our papers
Went to the country
Built us a home
Had a lot of children
Fed ’em on peaches
They all found Jesus
On their own
– John Prine “Spanish Pipedream”
A young man saw an old man planting trees. The young man asked him why he was planting trees
since he would not be around long enough to see them grown. The old man answered because there
were trees here when I was born.
A great antidote is to find those around you that are of like mind. Pick your crowd – outdoorsmen (not the kind you most likely find at EMS), veterans, fellow church goers, etc. Make time to be with these people – it is refreshing to the soul after.
I can’t say I am thoroughgoing on WOG’s ideas or blog posts. I’ve only read over there a little when directed there from here.
Global capitalism is the greatest threat to traditionalism? Say that shit ain’t so! I was just reorganizing my 17 year-old son’s thoughts last night on capital vs socialism/communism. It’s one of the easiest arguments to make: the amassing of capital trumps the confiscation of wealth and property concept. Making things is making wealth, and that wealth which goes into the government coffers is dead-ended. I love the way my son tries out all of the ideas and wrestles with them.
Modernism, again? That dumbass. What happens if Modern doesn’t? Or didn’t occur; what would have happened in its place? Oh, sheyeeapola, I never thunk of that.
Outdoors. I have mastered more outdoors shit than a city of REI or MEI or Sierra Clubbers. I’m old now, but, by God, in my day… OK, that sounded stupid. The other day I was at a clinic and on the wall was a shiny new calendar page with January showing a beautiful photo of a Whitetail Buck with 5 large antlers on each side. Uhhhhh. In January, the bucks have all lost their antlers. Yes, my friends, we are totally separated from our roots and our founding, and the gulf increases exponentially by the day. A fucking Fox News reporter this morning reporting from Syria, reporting on the Kurds, and he’s in the farthest north place, but says he’s in the farthest south. Ishityounot! I hope he makes it home alright, and finds employment as a programmer or something.
I know I’m beyond helping the political world, but anyway I just stick around now to see what manner of shit happens next.