Barna profiles a generation on the cliff’s crumbling edge — 78 million US Millennials

_{kairosfocus

November 8, 2021

Agitprop, Atheism, Control vs Anarchy, Culture, Defending our Civilization, Geo-strategic issues, Intelligent Design, Lessons of History, rhetoric}

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Barna’s current report, “New Insights into the Generation of Growing Influence: Millennials In America,” is a portrait of a generation adrift, dancing on the edge of a cliff, and reflective of generations of civilisational betrayal by intellectual, policy/political, media and educational leadership leading to a destabilised culture. And so, this cannot wait, triple bereavement life crisis or no, this needs to be highlighted and preliminarily assessed here at UD:

The report’s snapshot summary tells the grim story in outline:

And:

Also, we may add on Religious identification, affinity and affiliation:

We can start with the obvious, as within living memory of those of us who were of age to notice, between 1989 and 1991, Marxism’s credibility as a principle of economic organisation collapsed before our eyes. So, if the immediately following generation does not understand such after its seventy years of chaos, tyranny, state led murder of over 100 millions and outright economic failure, we are dealing with a generation that were deliberately misled by ideologues who cared not a whit for that horrific track record. One that is actually worse than that of Communism’s kissing cousin, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi, for short). (And yes, they meant the “Socialist.”)

So, first and foremost we are dealing with a deeply manipulated generation robbed of objective truth about pivotal worldview, policy, history, ideology and personal matters. That indicts at least two to three full generations of intellectual, policy, media and educational leaders and influencers, with implications across the full span of the pillars of community influence:

Likewise, the Overton Window speaks:

Where, the modified political spectrum is therefore also instructive on the peril:

So, it is unsurprising to see the overall outline being sketched. Selecting key points:

almost half of those born 1984 – 2002 prefer socialism to capitalism
a majority (likely with a large opposed minority and that’s the obvious trend-direction) “held a positive opinion of Jesus Christ, the United States of America and the Bible”
Confirming that inference, 40% “don’t know if God exists, don’t care if God exists, or don’t believe that He exists.” (God, the necessary and maximally great being at reality’s root is the single most important point of knowledge of reality; where, a serious candidate necessary being either exists as framework to any possible world or is impossible of being, the latter never having been shown. So the hyperskeptical indifference is telling on intellectual breakdown.)
Unsurprisingly, in this light, only 1/3 claim to “believe in God as the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules the universe today”
parallelling this, “Roughly two-thirds . . . align themselves with the Christian faith”
likewise, “[j]ust over one-quarter of them said they do not associate with any religious faith”
“39% of 18-24 year olds identify as LGBTQ” (Historically, in the West, 1 – 3% have been practicing homosexuals but this proportion globally ranges from vanishingly small to 100% forced participation through institutionalisation, in different cultures.)
“[t]hree out of four . . . believe all religious faiths are of equal value”
on “social issues,” 40 percent [a now familiar figure] identify as liberal or progressivist, with 29% as conservative.
they identify as Democrats vs Republicans 2:1, revealing the predominant ideological influencers of their formative years
“[m]ost Millennials reject the existence of absolute moral truth and identify feelings, experiences, and advice from family and friends as their most trusted sources of moral guidance” (That is, they drift with the cultural flow and thus those who dominate education and media.)
likewise, three out of four “said that they are still searching for their purpose in life,” reflecting the influence of worldviews and cultural agendas that are antithetical to purpose, other than arbitrarily selected desires
“[o]f the nine cultural influencer categories tested, none of them were trusted by a majority to “always or almost always tell the truth or do what is right.” (This cynicism reflects disintegration of social and cultural capital built up over generations.)
“[t]he least trusted entities were entertainment celebrities, popular social media personalities, and elected government officials” (So, the influences come through peers and opinion leaders in families and groups.)
“The most highly trusted influencers were their parents and friends”
2 out of 3 “admitted to avoiding interaction with someone if it was likely to produce conflict,” which tends to block change based on mutually critical reflection and to reinforce cultural echo chambers
issues they prioritise indicate “never let a crisis go to waste” media domination of their thinking: “CORONAVIRUS MANAGEMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, ABORTION, THE ECONOMY”

The need for a sound counter-culture is patent. END

Comments

PPS: Through Lewontin's cat out of the bag moment in NYRB, we can broaden and deepen the indictment:
. . . to put a correct [--> Just who here presume to cornering the market on truth and so demand authority to impose?] view of the universe into people's heads
[==> as in, "we" the radically secularist elites have cornered the market on truth, warrant and knowledge, making "our" "consensus" the yardstick of truth . . . where of course "view" is patently short for WORLDVIEW . . . and linked cultural agenda . . . ]
we must first get an incorrect view out [--> as in, if you disagree with "us" of the secularist elite you are wrong, irrational and so dangerous you must be stopped, even at the price of manipulative indoctrination of hoi polloi] . . . the problem is to get them [= hoi polloi] to reject irrational and supernatural explanations of the world [--> "explanations of the world" is yet another synonym for WORLDVIEWS; the despised "demon[ic]" "supernatural" being of course an index of animus towards ethical theism and particularly the Judaeo-Christian faith tradition], the demons that exist only in their imaginations,
[ --> as in, to think in terms of ethical theism is to be delusional, justifying "our" elitist and establishment-controlling interventions of power to "fix" the widespread mental disease]
and to accept a social and intellectual apparatus, Science, as the only begetter of truth
[--> NB: this is a knowledge claim about knowledge and its possible sources, i.e. it is a claim in philosophy not science; it is thus self-refuting]
. . . . To Sagan, as to all but a few other scientists [--> "we" are the dominant elites], it is self-evident
[--> actually, science and its knowledge claims are plainly not immediately and necessarily true on pain of absurdity, to one who understands them; this is another logical error, begging the question , confused for real self-evidence; whereby a claim shows itself not just true but true on pain of patent absurdity if one tries to deny it . . . and in fact it is evolutionary materialism that is readily shown to be self-refuting]
that the practices of science provide the surest method of putting us in contact with physical reality [--> = all of reality to the evolutionary materialist], and that, in contrast, the demon-haunted world rests on a set of beliefs and behaviors that fail every reasonable test [--> i.e. an assertion that tellingly reveals a hostile mindset, not a warranted claim] . . . . It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us [= the evo-mat establishment] to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes [--> another major begging of the question . . . ] to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute [--> i.e. here we see the fallacious, indoctrinated, ideological, closed mind . . . ], for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door . . . [--> irreconcilable hostility to ethical theism, already caricatured as believing delusionally in imaginary demons]. [Lewontin, Billions and billions of Demons, NYRB Jan 1997,cf. here. And, if you imagine this is "quote-mined" I invite you to read the fuller annotated citation here.]
NSTA Board, 2000 shows this was not idiosyncratic:
All those involved with science teaching and learning should have a common, accurate view of the nature of science. [--> yes but a question-begging ideological imposition is not an accurate view] Science is characterized by the systematic gathering of information through various forms of direct and indirect observations and the testing of this information by methods including, but not limited to, experimentation [--> correct so far]. The principal product of science is knowledge in the form of naturalistic concepts [--> evolutionary materialistic scientism is imposed] and the laws and theories related to those [--> i.e. ideologically loaded, evolutionary materialistic] concepts . . . . science, along with its methods, explanations and generalizations, must be the sole focus of instruction in science classes to the exclusion of all non-scientific or pseudoscientific methods, explanations, generalizations and products [--> censorship of anything that challenges the imposition; fails to appreciate that scientific methods are studied through logic, epistemology and philosophy of science, which are philosophy not science] . . . . Although no single universal step-by-step scientific method captures the complexity of doing science [--> a good point, but fails to see that this brings to bear many philosophical issues], a number of shared values and perspectives characterize a scientific approach to understanding nature. Among these are a demand for naturalistic explanations [--> outright ideological imposition and censorship that fetters freedom of responsible thought] supported by empirical evidence [--> the imposition controls how evidence is interpreted and that's why blind watchmaker mechanisms never seen to actually cause FSCO/I have default claim to explain it in the world of life] that are, at least in principle, testable against the natural world. Other shared elements include observations, rational argument [--> ideological imposition may hide under a cloak of rationality but is in fact anti-rational], inference, skepticism [--> critical awareness is responsible, selective hyperskepticism backed by ideological censorship is not], peer review [--> a circle of ideologues in agreement has no probative value] and replicability of work . . . . Science, by definition, is limited to naturalistic [= evolutionary materialistic scientism is imposed by definition, locking out an unfettered search for the credibly warranted truth about our world i/l/o observational evidence and linked inductive reasoning] methods and explanations and, as such [--> notice, ideological imposition by question-begging definition], is precluded from using supernatural elements [--> sets up a supernatural vs natural strawman alternative when the proper contrast since Plato in The Laws, Bk X, is natural vs artificial] in the production of scientific knowledge. [US NSTA Board, July 2000, definition of the nature of science for education purposes]
The late Philip Johnson's retort was apt:
For scientific materialists the materialism comes first; the science comes thereafter. [Emphasis original] We might more accurately term them "materialists employing science." And if materialism is true, then some materialistic theory of evolution has to be true simply as a matter of logical deduction, regardless of the evidence.
[--> notice, the power of an undisclosed, question-begging, controlling assumption . . . often put up as if it were a mere reasonable methodological constraint; emphasis added. Let us note how Rational Wiki, so-called, presents it:
"Methodological naturalism is the label for the required assumption of philosophical naturalism when working with the scientific method. Methodological naturalists limit their scientific research to the study of natural causes, because any attempts to define causal relationships with the supernatural are never fruitful, and result in the creation of scientific "dead ends" and God of the gaps-type hypotheses." [NB: I am aware that Rational Wiki has backed away, un-announced, from the cat-out-of-the-bag direct phrasing that was in place a few years ago. That historic phrasing is still valid as a summary of what is going on.]
Of course, this ideological imposition on science that subverts it from freely seeking the empirically, observationally anchored truth about our world pivots on the deception of side-stepping the obvious fact since Plato in The Laws Bk X, that there is a second, readily empirically testable and observable alternative to "natural vs [the suspect] supernatural." Namely, blind chance and/or mechanical necessity [= the natural] vs the ART-ificial, the latter acting by evident intelligently directed configuration. [Cf Plantinga's reply here and here.] And as for the god of the gaps canard, the issue is, inference to best explanation across competing live option candidates. If chance and necessity is a candidate, so is intelligence acting by art through design. And it is not an appeal to ever- diminishing- ignorance to point out that design, rooted in intelligent action, routinely configures systems exhibiting functionally specific, often fine tuned complex organisation and associated information. Nor, that it is the only observed cause of such, nor that the search challenge of our observed cosmos makes it maximally implausible that blind chance and/or mechanical necessity can account for such.]
That theory will necessarily be at least roughly like neo-Darwinism, in that it will have to involve some combination of random changes and law-like processes capable of producing complicated organisms that (in Dawkins’ words) "give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose." . . . . The debate about creation and evolution is not deadlocked . . . Biblical literalism is not the issue. The issue is whether materialism and rationality are the same thing. Darwinism is based on an a priori commitment to materialism, not on a philosophically neutral assessment of the evidence. Separate the philosophy from the science, and the proud tower collapses. [Emphasis added.] [The Unraveling of Scientific Materialism, First Things, 77 (Nov. 1997), pp. 22 – 25.]
This was no accident, we are dealing with generations-long sustained intent.kairosfocus_{November 9, 2021
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CD, you will notice the highlighted focus in the OP:
We can start with the obvious, as within living memory of those of us who were of age to notice, between 1989 and 1991, Marxism’s credibility as a principle of economic organisation collapsed before our eyes. So, if the immediately following generation does not understand such after its seventy years of chaos, tyranny, state led murder of over 100 millions and outright economic failure, we are dealing with a generation that were deliberately misled by ideologues who cared not a whit for that horrific track record. One that is actually worse than that of Communism’s kissing cousin, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi, for short). (And yes, they meant the “Socialist.”) So, first and foremost we are dealing with a deeply manipulated generation robbed of objective truth about pivotal worldview, policy, history, ideology and personal matters. That indicts at least two to three full generations of intellectual, policy, media and educational leaders and influencers . . .
That general breakdown due to willful betrayal of duty will have across the board impacts and is decisive for ruin if not drastically reversed and that, right quick. Hence, the focus. Your strawman distractor fails. KF PS: The failure of religious leadership is part of that wider failure, across generations. Actually, we can trace the rot to the 1830's and beyond, as Heine put it:
Christianity — and that is its greatest merit — has somewhat mitigated that brutal German love of war, but it could not destroy it. Should that subduing talisman, the cross, be shattered [--> the Swastika, visually, is a twisted, broken cross . . do not overlook the obvious], the frenzied madness of the ancient warriors, that insane Berserk rage of which Nordic bards have spoken and sung so often, will once more burst into flame [--> an irrational battle- and blood- lust]. … The old stone gods will then rise from long ruins and rub the dust of a thousand years from their eyes, and Thor will leap to life with his giant hammer and smash the Gothic cathedrals. … … Do not smile at my advice — the advice of a dreamer who warns you against Kantians [--> the ugly gulch between appearance to us and being as it is], Fichteans [--> subjectivity i/l/o the gulch and i/l/o chance and mechanical necessity, rejection of revelation beyond moral law], thesis-antithesis-synthesis triad etc], and philosophers of nature [--> Scientists]. Do not smile at the visionary who anticipates the same revolution in the realm of the visible as has taken place in the spiritual. Thought precedes action as lightning precedes thunder. German thunder … comes rolling somewhat slowly, but … its crash … will be unlike anything before in the history of the world. … At that uproar the eagles of the air will drop dead [--> cf. air warfare, symbol of the USA], and lions in farthest Africa [--> the lion is a key symbol of Britain, cf. also the North African campaigns] will draw in their tails and slink away. … A play will be performed in Germany which will make the French Revolution look like an innocent idyll. [Religion and Philosophy in Germany, 1831]
kairosfocus_{November 9, 2021
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My initial post commented only on the religious findings among Millennials and offered my explanation of decreased religiosity among that age cohort. Looking at the study results, it is pretty clear that not only has religiosity declined among Millennials, but that understanding of religion, especially Christianity, seems pretty muddled and inconsistent. Some may see this as a bad thing, others may see it as a good thing. What is clear, however, is that the "two-thirds that align themselves with the Christian faith" seem to be completely confused and ill-schooled about it. That cannot be laid at the doorstep of Wokeness or Marxist faculties or LGBTQ activists. Rather it is a function of an out-of-date and bankrupt belief system ineffectively transmitted by whoever is responsible for "passing on the faith," be that parents, ministers, priests, etc. I have only observed one denomination that is partially successful in transmitting and holding on to younger members, the LDS church (Mormons). But their success comes at a great price--social and economic isolation, controlling virtually every aspect of the members' lives from the type of clothing they can wear to food they can eat to the movies they can see to the books they can read. They virtually control the public schools in the inter-mountain West, further isolate their kids through required missionary work and funnel their kids into exclusively Mormon colleges. And with all that they are only partially successful. If there is a failure among Christians to perpetuate their belief system, they need to look critically at what they are attempting to pass on and how to do it effectively and quit blaming the larger society for their failures.chuckdarwin_{November 9, 2021
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Kairosfocus, Great article--thanks!
And it’s all downhill from there, a march of patently ruinous folly.
Indeed. This is all part of the road to serfdom as Hayek puts it, or as Robert Heinlein described it:
Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as “bad luck.”
And when this "bad luck" happens in the U.S, when the currency is worthless and all cities resemble the squalor and looting now engulfing San Francisco . . . and when people are starving, the country divided up by local warlords, and the media is announcing triumphantly how much better society is now, when untold trillions are wasted on massive bureaucracies monitoring artificial problems . . . when it all collapses, then the majority of these millennials will insist that this wasn't True Socialism after all, and they'll just have to try it once again in a more prosperous country somewhere. Yes, dears, this was indeed True Socialism. It doesn't work. It has never worked. But now you're slaves. You'll get free rotten food, free minimal healthcare, free substandard housing, free mandatory indoctrination, and guaranteed (forced) employment for life! Slavery. -QQuerius_{November 8, 2021
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EDTA, align with the Christian Faith, in a post truth, post coherence world is outright compatible with atheism or apostasy sitting in the pew or standing behind the pulpit. This is not a generation that has thought through positions or believes that its points of tension can be resolved by thinking through. No wonder it is amenable to imposition of power by politicians, judges and officialdom as solution. As we are seeing with a grossly mismanaged pandemic. When reduced to cold print, it does not make sense; but that is the point, if crooked yardsticks can be imposed as pseudo standards of straight, accurate and upright, what is actually such will fail the false test. And, as there are many forms of crookedness, there is equally a locking-in to a particular brand of crooked shape, so adoption of particular crooked standards is a target feature not a bug. And we have not got to the imposition of known falsity as a means of demoralising the soul, used to subjugate those forced to conform to lawlessness to survive. See Havel's Power of the Powerless. KFkairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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Seversky, kindly start with trend no 1, how does the generation immediately following the one that witnessed the implosion of socialist ideology come up as strongly anti-capitalist and pro socialist? Where, capitalism (or more accurately free market enterprise in a lawful state), is the most successful framework for building general prosperity, technological advance and economic well-being in history. That points to systematic, willful betrayal of duty to truth, right reason and simple prudence by the intelligentsia and associated credentialled and chattering classes who seem to have been inordinately hostile to economic freedom under the civil peace of justice. This last being due balance of rights, freedoms and duties. That reflects their being wedded to various manifestations of the idolatry of political messianism, with would be political messiahs, an inordinate belief in the wisdom of officialdom and the rise of the juristocracy. The role of cultural, neo-marxist critical theories, so-called, across the span of the academy and stemming from the Frankfurt School and allies must not be underestimated, it provides the updated Marxist framework for seizure of intellectual commanding heights, formation of a programme of shaming and defaming the civilisation and the principles that led to its success ultimately in breaking down the BATNA of lawfulness opening up the way for lawless unaccountable oligarchy. We can already see the outlines of a surveillance and control, spy and report, none may buy or sell or speak save the duly permitted state. Where, ideologised oligopolies in key sectors such as big tech, big media, education, medicine/pharma etc are now allies of lawless unaccountable officialdom. That is actually Fascism, kissing cousin of Communism, but both are seriously destructive, murderous ideologies. So, try the label and dismiss as you please, that does not remove the signature of betrayal of civilisation, nor the long train of abuses and usurpations in pursuit of a demonic design of subjugation under lawless oligarchy. KFkairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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To me, this addiction to apocolyptophilia reads more like a scare-tactic campaign to try and drive people back into the arms of Christianity. Yes, viewed worldwide, human society is a mess but then it always has been. Fondly-remembered "golden ages", viewed in a wider context, were relatively brief bright spots that, on closer examination were more like a veneer over much more tangled and sordid undergrowth. We're not about to plunge over some metaphorical cliff into chaos, we've always been in something close to it but we mostly just try to avert our eyes. As a species we spent a long time living in clan or tribal or village societies. As the human population of this planet exploded, it has found itself faced with the enormous problems of sustaining, administering and governing numbers on an unprecedented scale with basically nothing to guide us. Small wonder it's been a messy, unfair, bloody, tragically wasteful business so far and it doesn't look like it'll be much better in the foreseeable future.Seversky_{November 8, 2021
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As usual, CD trots out an old claim, that old folks have been complaining about youth forever. But notice that there's no depth, no analysis of current-day trends, nothing but anecdote, and so nothing of substance added to the conversation.EDTA_{November 8, 2021
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Never cared for Barna's results; always skewed toward the negative, usually by asking slanted questions. (I went in-depth on one of his surveys, and found the questions/options quite leading to the negative...) One good thing in the above: "The least trusted entities were entertainment celebrities, popular social media personalities, and elected government officials." "Roughly two-thirds align with the Christian faith"? That doesn't quite go with the other stats, such as only one-third believing in God. The summary above doesn't clear that up.EDTA_{November 8, 2021
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@Chuckdarwin #8 I work with a number of millennials in my profession. And while the vast majority of them are decent people, many (although certainly not all) display a very pronounced "Me First" attitude, and a great deal of narcism. They're also, in my opinion, much less empathetic than previous generations; these unsympathetic tendencies could perhaps be a reflection of the particular home environment for which they up in, but I'm not a sociologist, so. Moreover, I think the ability to think logically and critically is noticeably absent among many millennials. I've witnessed this first-hand. For example, I had the dubious pleasure of interacting with one millennial on a social media platform who was berating the idea of capitalism, suggesting it should be completely done away with, and that it was quite literarily the worst thing ever invented. When they were finished their tirade, I asked the individual if he/she liked the social media platform—one that was founded on the principles of capitalism—they were using to air their grievance. Crickets!. Your belief that millennials are more tolerant than their forbearers is fascinating! From my experience, I would argue that the so-called tolerance espoused by millennials is still very much a one-way street; you're tolerated so long as you agree with their views. If you don't, look out! This is evident in the current "cancel culture" our society is now in the grips of. Why be tolerant when you can just cancel those you disagree with. Mark Zuckerberg, based on age, would classify as a millennial. Yet, Trump supporting conservative are anything but tolerated on FaceBook, or whatever it's called now. I do agree with you on one point, though, Big Tech, and perhaps Big Pharma, are a major threat to democracy and individual freedoms—and it's on full display!KRock_{November 8, 2021
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I hired and trained Millennial kids for the last ten years of my career and they are smart, driven, competent
Nothing to do with their beliefs and core attitudes. If true, anecdotal at best and essentially irrelevant.
Instead of demonstrating incredible naiveté and trying to trot out communisim as a threat to our world order
You are the one who trotted out communism.
look at the rise of multi-national corporatization
Who said anything about supporting large corporations. There are different ways the government controls the economy and big corporations is becoming a way to do that. That’s how fascism did it.
AND (this is important) light years more tolerant of their fellow human beings than their forbearers.
What has this to do with anything? You are contradicting the talking points of the left who claim we are a racist society.
unbridled capitalism leads to corporate hegemony.
Who is for unbridled capitalism? I’m not and doubt Kf is. I mentioned freedom as the necessary ingredient for the modern world. Unbridled capitalism is not free market capitalism. It’s actually mutually inconsistent with it. Your comment is a series of non-sequiturs and irrelevancies.jerry_{November 8, 2021
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OA94, do you have a serious survey on that, esp as they are in formative years and largely under the influence of the messed up generation? KFkairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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CD, I started with the obviously willful suppression of the failure of the most dangerous, most murderous all-time ideology for a reason. It shows that betrayal by those duty bound to provide sound education is an established fact, one we should duly note and deem those perpetuating or enabling it as of negative credibility. In short, if you cannot get marxism right, you should be sidelined for cause. From that, it is easy to see that the rest of the body of opinions and arguments supporting the agenda that needs to erase history bought with that much blood and tears, is patently a ruinous menace; enemies of sound civilisation is not too stringent a description. We have a seriously messed up generation here, heading for disaster. Beyond that the time has come for a counter culture alternative that can work to restore soundness.Telling the truth about marxism, its fellow travellers and the power and influence elites who have willfully misled and betrayed us regarding the most murderous ideology in history and its current tactics -- Cultural Marxism and its clutch of so-called critical theories busily subverting the academy and education -- is a good place to start. KFkairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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Puh-leeze, Kairofocus and Jerry Get some perspective. I hired and trained Millennial kids for the last ten years of my career and they are smart, driven, competent AND (this is important) light years more tolerant of their fellow human beings than their forbearers. Instead of demonstrating incredible naiveté and trying to trot out communisim as a threat to our world order, maybe you'd be smarter to look at the rise of multi-national corporatization (see, I can do polysyllabic too ). Facebook and Twitter and Pay-Pal and Amazon and United Health Care and Big Pharma represent far greater threats to your autonomy and privacy than Stalin ever could have dreamed. The government isn't de-platforming folks or banning them from media access--corporate CEOs are. The government isn't manipulating drug prices, Big Pharma is. The government isn't selling your demographic information, Mastercard is. The government isn't shaping your spending behavior, Amazon is. Marx did reiterate one clear truth--unbridled capitalism leads to corporate hegemony. But we didn't need Marx to tell us that, its the law of the jungle. Wow, starting to sound a lot like natural selection....chuckdarwin_{November 8, 2021
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For what it's worth--maybe not much--the generation following the Millennials are much more grounded in reality. I don't know if that will make any difference as we continue marching toward the cliff, but I did want to point it out.OldArmy94_{November 8, 2021
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CD, no, this is civilisational breakdown without precedent. The start-point, utter ignorance or dismissal of the hard empirical verdict on Marxist experiments and linked state domination of the economy only thirty years past speaks volumes on a generation systematically misled by those whose duty was to teach soundly. And it's all downhill from there, a march of patently ruinous folly. KFkairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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But the world keeps on turning and when necessary, they will step up and manage to thrive.
But they never do. Do you have examples? No because they don’t exist.
botched legacy of a Christian … world and would dare to try something different
What built the modern world? Answer: Christianity and freedom. It started in 17th century England and a little bit in Holland and then spread to the English colonies. Then to the rest of Europe and then to other places after World War II. Japan was the lone exception and they tried to mimic Western culture even to the point of adopting their clothing. I have a question. Do you understand anything you post? Certainly not about evolution and here human nature. I suggest you read about Ibn Khaldun and Asabiyyah. The one thing I do know is that when things start falling apart they will blame it on Trump.jerry_{November 8, 2021
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This happens every time one generation passes the torch to the next. How the young don't measure up, how they have no values, how they are incapable of governing themselves, etc. ad nauseum. Per Jerry:
The Millennials will never be able to govern themselves and each day we are closer to that.
But the world keeps on turning and when necessary, they will step up and manage to thrive. Perhaps it is the Christian God's time to fade into the pantheon of gods and spirits and demiurges and all the other various iterations of what Carl Sagan called the demon-haunted world that have come and gone. Perhaps (I think rightly so) young people are getting tired of Christianity's constant scolding about our brokenness, our fallen nature, our incorrigibleness. Perhaps they simply find the notions of people rising from the dead or angelic end time wars of destruction and damnation too outlandish. Per Kairofocus:
[F]irst and foremost we are dealing with a deeply manipulated generation robbed of objective truth about pivotal worldview, policy, history, ideology and personal matters.
Perhaps Millennials simply see Christianity as the ultimate form of manipulation because it lays claim to one's very soul through the horrific promise of eternal damnation for all but a very few "elect." Perhaps they see the botched legacy of a Christian, Jewish and Muslim world and would dare to try something different......chuckdarwin_{November 8, 2021
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The neo-Jacobins are on the marchkairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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A couple things: I saw the title and read the brief description and said to myself, Kf will be interested in this. Then I saw who the author is. Second, it’s over. It’s just the end game that is in doubt. And how soon. C19 has been an eye opener. The Millennials will never be able to govern themselves and each day we are closer to that. Aside: this has all been discussed before and there is no solution. The article is almost book length. But essentially there is no common culture and those who want to destroy have learned this is key for destruction, promote the opposite as a benefit and virtuous. The progression then advances to the old culture is the cause of our problems and must be destroyed. That’s where we are now.jerry_{November 8, 2021
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Barna profiles a generation on the cliff’s crumbling edge — 78 million US Millennialskairosfocus_{November 8, 2021
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