Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves

I often discuss with a good buddy of mine in Seattle the distinct possibility that all liberal democracies like ours have a built-in self-destruction mechanism.

The best way I can explain this is with the micro-example of a family. A parable, which was told to me by an economist, is known as "The Story of Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves" :

1. The first generation couple comes to America penniless, often not speaking English. But they work hard in blue collar jobs or perhaps starting their own small business, making sure their kids get a great education. By the time they pass away they likely have saved up a few hundred thousand dollars in equity, often in the form of a house, the mortgage of which was completely paid off.

2. The kids of this couple are instilled a good work ethic by their parents. They work hard in school and then work hard in their white collar professions. But they also want their own children to have a better & easier life than they did. So they start giving their kids things and more things and more things. What they don't realize is that in doing so, they're destroying the work ethic of their children.

3. By the time the kids - now the 3rd generation - graduate from high school, they have been handed everything and don't have a care in the world other than where to find the next party. Their work ethic throughout college, which they might not even make it to, is questionable. Ditto for when they enter the workforce. Implicitly they know that they will inherit everything from their parents, who have become very successful in their work lives, so their motivation to achieve anything on their own is muted.

4. The 3rd generation stumbles through life, not at all clear about what's important. Even the term "strong work ethic" sounds square and irrelevant. All they care about is vacation time and getting high, be it from alcohol or drugs or sex. When they have kids, these youngsters have little to no moral guidance and no memory of who their great-grandparents were or how they struggled to provide for the generations below them. So when these kids graduate from high school, if they even do that, they're back to working in blue collar jobs, just like their ancestors who first came to America.

It's clearly a generalization, but I think it's quite profound. In the larger picture of North America I think it speaks volumes about the predicament we're in. Too many in our society, having been given so much, seem to have lost track of the notion that it's the inherent duty of each of us to give more back to our communities and our nations than we should ever expect to get in return.

Once this mindset becomes too widespread then society will have reached a tipping point from which it will be exceedingly impossible to recover.

This is my fear for the future.

The Gay Marriage Debate in America

There was an interesting discussion on SDA this evening about a new poll that will soon be published in Macleans magazine. Here's the comment I left:

To Snowbunnie et al: Let me expand further on what you're saying and get your thoughts . . .

The entire gay marriage issue is a perfect example of how the Left changes society via what Mark Steyn calls the "Drip, Drip, Drip" of slow, incremental change.

I've long felt that:

• Gay couples should have the same financial benefits as heterosexual couples
• Gay marriage is a minor issue for me, personally
• If I was given the chance to vote on it, I would vote 'No'
• I am not homophobic
• I do not hate gay people
• My reasons are not based at all on religion
  

I don't know what the polls revealed in Canada when the laws were changed here but I am confident that the majority of Americans today would vote 'No' to gay marriage.

Realizing this, what do members of the Left do? They ridicule and mock anyone who believes that marriage laws should not be changed. They even have no hesitation calling anyone who disagrees with them the modern day equivalent of a racist.

This is done at beauty pageants, on entertainment shows, on news shows, in newspaper & magazine articles, and in the political & legal arenas as well. The messages are three-fold:

1. We will publicly label you a bigot if you dare to disagree with us.
2. The scarlet letter on your forehead will be an "R", because we will loudly make the case that you are the modern-day equivalent of a Racist.
3. We have control of most of the media outlets in the country and you do not.
   

So what happens? True debate is silenced; not just a little but absolutely. Average people, knowing that there's nothing to be gained from expressing their opinions and so much to lose, shut their mouths and get on with their lives. Furthermore, the change of marriage definitions does not actually directly & immediately affect their own lives so what's to be gained by expending a lot of energy fighting such an issue?

Most people then, do the logical thing and get on with their lives, working hard and paying the taxes that ironically will contribute to the next social change down the road that the same taxpayer will also disagree with! And on & on it goes, like a snowball rolling down a hill.

The problem though is this: In the long term, are these incremental changes healthy for our society? I don't particularly want to get slammed for my thoughts about whether there's a causality between promotion of gay marriage and a longterm reduction in population replenishment, but I suspect it may very well be the case. (I can explain the logical connections if anyone wants.)

But after opposition to gay marriage is silenced, what do you think will be next? I predict that by no later than 2020, polygamy will be fully legal in Canada; soon after that in the U.S. Based on historical evidence, this will often mean 50+ year old men with multiple teenage wives. Is that a healthy thing for our society?

After the opposition to polygamy is silenced, what do you think will then be next? I have several suspicions but will leave it to you to come up with your own ideas of where things will likely head.

Thought for the day: Do liberal democratic societies like ours have a built in self-destruction mechanism? More precisely, if more & more rights are assigned to everyone, does that eventually cripple our society?

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Update: Here are a few interesting responses I received:

Robert W.: "I don't know what the polls revealed in Canada when the laws were changed here but I am confident that the majority of Americans today would vote 'No' to gay marriage."

Apparently, Robert, members of Parliament received an overwhelming number (hundreds of thousands) of letters and e-mails from Canadians before the vote here -- more than any other issue had elicited -- saying "no" to gay marriage.

What did the reigning Librano$ do? They ignored Canadians' wishes and brought the issue to a vote in the HOC. As we know, the "yes" option won by the narrowest of margins, even though it would appear that the vast majority of Canadians were against it. We know which way the leftards and the MSM wanted the vote to go, and they got their way by ramming this legislation through.

If this issue was ever allowed to go to a referendum, it's pretty clear that Canadians would vote the way the Americans did. Look at California!

Posted by: batb at April 24, 2009 7:32 AM

Robert W.: "Do liberal democratic societies like ours have a built in self-destruction mechanism?"

Yes, and especially when one of the most prevalent characteristics of a "liberal democratic society" is secular humanism. Secular humanism is completely wrong about human nature. Secular humanists insist that we are all "good" and have the best of intentions for our fellow human beings and society, and as such, "equality" means that there is no difference between religions or cultures. There is no "good, better, best," just equality.

That view of human nature is completely erroneous and wrong-headed; just look what it's led to in the past century: the most horrendous loss of human freedom, dignity, and life in history.

If liberal democratic societies throw out, with gay abandon, the Judeo-Christian faith and values upon which their democracies were built, then, yes, they have built in a self-destruction mechanism.

And we're watching the self-destruction right before our eyes and seem very reluctant to diagnose the problem.

Posted by: batb at April 24, 2009 7:40 AM

It's been obvious for a very long time that the average Joe isn't buying into the nonsense of the leftard elite.

Why do you think they need charter-crushing HRC's? Thought police are required in order to force people into publicly pretending that up is down. People will always know better but if they are afraid to speak out, the state gets to do what it wants and those who see the truth are marginalized and irrelevant.

It starts in schools. They terrorize the students from a young age that non-elite opinion will be persecuted mercilessly - unlike actual criminal behaviour which is to be dismissed. In fact, if a principle DARES kick a bad seed out of the school, they are forced to take another school's bad seed in return.

One of the central tenants of Marx was that in order to create the new utopian society, the "old order" had to be destroyed ("swept away" in commie-talk.) This is the elites creating their own, top-down version of Marxist idiocy through the back door in increments. It's slow-motion communism. They clearly didn't learn from the other attempts.

Posted by: Warwick at April 24, 2009 12:33 PM

Discussion with a Russian

IMHO Mark Steyn is one of the most intelligent observers of our society today. And he does so from a global perspective. One of his favourite phrases is what he calls the "Drip-Drip-Drip" erosion of our culture. Simply put, when the majority believe that they need to feel guilty about most everything and that their heritage is more bad than good, then society is ruined.

In Canada we're not there yet but the fabric of our society is definitely torn. The UK is much further along in this regard. Some believe that the self-destruction of their society is a foregone conclusion.

So indeed, sometimes I do deliberately draw a line in the snow and say sorry but that's one step too far.

This evening I was out in Vancouver videoing some Christmas scenes. It's a rare occasion that we get snow in the city and even more rare right around Christmas. I encountered barely a soul all night but one woman did come along and on cross-country skis no less. We got to talking. She's from Russia. Towards the end of our conversation I asked her if she celebrated Christmas. She paused for a bit and then said, "Well, I'm from a socialist country and Christmas was not really allowed there. So it's not part of my tradition."

Ask yourself if you would like to live in a country where "Christmas was not really allowed". Then look at Canada today and see which direction our future is pointed in. If you're happy with that then cheer it on. As for me, I'll be one of the signposts along the way, warning you of where we're heading.

It is indeed your absolute right to ignore the warnings. But if you wake up one day and realize that the Drip-Drip-Drip erosion of our culture has taken us to a place not very appealing, be sure to stare in the mirror for a long time that day.

My Hopes for Canada in 2008

Here's a brief list of what I'm hoping for from Canadians in 2008:

1. Political Correctness - More than anything else, I'm convinced that political correctness has corrupted our society and any real discussions that we hope to have. When real debate cannot occur for fear of offending someone then no progress can be made on any issue.
   
   
2. Permanent Victims - I look around the world these days and see some pretty terrible things happening. The dawn of the New Year is the perfect time for Canadians to take a moment to consider how incredibly good we have it. Certainly nothing's perfect and there's always room for improvement. But it's long overdue that the overly pampered cry-babies amongst us are called out for the Permanent Victims that they are.
   
   
3. Human Rights Violations - This is a corollary to #2. When one sees people elsewhere in the world being incarcerated or even murdered for voting or running for office or not covering up "appropriately", I find it incredibly appalling how loosely and frequently some Canadians toss around the term "human rights" when they don't get their way. Have they no shame? Don't they realize that their abuse of this word has desensitized its meaning?
   
   
4. Playing the Race Card - I've noticed an increasing number of people playing the race card whenever they come up against the establishment. This is a special case of #2 that takes advantage of #1. For no organization, be they public or private, wants to be labeled a racist. But in Canada in 2007 I very much doubt that racism is the cause. It's just another technique to get your way or cast unwarranted blame at someone else.
   
   
5. A Return to Responsibility - From the very top of our society to its very depths, isn't it long overdue for people to take responsibility when they mess up? It seems to happen so rarely these days - think of the YVR Taser fiasco - and has set such a poor example for our children.
   
   
6. Generosity Instead of Selfishness - This one seems obvious but in order for it to occur, people need to ensure that they're not violating #1 - #5, especially #2 & #5. In fact, I strongly believe one of the factors contributing to increased selfishness - especially in cities - are too many people not taking responsibility for themselves and their actions.
   
   
7. Cel Phone Dysfunctional User Disorder (CP-Dud) - If a man was walking down the street, talking at high volume or even shouting, would you consider him a bit odd? If a woman at the table next to you in a restaurant was giving everyone in earshot the details of her recent yeast infection, would you consider her a bit odd? Why then, do many people consider it perfectly normally to duplicate this behaviour while on a cel phone? In 2008 I plan to use the Amy Alkon method to combat these annoying twits.
   

With that said, I sincerely wish you and your family the Very Best in 2008, most especially: Liberty, Good Health, and Prosperity!

The Cluetrain Manifesto

Further to this recent posting, events are happening at an accelerated pace. Wonderful coincidences are happening everyday and I'm very much open to them and ready to receive the messages contained within. My friend, Geoff, just clued me in to a fascinating underground book of sorts called The Cluetrain Manifesto. As he succinctly put it, this is a must read for anyone involved in technology today.

It's not a light read, as the ideas involved are deep, thoughtful concepts. For example, one prominent aspect of it are the so-called "95 Theses". Trying to fully digest anymore than about 20 of them at a time is 6 cup of coffee feat in concentration! But I am so impressed that I added a special new Cluetrain Manifesto section on the right side of my blog. It implements some special code that displays a new thesis every 8 seconds.

This all is directly related to my planned new venture, so it's very timely indeed.

Thought of the Day

There's a wise old phrase that says: "Give a man a fish and he'll be back tomorrow for another one. Teach a man how to fish and he'll have food for a lifetime."

I'd like to change this a bit: "Treat a person like a victim and they'll be back for more support tomorrow. Give someone a hand-up but insist that they be responsible for themselves and you will empower a person to have much self-esteem and who will make a positive contribution to society."