Sometimes I am required by disposition to drop to my knees in thankful and appreciative prayer for the intellectual and honest fellowship on these pages; this is one of those times.
When I describe the nature of our affiliation to those in similar networks, some of those you would likely call familiar, I am often asked why I spend so much time reviewing the commenting section of our diverse conversation on the porch. My answer is the same as the repeated emphasis I provided to those who rescued us from the Big Tech deplatforming effort… “the conversation is the point.”
You are the absolute best group of online people assembled. PERIOD. You are what makes me smile, feel optimistic, feel encouraged and positive about the future amid the whirlwind of chaos generated by the professional political class. Quite simply, you.. that’s right, YOU, are the modern WE THE PEOPLE. Feel good about that as you look at the person you see in the mirror when you brush your teeth. Give yourself credit, you are awesome.
An incredible conversation starts with one simple and profoundly interesting point from Lorrie…
“I teach humanities in a public middle school. The history portion of the curriculum is the study of ancient civilizations. I NEVER espouse either my personal religious or political views — ever!
Yesterday I asked my students to write down — as a quick write– what they knew about our current government– who is in charge… how does it work…
NADA. Zilch.
These kids write every single day in my class.
Many left the paper blank.
Most said, “I don’t know anything about our government.” A few mentioned who the president is.
Hmmmm…..
Ten years ago, I had students yammering their opinions on all sorts of political topics. I realize that usually they were parroting what they hear from family members.
Today, silence.”
Big wisdom follows from Paul:
“I don’t put it on the kids because in your original post you mention that 10 years ago, kids yammered away with opinions. Something shifted. It’s why I asked the question.
This tells me they are not hearing it at home. Their parents are not talking about it. Nor are others around them. Then they spend hours upon hours on their phones on social media.
They are isolated and being manipulated. They just don’t know it. And their parents ignore it because they too, more than likely, have been swallowed by the Borg.
Sad times.”
A simple response, with just as profound an affirmation from Oscar:
“Sad to confirm Paul but everything you say is true and has swallowed up my 20 yo daughter. The self isolation and 100% reliance on her phone for information is beyond disturbing to me. I pay for her phone because it helps her keep her job. I’m seriously thinking of pulling the plug and forcing her to pay phone expenses.
I speak with her regularly regarding current events, Gaza, Biden, etc. but have a hard time staying calm. She doesn’t read anything other than what’s spoon fed her through her iphone. She has zero historical context or background for any of her communist inspired rhetoric. She is completely manipulated. Her two brothers are complete MAGA and know what’s happening.
Her older sister is Lib and will not change due to peer pressure among the elite crowd in NYC that she works and socializes with. Obviously, my experience has been much tougher with my two daughters. I used to believe that a liberal is a future conservative once they age, pay taxes and are mugged by reality. My daughter in NYC has been mugged once by herself visiting DC and again in DC with her hyper lib, former college roommate (all within the last 18 months) and they both are still Lib. I will never give up on them. I constantly send them conservative, logical articles (VDH is a favorite) and I always try to lead by example.”
Please, if you are so inclined, let us continue this conversation in this breakout post.
There is large value within this discussion and trust me – I, along with millions of like-minded mules, some with a profound reach and beyond your imagining importance, read every single word with contemplation, introspection and appreciation.
♦ Last point. When you drop a stone into a pond a ripple is created. The ripple expands in an ever-increasing circle. Once you drop the stone, there is no way to reverse the process of the ripple expanding. Such is the pond of life and ultimately the love, wisdom and value you drop within it.
This simple fellowship we call The Conservative Treehouse exists, because of you – not me, YOU.
You are the point.
You are the value.
You are the gift.
Feel that…. along with my profound appreciation for your incredible value.
Love to all.
Steadfast,
~ Sundance
I was rivetted by Lorrie’s revelation. I suspect it goes even beyond families not discussing government but perhaps to the ability to read and reason.
People complain if they have to read more than a couple sentences, let alone say 50,000 words complied into a BOOK. Memes are preferred.
The meanings of words are changed online but when you have real books to read printed decades ago the meanings can’t be twisted.
I wonder if the diminished ability to read and reason is due to medications prescribed, fluoride, aluminum and poisons in our foods and water.
I think the inability to read and reason has to do with family life, the education system and the hours and hours children spend on social media.
Children are losing or have list their ability to read because it requires time and attention. They have only the attention span for short things like TikTok videos and texts. If they do watch a movie it has to be action packed and full of intensity or else their attention span wanes in a very short time.
Parents, if you MUST give your child a phone, give them a dumb phone. Issue it to them every morning and take it from them every day when they come home.
Have a family computer for them to use for school work.
Keep them away from a major tool of the demonic enemy.
When they grow up and become responsible, thinking adults they will bless you for looking out for them.
The Smartphone is the devil’s right hand.
I’m right there with you!
What is truly lost is critical thinking. They are spoon fed all the info, although most of the info is false, they still believe it. When you sit down with a book, you have to use your mind and that my friends is what is lost today with our youth.
I have spent time with a college English professor at a state school in WI. He stated that every freshman student he taught, last year, had never read a comlete book. The average reading level was 8th grade.
SAD!
China rules Hollyweird and TikTok.
Like minded God fearing God loving Treepers….people with values…I love the diverse content of items we bring to the table to discuss…educational, informative, thought provoking…and some with humor!
IMHO–about 20 years ago, parents gave their kids kindles and later on, cell phones then ipads etc….all so they would be “entertained” with the so called benefit of the potential for the “educational” aspect…access to content etc…when parents just wanted the kids to be entertained and leave them alone…the modern day of plunking the child in front of the idiot box. Many of those parents are of the indoctrination generation.
At the same time, it was noted, minimally in the media…that the guru’s like Gates, and others, limited their own children’s screen time….
Computer and app site algorithms destroy critical thinking and creativity outside the box.
You triggered me on fluoride…it has been known to NOT prevent cavities or at least questionable. It has been known to cause arthritis in later life and impair cognitive development in kids….with a loss of about 7 IQ points per this article…:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/fluoride-childrens-health-grandjean-choi/
I have often felt a lot of the toxic products found in every day items are there because the industrial globalists have found a way to get rid of their toxic waste they have no use for. And get paid in the process, by you, dear consumer. Ain’t “Marketing” grand….you get convinced by, globalists, that something bad, is good.
Paging Erin Brockovich….
Kind of like when your village charges a recycling fee…then…
mandates recycling….paid for by you dear citizen…
then mandates in one example, using paper lawn bags for yard waste… that one must purchase for yard waste disposal from the grocery store or Home Depot… (to remove the grass or leaves from your property)and no doubt sell to companies that make mulch or peat moss…while the consumer packages it nicely in a recycled paper bag…prepaid.
Sorry about the rant…its been a long day.
Agreed 110%! I was wondering the other day if God might answer our prayers for help against the globalists planned destruction of us with a major Carrington event that wipes out all the technology, AI all gone.
I really like having electricity but maybe it would be a good thing to stop it all.
Talk about a RESET. Real books would be treasured.
Hi All,
As some may know – I’m smack bang in the Centre of Australia & I work with some of the most avowed cultural marxists one could ever come across. I’m rushing a bit, because it is time to go to work here 🙂
Yesterday I had a colleague begin a conversation with me about the Government & how they are trying to push us all down even more – she is an Aboriginal (or First Nations as they now prefer to be referred to) woman who is very strong in her culture & family beliefs. The conversation then went to the impending lock downs & more damned jabs & people being forced out of the workforce.
The conversation gave me so much hope as I thought I was the only person who could see what was going on – but no – she has asked me to get involved with a ‘resistance’ group here in my hometown!!! Because I’m one of those people that get’s my information & news from a diverse range of sites, I rarely pay any attention to the local madness – but as she said – we have to talk about the issues.
I go to work everyday & treat ppl with kindness, dignity & respect – I’m gentle with my views and just toss nuggets in whenever I can…it’s paying off.
Above all – we all have to pray that this madness ends. Be kind to those around you – the truth is always the truth, and ppl will come to it in their own time.
God Bless the USA & Australia – our governments may crap all over the relationship between our countries, but please be assured that the people are still allies!
be careful and tread lightly until you’re sure what you’re getting into
there are traps everywhere
Hence one of the motivations for their Social pressure applied, the attempts at shaming, denigrating and verbal and even physical assaults.
Imagine two people, who work side by side in a large company, both MAGA, but keeping their MAGA hats under a bushel.
In daily conversations with co-workers, they parrot the libby talking points, in order to avoid the ostracism, or even job loss that they believe would come from being open.
One day due to a chance conversation, each realises the other is “like me”, but wait theres more.
In a company of over 100 workers, it turns out their are 3-5 hardcore and loud, strident “libtards”, however because everybody else is intimidated, theirs is the only voice thats heard, giving the impression they are the majority.
In Cali I discovered that actually 20% were Maga.. the same 20%that do most of the work. Also most of management was Maga.
Once I was outed as Maga I was ostracized, and laid off after covid and the rest of the libs returned to the office.
Since then I’ve moved to NC still working remotely at a cali company, very aware that could happen again. In my personal life I am free to express my political views, in bitemes America I need my job so its important to know my boundaries.
Welcome to NC.
That scenario is absolutely true throughout the entire country. The libtards have the loudest voices because they know the fake news will back them up.
Goes to the top. Mutual fund boards are lib. They control boards, who are lib, then install lib leadership. Your 401k in statestreet and blackrock buys the voting power at the funds that is used against you in corporate America. The leadership of funds are by definition globalists, so they will sellout your neighborhood for profit. Globalism is a polite term for “profits over community” with the salve for their societal harm sold as lib DEI and green.
Your response reminds me of why we are sometimes referred to as the “silent majority”. It took the first campaign of Barrack Hussein Obama for President for me to learn that the church that I had attended and was actively involved in for ten years to learn just how liberal that church was. I left soon after my revelation and never looked back.
So true. The Lefties are able to be loud and vindictive against any and all who disagree with them. We need to realize that although they get to yammer on, they have less than half the Country in their corner.
It’s a shame that Ronna and the RNC refuse to acknowledge what the greater half of this Country wants.
They do not, because they are the GOP-E, the elites, who do not want to return the USA to WTP, because it would not be financially beneficial to them.
In groups of people that don’t know each other very well liberals don’t hesitate to blurt out their political opinions. Their default assumption is that most people are like them and they know few, if any, people on the Right. Our side, raised on the practice of not discussing religion or politics in polite company unless you know that the people around you are of the same persuasion remain silent. This is how they get away with this crap.
You just described my office exactly @dutchman and I mean exactly, gave me chills. I live in Maine and in my small office there are 1-3 vocal LGBTQ’rs that will go to HR if they even hear whispered discussion of a family hunting trip (OMG guns frighten them). Turns out, there are many more of US but what happens is, HR always seems to believe/support their right to be offended and therefore, mums the word. Did I mention I work for State Govt and we have a leftist Administration.
We need to have more Conservatives elected to government positions, especially the “in charge” positions. GLOBALLY.
It looks like Canada is seeing a bend to the “right” as Pierre Poilievie, a conservative Canadian politician, may well be looking to run against Trudeau. Also in Canada, in the Canadian Province of Alberta, Danielle Smith, a premier, has fought against Trudeau’s “clean electricity regulations.” She took it to one of the high courts there, and they called it in her favor.
Look at The Netherlands, with conservative Geert Wilders’ overwhelming win in their recent elections.
Look at Hungary’s conservative PM, Viktor Orban. He never gives up, he never gives in, and the citizens love him for that.
Georgia Meloni, in Italy is to be reckoned with for her conservative views.
“WE THE PEOPLE” in every sovereign Country want to be rid of the Globalists’ marching orders.
I pray for all those leaders sticking their collective necks out for freedom. and for the demolition of the BIG GLOBAL BROTHERHOOD, led by Gates, his EU partners, Soros, and the USA Leftists (Kerry, Obama, Val J., and the rest of the commies in power in the USA.)
OMG: I forgot to mention the recent election in New Zealand, where Christopher Luxon got the majority vote. The citizens refuted anybody who planned to further the policies of Lefty Jacinda Ardern.
Yes, the Global landscape is changing for the better.
We are part of the Walk to Emmaus community. Australia has a very strong one as well. The Aussie’s are very special. They love the Lord and are led by His spirit. They, like us have lost the vote to machines. Not fighting for gun rights was damaging as well. We should learn from them. But again, there are many God fearing, patriot loving Australians half way across the world! God bless Australia. May it be free from the WEF, WHO, & the globalist cult that would rule her.
James Delingpole conducted an excellent interview in July 2023 with Feargus O’Connor, who provides extensive advice about how to persuade normies, who are too well-conditioned by the narrative to think outside of it.
As O’Connor states, normies know the least, but obey the most. If given the truth in a compassionate way, he contends that there is a chance normies will become doubters. Doubters of course will be more open to much more of the truth.
For the full details, go here: https://delingpole.podbean.com/e/feargus-o-connor-greenwood/
It’s an hour and 17 minutes long. Be prepared to take notes.
Being a career service member, I did my best to keep my kids centered. My two boys have survived indoctrination by having to break out on their own in an uncaring world. Both are successful and centered. My daughter grew up loving dance, voice and theater. She cheered in High School in a small military Texas town. Upon graduation, she came out to live with me after years of forced court separation and parental alienation of me by her mother. I was happy to gift my hard earned education benefit to my daughter, and her college tuition was fully funded by the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Unfortunately, her degree was earned at “The Evergreen State College” in Olympia, WA…a bastion of indoctrination, anti-US sentiment, and LGBTQAI+ promotion. I’m afraid she is very much insulated from rational thought and discourse. She has surrounded herself with like-minded peers and has a relationship with a “they/them”. I pray regularly for a “road to Damascus” epiphany for her. My recent subscription to “Ground News” has opened my eyes to the types of media she exposes herself to. I truly believe this is a war of good vs evil. We can pray for those seeking darkness. I seek the light.
I have found that sometimes it helps to be genuinely curious about a person’s beliefs and ask gentle questions about the more ridiculous aspects, questions that in their hearts they have had themselves.
They will be more open to discussing their beliefs if they feel respected as a person. Then little seeds of reality might be planted and take root.
Deployed too long. She is at the most vulnerable time now. You and your boy’s discernment spoken with gentle smiles will challenge her to look further at what you say. I am a 82 year old grandma, who has raised 3 sets of rebellious teenagers. It is a very, very slow process. Their mindsets will astound. But, your ability to stand and refuse to be shocked at their ideas will bring you and your daughter out a winner. Praying for you and your. Blessings.
I am so sorry for your situation. We can only do what we can do, and pray for the strength and courage to “be there” while holding on to our basic beliefs. I am there (in your shoes) with one of my daughters. It’s always been a pull-tug fest between us. She in the not so recent past divorced the guy who loved her. She is in her late 40s and still taking college courses (she already has a couple of BAs and BS degrees).
she is looking to re-locate. She misses the ocean, however she refuses to go “south of VA. She also would rather die than to ever live in FL with the “Dictator DeSantis.”
Yes, DTL, you’ve got your troubles, I’ve got mine. Some of our offspring got totally indoctrinated. Pray for them and continue to love them.
Just let her do the talking and keep loving her. This is all by communist design, destroying families.
My father was a conservative who argued with me by debating and asking questions and challenging me through the late 60’s when I was caught up in all that extreme leftism back then. I fought him constantly and didn’t turn conservative until the late 80’s when he had already passed away. But when I became conservative I became just like him.
I suspect this will happen to a lot of the families I read about here. Eventually, the daughter or son runs out of arguments and all the things the parent has been saying have after all sung in.
Thank you so much for keeping us enlightened and for keeping the truth at the forefront of our daily life. God bless you and yours.
Serious question. What is it that’s worse about the smart phones? Are they that much more addictive than televisions and other media were for past generations?
I have recognized the Matrix since I was a young child, while those around me swallowed decades of propaganda, bread and circuses. I’m not so convinced of the distinction.
I remember my parents hooked to their TV shows and everything Hollyweird. I believe their generation was led down a primrose path, as bad or worse than this generation’s.
I also see the younger generation giving the ENEmedia a wide berth. They also have more access to the *truth* than did previous generations, who were bound ever so tightly to the Matrix.
The answer to your question in a nutshell?
Your parents did not carry a television in their pockets everywhere they went.
I am an adult and I carry my Iphone everywhere I go
So?
Did you grow up with a smart phone or are you as old as I am?
I remember party lines and having a rotary phone in the kitchen!
Everywhere?
There is also a greater intimacy with a person or thing that is mere inches from your face.
The world tends to be shut out when you are so up close and personal with some one or thing.
I am so old, I remember picking up the phone and an actual “operator” who was a real life human being (always a woman) asked what number you wanted. And yes, party lines; then it progressed to not needing the actual physical “operator” if you knew the number you wanted to dial The “operator” was there for emergencies or for a problem connecting to a number, or for asking information for a name or number.
“Those Were The Days.” [girls were girls and men were men…. didn’t need no welfare state, everybody pulled his weight… gee our old LaSalle ran great….]
I think I am even older than you. I remember when the only tv was like 10 inches black and white and played Gene Autry movies or WWII movies or It’s Howdy Doody Time.
I remember calling WE6-1212 to get the weather report, and ME7-1212 to get the correct time. I also remember the TV (all 10 channels) shutting off simultaneously at midnight after playing the Star Spangled Banner. Then it was static til the morning.
For extensive research on the shift in social behavior brought about by social media via smart phones, see the excellente data ad analyisis by Greg Lukianoff President & CEO of FIRE, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind w/ Jon Haidt & the forthcoming The Canceling of the American Mind w/ Rikki Schlott
His writing is available at https://substack.com/@glukianoff
Short story: Beginning in 2014 the mental health of children and adolescents began to decline. This correlates with the spread of smart phones. Currently, according to Haidt and Lukianoff, 50% of young females in particular demographic groups (i.e., white, liberal, middle/upper income) are receiving prescribed mental health/medical services and treatment.
Ora pro nobis.
I think it’s the combination of instant gratifications for socializing and entertainment, and small screens that limit the uptake and sharing of solid information.
At home I use a desktop computer. Often there is a child reading right along beside me, and if it is memes, then they are all interested. I’ve had many opportunities to provide context and insights, not just into what I believe, but into the other side’s beliefs as well.
they allow you to live in a virtual world with virtual people 356/24/7. One day, too late, many will wake up and realize they have wasted an entire life in that virtual world.
IMO, the danger of smart phones and much of the media, entertainment and “news” is the encouragement of Narcissism. Selfies, cosmetic advertising, Likes, Clicks, Friending, public criticism, Outing, being Anonymous, being “something or somebody” you’re not, etc.
Ask any child to see their photos taken on their phone; don’t be surprised if the vast majority are of themselves.
Your perspective is encouraging!
A great reminder that our job as parents is the most important one. I started homeschooling this year. I’m thankful for the small parts. I was able to take my kids to the voting booth with me and explain how it all works, who the “blue team” and “red team” are, etc. The small things turn into a day of learning.
Did you explain why the curtain only comes down to the knees and why democrats are on the left and republicans are on the right? It is called the Chicago Two Step.
You need to teach them about government corruption in their everyday lives.
Ceak, About 10 years ago, when our daughter was a Junior looking at colleges to attend, she was completely po’d when I told her we would not even pay the $10 to add Brown to her Common App. A lot of our high school go to Ivies, and Stanford…. and we watched kids of friends go off & come back after a few semesters & turn up their privileged noses at the rubes back home. We purposely told her we would not financially support her going to schools that were not teaching and seeking the Truth.
She ended up getting a great classical liberal arts education in a small VA college, and at our suggestion, took one accounting/business class each semester. Fast forward 10 years and she’s supporting herself, has a great career, and is conservative, in one the prettiest stupidest liberal cities in Texas. Prayers and showing her how to get her ‘money’s worth’ since a tot, has produced good results when she too seeks truth and excellence.
If we were raising kids today, we definitely w/b homeschooling and wouldn’t have to be in a large Texas city for the great primary schools, which have been dropping their standards and letting in stupid ideas around the edges.
That’s great. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Society’s personality has changed. I have worked at a large retailer for 18 years and it’s obvious. The breakroom used to be loud with conversation and card games and discussions and laughter. The older generation was outgoing. Caring. Interesting.
Our store isn’t friendly anymore. The young people don’t look at you. They don’t say hi. They are on their phone at any spare time. Instead of a conversation they choose a social media. It’s convenient and easier than getting to know another person.
When I used to leave for the day, 10 people would say goodbye. Now nobody does.
Our youth have stunted personality growth.
This will not change. There is no path to change it. They can’t see it so they do not miss it. My son was an only child and I had 3 siblings. I told him once that I regretted not have a child closer to his age to have that kinship with. He replied that his life feels normal to him and doesn’t know what he would have gained from having siblings his age.
It’s a sad reality. This youth will govern us one day. Power will be absorbed by the personalities and happily relinquished by the zombies. They know no different. The personality class will appear smarter and more capable socially. And they will be. The zombies will allow civilization to be destroyed eventually. I hope that I am wrong.
I fervently pray you are wrong. This class of miscreants will return to a lower favorability than they now have. A way lower status. The right shall prevail, as in Longfellow’s poem which was made into a Christmas Carol:
Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
(Peace on Earth)
(Peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men
stunted is a good word. stunted and sideways. but, God will have the last word in this world.
Dehumanization taking place. 40 yrs. from now most will have kyphosis and blindness.
I cannot discuss anything even slightly political with my daughter and her husband. She just doesn’t want to hear anything I have to say. Even though I am a doctor and medically trained, she does not want to hear anything about SARS CoV2 because “That’s political.” I know enough about the “vaccines” to know they are dangerous and definitely should not be given to her two small sons, but I can’t even give her information about this. I am completely silenced. My whole family is progressive and they hate Donald Trump, or whatever it is they think is Donald Trump. They are all so ignorant. It’s not like there’s a difference of opinion. They refuse to even discuss their opinions or listen to mine. Whenever we have tried, they get upset and stop the discussion. They do not want to hear anything that doesn’t agree with whatever talking points they’ve heard on NPR.
We can be together, and I am always as loving and cordial as I can be, but that’s it. There are just so many topics that are off the table that at times it feels stilted. But I can’t just walk away from them and not have any relationship at all with all the members of my family. So I spend time with them and listen to them and try to maintain the connection in the hopes that some day we will be able to unite again
Being able to read points of view here has been very helpful for me in considering that I am not all alone in the universe with concerns about the direction our country is going in. I very much appreciate a lot of the points that are made here, and I have learned a lot from Sundance too. It is priceless to have this community of like minded patriots.
Dr. Fleury,
Ditto. You have described perfectly my family’s dynamics!
I suspect endless NPR shows (and the NYT Daily) are what the damned will be listening to in hell.
Patience and charity. Let’s hope and pray for sanity to return.
I feel you…while not a doctor and I have no letters and no formal training, I do consider myself well informed and quite aware of facts and the science of mRNA gene therapy…and of course that sars-cov-2 was in fact a man made bioweapon…
I have very strong opinions. And yes, this is off putting to many people, some in my own family circle. I understand that. Here is how I have come to deal with it:
not everyone is reading and understanding the same information. It’s just reality. We all come to at these subjects with different attitudes, moods and presumptions. It’s a LOT like watching a football game if you will. we are all watching the same game, but there are different opinions about whether that was a correct referee call, or if the strategy is sound or not. Or who is going to win. In a sense this competitive nature about human being “to be right” carries across so many different subjects and issues. I like pepsi..you like coke. It’s silly, but arguments happen over the silliest of reasons.
and then there is timing…I am guilty of this. I like to introduce some issue that is important to me and sometime I expect everyone who is listening to be ready and to get engaged. This is really an unfair assumption and of all my faults this is the one that happens to cause problems for me more than any other. I have this tendency to just assume everyone is ready all the time (my time) to talk and get serious and dive deep into an issue.
it never really works like that.
one skill I am honing is to learn how to read the room..the feel when the opportunity is right and when it’s time to just shut up and stop engaging. If you don’t get the feedback signals, just stop…change the subject…you will never get anywhere and you are wasting your time and also wasting emotional intelligence and making relationships harder to improve if you go on and on insisting YOUR SUBJECT MUST BE HEARD.
staying quiet and shutting up does not come easy for me. It’s not my natural tendency..which is to say, I’ve not spent much time honing the skill. But it is something I am paying more attention to.
Am I effective? it’s a simple question. If I get the sense I am not effective..time to stop and wait for a better opportunity.
God Bless America
Agree, I had a peaceful Thanksgiving this year because I learned the art of listening and zipping my lip.
Mass formation psychosis explains this mindset, which is closed to all reasoning. Half my family is like that, too. Can’t even hold a rational discussion.
See the explanation for this powerful phenomenon, according to psychologist Mattias Desmet from the University of Ghent.
Very, very true, Judit. And Mass Psychosis explains a LOT of history, that’s for sure. Between M.P. and Narcissism, especially Diabolical Narcissism, we’ve got ýe world pretty much explained.
How do we solve such a mess, short of exorcism?
Wow, I was in the same position three years ago with my family/friends. This year we had a peaceful Thanksgiving because we are on the same page. Thank God! It is stressful but still love, pray and lead by example.
I decided during the scamdemic to go full kamikaze. Talking did no good so I let whoever I was with witness me being told to leave establishments because I refused to wear a mask, even at my Dr’s office. I protested at school board meetings, for their children, they saw me on TV, and on the front page of a local newspaper but it worked, I saved them from certain death. It was exhausting but worth it…
It boiled down to lack of common sense and ignorance of our Constitutional rights, at Christmas that year I gave them all a pocket Constitution. Two years later they thank me, well sort of.
Perfectly sums up our relationship with our daughter and her husband since the Geo Floyd event! My theory is that they cannot defend their own woke belief system, so they must avoid any sort of discussion at all costs. It is very disheartening to see such behavior in otherwise intelligent, rational people. Virtue-signalling is the hill they are willing to die on.
An observation from a parent of four. I was raised in the NE, moved to the Deep Red South for college and after a military career stayed in the South. In that time my kids have moved around every four years with me all over the country and have had different experiences. My middle Son, due to medical and development issues needed IEP (extra help in school) and was the only one who could not attend Catholic private schools. They do not offer any IEP help and have no time for kids who fall behind. Not a dig, I get it, just unfortunate for kids who fit that description.
He’s extremely smart but is the only leftist among my kids. I can only deduce that public school is to blame, based on the sample. Not only is he vocal and confrontational with me and about my views but is visibly more miserable than the other three. As most lefties are, it is sad to me, and he refuses to admit how those views are stunting his own emotional growth. I only try and do the best I can to provide facts and remain calm when he wants to refute things I say. Honestly, I feel that remaining calm infuriates the moon bats more than anything, lol. But I hold out hope for him. He’s mine and I will not give up.
You are correct in stating that the moonbats are infuriated when we remain calm. Our calm resolve is a dagger to their false beliefs. Pray they open their eyes and ears and hearts. God bless.
never give up and keep praying.
You sound like Jeff Kuhner on WRKO radio, he had to take his kids out of Catholic school too for the same reason. Two months in his 11 yrs old daughter is calling him a racist.
Alas, there’s Catholicism and Catholicism. One has to be careful where one places one’s kids, or one’s feet (i.e. what Mass to attend or who to associate with).
You misread, the three in Catholic school are not the issue. Public school was my issue. Thanks.
Sundance, we appreciate all you write teach and show us. God bless you, sir.
I was a classroom teacher for 25 years (I’ve become embarrassed to admit this, given what passes as a “teacher” today!) IMHO, I believe things took a left in the 60s when American history, geography, and civics were clumped together under the “Social Studies” umbrella. This enabled these subjects to be watered down instead of being taught individually in detail. In addition, a number of new subjects, most of which reflected a move to the left, were added to the Social Studies curriculum. As a result, we now have generations of students who know more about diversity, equity and inclusion than they do about our founding documents and the freedoms they guarantee (or how past generations fought to protect them.) As a grandmother, I have advised my conservative children to avoid sending their kids to college (unless it’s a fundamentalist Christian school) to prevent them from being indoctrinated beyond repair. I was someone who viewed my role as “educator” as a weighty responsibility, and I can’t tell you how it pains me to feel this way. But, as Sundance points out, truth doesn’t care about our feelings. I just pray that it isn’t too late to find a way to turn this mess around!
Hillsdale is supposed to be a very good, Conservative, Judeo-Christian based school.
I’ve also heard good things about Liberty U. Problem is, both Hillsdale and Liberty are becoming very selective because of a big increase in applicants.
Brace Yourself For What’s Coming in 2024 – Victor Davis Hanson
Even they (the Leftists; I consider them DINO’S at this point) don’t believe in what they think they stand for. They are corrupted by their thirst for POWER!!!
My favorite line: “If it paid better they’d be Fascist”. My retort: “Aren’t they already?”
I’m sick of VDH too.
talking to a very accomplished business acquaintance today. she was lamenting the fact that even though she & her husband pull down more than $7000 / month in south florida, they cannot afford a comfortable lifestyle
i mentioned the marxist government fronted by Biden and she said ‘yeah, I heard Trump is running again, I wonder if things would be better with him back in office?‘
she’s 35, a new mom, and struggling. i think her focus is just on surviving. they had to skip thanksgiving and aren’t planning any christmas.
we’ve had political conversations before. she’d be a MAGA conservative if she was an activist.
she’s an intelligent, logical person; e.g.: she’s not vaxxxed – her father died from vaxxx side-effects.
I don’t know how to get through to people like her — or if it is even worth it to try…
Simply ask her when things got bad for her. Then follow up by asking her to look back four years (before COVID) and tell you how they were doing financially. Let her come to her own conclusions unless she asks you for more information.
My brother-in-law is moving to Arkansas from Florida because they can now longer afford to live in Florida so I know what you are saying is true for many others.
I live in the panhandle and the quality of (rural) life here far exceeds Launderdale etc
I got through to a lot people by emailing them very succinct memes that I copied and pasted from Gab Social. People that you’re just trying to break through to won’t read long articles, or sit and watch videos for more than 30 seconds. Try it, it can’t hurt.
You can’t. She and her husband take in over 84K/year. It is not a ton of money, but many of us, WTP, take in much less, and figure out how to budget and live within our means. No real person “skips Thanksgiving” and are “not planing Christmas” because they are not well-to-do. Many financially meager families get together with pot-luck and sharing reponsibilities in order to share their love for one another during theses Holidays.
May God have mercy on her corporate infected soul.
that’s the irony – she’s not corporate infected – she’s an accomplished financial controller who’s been in the south florida yachting industry for almost fifteen years.
that is actually a very tight knit insular crowd.
I am completely bafffled that anyone could be so disinterested in what’s going on all around them… especially when it seems to be burning to the ground
The written word (books) will become increasingly valuable as online content can be easily changed/deleted. I got into the habit of reading God’s word online (BlueLetterBible) until I began to notice changes. I now read from my leather bound Bible I received when I was baptized (03-30-03). Books, especially the good book, is our only way through this.
God bless and keep you, Mr. Brooks.
I work in a university archives at a major Southern university. Once, a young archivist solicited the staff and faculty to come up with ideas that could be used in a display, for the upcoming months. Since it was close to September, I proposed displaying an artifact donated from an alumna of our university, of the Twin Towers. She remained silent and picked something else. I wondered about that.
I suspected that she only had a vague recollection of 9/11, so I put it down to that. However, with the above from Lorrie, Paul and Oscar–I wonder if she was suppressing the 9/11 exhibit idea. She’s active in the DEI, LGBTQRST+++ movement.
Probably has BCE and CE all over the displays…
Reading these comments makes me appreciate my two sons, 30 & 32 living in what’s left of PA. The elder is college educated after an excellent high school. He spent the obligatory time on the left coast chasing a segment of the tech industry. Got fairly well polluted by the progressive hive mind environment but recently he’s started to notice how genuinely happy his younger brother is even though he works far “harder” at his tradecraft. The youngest chose to self-inflict a tour through dependency and with the grace of God came out the other side a man ready to take on the world with his bare hands. He’s waaaay ahead of most everyone I know on comprehension of the depth of government corruption and the generation+ of social misfits that are being created. It’s VERY ENCOURAGING to watch the young Wolverine recruit his brother by example.
God Bless you, Sundance you always say the right thing to encourage us when times are tough. Thank you.
Many years ago, my Papaw vehemently argued with my mother in front of the TV because she started falling for the sob stories on the news. He made her stop and think, made her rationalize, and taught her to see the lies being told by the talking heads.
My brothers and I didn’t have to argue nearly as much with our parents, but we learned the same lessons. What do we do when we get together, some of us with our own families? There’s no TV, no endless stream of nonsensical commercials, no subtle brainwashing. We talk philosophy and worldview. Iron sharpening iron. These are things the modern world has sought to erase.
My wife, God bless her, was not raised like that. Theirs was TV and shallow conversations. She’ll mention a political video that she saw, and say “we’re on their side, right?” My response is always: NO, we are not on a side. We look through the lens of Scripture, rationality, and logic to decide a given issue. Slowly, its changing her thought process for the better. And Lord willing, when we are blessed with them, our children will be raised with an understanding of what is right and how to find it.
I know many of the people who come to this site have been around the block a few times in their lives and know the difference between how life was when they were growing up and how things are today.
When I was growing up in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s the educational system in our country was vastly different than it is today (at least where I grew up). The teachers actually cared about the students and there main objective was to teach their students to be capable of thinking for themselves.
Fast forward to today and the opposite is true. Yeah the phones are part of the problem but it is just a symptom of a more sinister plan the globalists started employing to destroy the moral fabric of society from the 90’s until today.
They always start out with small bites at first so most people don’t really notice because they are too busy with work and raising their families.( the frog being slowly boiled in water is a good analogy)
I love being a part of this community because the people who come here remind me of the people I cherished growing up in a much different time. I rarely comment here because most of the people who comment regularly are echoing how I feel about current affairs. I know of no other website that I go to where the conversation is more intelligent than this site and I am proud to be amongst you.
Sundance gives us all the credit for why this website exists but that is just indicative of his strong moral and ethical character that draws me here. If it weren’t for you, we would have no “last refuge” to come to. You put in all the hard work for our benefit and that means a lot to me. You are a great teacher. God speed to you sir and keep on doing what you do. You are a good human being.
This merits way more than just five upvotes, so …. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Thank you for articulating what I could not.
second.
Also the difference back then is school taught what school was suppose to
teach, Reading, writing, math, Science and history, not all this social
justice woke nonsense today..That why kids today can;t read or do
math because school is now all about feelings and get along and
pronouns etc.. I told my kids when they were in high school that is not
the real world.. Nobody in the real world will care about your feelings,
they will be mean to you for no reason, if you complain at work that
you can;t work with whoever cuz you don;t get along, they will move
you right out the door..my biggest beef with highschool …all that
and this whole don;t fight back if someone fights you.. I told mine
you don;t start it, you don;t give someone a reason to hit you but
if they do hit first hit them back…I don;t care what the school thinks.
My high school held debate clubs where all opinions were heard and considered. Can you imagine? Today it’s all about censorship and shaming because Communists cannot tolerate the sunlight of truthful opinions.
The school also had a rifle club. There’s a picture in the yearbook of the group clad in camouflage proudly holding their rifles.
PS: Nobody was ever shot in the school.
I find it troubling how fast the roll out of cell phones,, and immediately after how “social media” became the norm for everyone. I first noticed it on a date night with my husband in 2004-2005. We were at a restaurant and my husband had to go to the restroom. While he was gone i started looking around at the other diners. At most tables with couples, they were talking occasionally, but totally immersed/focused on their cell phones. It was so odd!! I didn’t have a cell phone at that time, as i was a stay at home Mom with triplet toddlers.
Soon after, i started seeing kids in parks and playgrounds sitting on benches focused on their phones, and Mom’s in grocery stores handing their phones to their babies hide shopping. People began ignoring the cashiers at the check-out – even continuing to carry on phone conversations during their transactions.
I had read some researchers articles about how bad prolonged screen time was for developing eyes and minds, and even some decrying the lack of research on what this could do over time to all people. Then those voices just stopped, no one in power looked into these things and it all just became the norm.
“lack of research on what this could do over time to all people. Then those voices just stopped”
Studies have definitely come out that we now have the most depressed, anxious, and suicidal teens and young adults in US history. I firmly believe everything you just described has contributed greatly to these depressed kids. My kids weren’t allowed cell phones or computers until they were 13.
My first grandchild was born a few months ago. I have made my opinion known on the subject of the toddlers in grocery stores with Mom’s phone, and I will continue to do so. I always engaged with my children at the stores, even when they were babies. We discussed the colors and the products and what was healthy, etc etc.. People might have thought I was crazy talking to my babies and toddlers but I knew it was important. Perhaps new moms and dads will wake up. I certainly hope so.
No one in power looked into it because it is easier to rule a divided and ignorant population than to govern free and independently thinking individuals.
Indeed. Free and independently thinking people govern themselves.
When our daughter was in High School she would get mad when I would text her ‘ please pass the salt’….
so funny.
There was a meme- a photo of six men sitting at a bar looking at their phones, and the caption read: I remember when you used to go to the bar for some conversation.
One of the best decisions we made was to change parishes- we found a reverent Mass with priests who preached well. It was obvious that though the local parish bragged about their school, and all the kids who received the sacraments, very few kids were seen at Sunday Mass-not only because the families were lukewarm but so was most of the preaching. There was a glaring absence of reverence. How can you expect to ingrain moral values into your children if you go golfing on Sunday morning and blow off church? At the core of being a conservative is a moral foundation.
I saw the same thing in Singapore in 2002. The government there even had a contest with cash prizes for who could text message the fastest and most accurately.
Per requested, I am happy to oblige with some introspective thoughts as someone who is really struggling to navigate all of this in their 30’s:
You keep saying “be of good cheer”. But as someone who is also firmly planted in the “we must accept things as they are, not as we wish them to be” way of thinking, I find myself at almost an impossibility of being in good cheer at all. I am in the throws of having zero additional time to do anything but work and spend time with my wife (who is pregnant with our second child) and son, which are truly the lights of my life. Any extra time I have is spent getting our house renter ready so that we can move out and rent out our house in preparation for the upcoming financial collapse. In fact, almost all of my extra time is spent preparing for the oncoming storm on the horizon.
How can I be of good cheer when my peers who have kids of their own are completely oblivious to what’s to come and while things are “tight” for them too, they believe things are about to get better which is why they keep SPENDING more than their means.
As a business owner, I am planning for the downturn next year. That means plans of expansion are put on hold. That’s a very hard pill to swallow seeing as how the last three years have been enough of a grind already. And by grind, I mean completely jarring ups and downs hanging by a thread.
The bitter pill I’m choking on right now is the realization that I, like so many other Americans, am trapped. If all my time is spent to make ends meet, take care of my family and manage my own affairs, how in the world can I find the time to get involved with anything to change our country? If my focus is to protect the nuclear family at all costs while managing my business, what would I need to sacrifice in order to make any sort of contribution on a local or national level to what is going on?
I am not the only one who is stuck with this dilemma. It’s very difficult to be of good cheer when I know what is to come, to know that no one else seems to know, to pretend that I don’t know, but to continue to prepare and brace for impact because I do know.
Just to add context. I am not a negative person. I am actually extremely optimistic and am grounded in my faith, but if I can’t vent my frustrations about how the bigger picture is affecting me at a local level then where can I.
I meet many 30’s-something young people who say exactly what you are saying.
Sundance is right, however, in saying that we must live our best life.
We have the means in faith and work to be happy. And nothing beats happiness. (I could cite endless authorities here!)
I like Dennis Praeger’s argument that we have a moral, religious obligation to be happy.
So smile a lot. Especially every time you see your wonderful wife and child. (They will wonder what has gotten into you!)
I guarantee people will smile in return.
Is this not so, Treepers?
.
Yes!
I have found that engaging in trivial but cheerful conversation with strangers (in line at stores, for example) finds common ground — not political but HUMAN. I usually engage, on purpose, with people who don’t look like me. I have yet to encounter a stranger who responds negatively. Most times, they wish me a great day as they leave. Good cheer = feel good = happiness
I’ve been doing the same recently. I do it with the person in front of me or behind me in the line at grocery stores – (no matter if if they are people who look like me or not). I have received only positive responses. It seems like most people just want to be acknowledged as a fellow human being. I do it with the cashiers, as well. In my view, everybody just appreciates a smile and/or a kind word.
One day, in line at the supermarket, I noticed a guy in front of me was exhibiting frustration with how slow the line was moving. I pointed out to him that there was a sign noting that this was a “trainee” – somebody just learning how to do this job. I then made some innocuous remark about what time it was and he not only smiled back at me, he said I mad his day with my smile, as he said he was ready to leave his groceries there and “just leave” the premises. He said he changed his mind, after chatting with me.
Do not underestimate a smile or a kind word to a stranger; especially a stranger who is feeling frustrated. You might just make their day a little brighter.
live your best life to me means this: take ALL of your burdens and ask GOD IN PRAYER TO HELP YOU SOLVE THEM.
I believe in this. It is what I believe. I believe it because it has worked for me and continues to work for me.
I feel better and I am more positive and confident and I can rise about the chaos of the day, when I simply ASK GOD FOR HELP…and be specific.
lets say, I had a bad day and something happened with a relationship..or I felt like I was not being respected.
the first thing I do is pray and ask for forgiveness. forgiving of my sins and letting go of the emotions that cause fear, depression, anxiety..those are all emotions THAT GOD CREATED so that we COULD KNOW when we are not in a proper relationship with God. Think about it in that way. This is how I believe. When I have those emotions, this is the signal to get right with God and begin to pray…and to be specific. I made feel bad about xx..help me understand and learn from it and move on. It can literally be that simple. Sometimes you find yourself in a pattern of things that catch you up..and for those things you also pray, but you also begin to make new habits, new decisions, and a new way of thinking about these things to overcome these obstacles.
My 30’s were difficult. I had many great moments, but I also kind of stumbled along and did not put much effort into praying and keeping myself accountable to a righteous spiritual life. I hit rock bottom a few times and had it not been for a few very good christian friends who cared about me, my life would have likely amounted to zilch and made for a very unhappy person. But I made it out okay because I acknowledged a few things:
I will pray for you in the same way my friends have prayed for me. You are in very good company here at CTH. These are wonderful and blessed people…very special and dear to me. I feel you will find the same experience.
God Bless America
a simply wonderful post, regitiger. thank you.
I’m old enough to be your grandmother and here is a little advice. Your family needs you and your attention. Do what you can in your sphere of influence. The national scene is in the hands of the Lord. Be kind, pray and be thankful and joyous for your growing family. The more you show love and kindness, the happier you will be. You can’t make others listen to you, but understand that you plant seeds in their minds when you try. Be of good cheer and God bless you and your family.
You ARE doing something.
You are being a responsible husband and father and citizen who is doing his best to prepare for a very tough time to come.
That is a major accomplishment.
I am thankful that the Lord equipped you with the intelligence, foresight and sense of responsibility that you need to be such a good man.
That same Lord is in total control of this planet and was kind enough to give us His Word so that we should not despair.
You are doing your part.
God is doing His.
Rejoice!
Be of good cheer, let it be well with your soul.
He’s got this.
agree 100%
family is everything
Your words are truly inspirational, Val!
You’re just at one stage in your life. But what you do is critical as a father and a business owner. You’ll have time to make an impact in other ways. There are many father’s that feel like you right now, looking for any safe port in a storm for their families.
The daily ups & downs are not age-related, I think as Rush Limbaugh advised, focus on the local, people you come in contact with, be involved with the folks at the grocery store, your work, the parking lot attendant at the barber shop strip center with Petco & coffee shop & donut shop & cleaners & Vet. Your friends at church. Your waiters at the local italian restaurant. Increase your 15 sec prayers for various thoughts & things you experience – like the people the ambulance is rushing to, or like an account that had not paid their monthly invoice – turns out…she had an unexpected family death…., be charitable and kind and one I have been working on for about 10 years – be patient – and not in a hurry (to where you are a complete a@@hole and ruin someone’s day b/c you can’t wait for the lady in front of you at the gas station to write a check to pay….). We’re on a journey, and you take it day by day, the daily IS the journey, not the destination. Making dinner every night…never ends…. until you look up and 30 years have gone by…your kids are grown, you’re back to you & your wife….it seems like it goes faster and faster the longer you live. Hug & tell your parents & siblings you love’em – you’ll find out they won’t live forever – time moves forward.
There will be bad times ahead, and also I have found 90% of nightmares don’t come true, but be prepared for the high probabilities – (got guns, gold & bullets? and some food stored up, and a business where YOU are the owner. And change & chaos creates opportunities. Keep your optimism (after all – you have 2 young kids – THAT is optimism) – we’ll all be in it together, and I think a lot of Americans will come together to get us through. Some of the slouchers, maybe not. Cheers
The best thing you can do is to live your best life. Pray to God for the strength to carry on. And then carry on. God bless you and your family.
Control what you can and do what is best for your family and
don;t worry about what is out of your control.. The knowing
is a good thing because you can prepare you have time, you can
plan, whatever that looks like for your family. Actually being
prepared is doing something for local level because when whatever
happens happens, you aren;t panicked you can manage and then
you can help others because you have already taken care of yourself
and your family..
Acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to those around you.😊 I think that should be good
You will probably never see this comment but after reading your post, I wanted to let you know that my husband and I lived through what you are going through now and, now wait for it……it was in the 1970’s. Yes, the Carter years and 12-15% interest on mortgages. Our best friends literally signed a mortgage at 15% interest in the late 1970’s…not kidding; we couldn’t believe it. But it happened…
We were lucky, somehow we ended up with 8.5% interest and saved enough to make a 20% down payment. But my husband was a real miser, always cash, paid in full and no credit! We always had a job and normally we were paid above average, for all the right reasons.
I won’t go into any deep analysis or offer any advice, other than this December, we will have reached our 53rd anniversary.
Our two adult children, 49 and 50 yrs old, college graduates, both conservatives, in philosophy and living standards, are successful in their own right.
God did not see the need to send grandchildren our way, but that is just the facts of life.
Those years were really very difficult but happy and even fun for us as a family unit and as a married couple.
My husband was discharged from the Army in 1967, went to Cornell University for…..hold on now….to Veterinary School for “Horse-Shoeing”, Ferrier, Black-Smith; you get the picture. He drove all over New York State and Pennsylvania and yes, shod horses. When we married, I was his bookkeeper. It was a lucrative and interesting career for us.
He was a horseman by trade and he loved riding and showing his horses.
Then we entered a different stage of our life, and my husband decided to take advantage of the GI Bill, went to college, while continuing his work, and ultimately attained his Professional Engineer’s License, traveled the world again and recently taught his last class, (post-retirement), at the age of 78 yrs. old.
Now, as to the part of how do you get involved in the community aspect or political aspect for change?
No worries, the time will come naturally, if you are truly interested in participating. We both did, in our own ways, while I went back to college, raised two kids, (In Catholic School and Church), husband/Dad was traveling all the time, wife/Mom was managing family, community activist, and waiting for husband to come home and repair the roof or if it was an emergency, and had to hire the help, waiting for husband to come home and blow up over the exorbitant cost of repair.
Take care of your family first and that means take care of your business needs. God will provide the means for you to do what seems an enormous mountain to climb but if you trust HIM; it will be done, in HIS time and for HIS reasons.
More importantly, please enjoy your lovely wife, and babies. This is the most important time of your life. Do not mess it up and worry needlessly. You will find the opportunity to give back to your community and get involved in local politics soon enough.
I know of what I am writing. Smile, be happy, you will succeed, enjoy your family, live your best life now. There won’t be any second chances.
A GREAT post, AS! And fascinating. Thank you!
I’m always stunned at how people not only do not accept the truth, but vehemently fight against it. One of my closest friends always does this, but I’ve met many others who do the same.
The one single thing in common with all of them is their sourcing for information. It’s always from the fake news media 100 percent of the time. Always.
Well, I’m a bit more choosy about where I get information and it had better be accurate and well documented. Much appreciation to Sundance and all of you here for all of your dedicated thoughtful contributions.
There’re those Proverbs 26, 29 about arguing with fools…..they’ll waste your precious time and it is foolish…
I fired some friends that were ‘debby downers’….
I started teaching my boys the value of being a conservative when they learn to speak. I point it out in real life and give them comparisons. I have deep political conversation with them. The are based AF. The truth in the logic will not be broken by school, uni or any other group. I also teach them about how the world treats conservatives, like a super hero they hde their true identities with pride.
September 11th occurred when my kids were just hitting their pre-teen years. While we always had Sunday dinners, my husband and I changed it up a bit to include tablecloths, candles, china and formal manners REALLY matter!!! We also changed the subjects covered to include government, politics and current events. At first we got comments like “Can we talk about something else?” but soon enough they were asking questions and actually commenting on what they thought about the things we discussed. They started asking hefty questions. They are both conservatives now with clear thinking and analytical skills. I’m very proud of them.
We are funding our own demise via the Communists in public/private education.
After spending an hour or so reading what is happening to our fellow readers here specifically with our children is my first statement is what I have been saying 20+ years. Mike Rowe was the first well-known individual to talk about it in his non-political way.
We work very hard to make to teach our children the importance of enjoying Freedom/Liberty while working hard to make a living while paying taxes and using student loans to fund the Hammer and Sickling (Marxism/Communism) via our education system.
That MUST change!
I’m lucky. I have a smart, strong,resilient wife. We were only blessed with one child and we did something right. He has grown to be a young man with a discerning eye and positive attitude. He sees through the BS and so do his closest friends, a group of about 8 fine young men.
We sacrificed much to make sure he got a good education at a good Christian school. We were lucky we found and grabbed hold of a good school that mirrored our faith and outlook on life. Was it perfect? No, but we made sure we taught him past the rough edges.
I was blessed in that I was able to coach his Little League team and then assist with HS. Many times our son commented saying Thank You for doing that. The same with some of the other boys he hangs with now.
You see, I think many parents don’t understand they need to be the coach to their children. We can’t grow up for them, nor can we do everything for them. As a coach, you need to be patient, optimistic, humble, and strong mentally. The example is powerful. The boys still rib me about our first season together. They won 1 game. Nobody quit. No one got upset. It just was not allowed. The next year they won all but 2 games. But they came back and beat those two teams in their district semi finals and final game. To a man, they all tell me thank you for helping me learn to lose. It made winning feel so much better.
All of that to say this, Thank You Sundance, for being the best coach ever.
Well that was really nice Sundance. Thank you. It’s so true though that a group like this is very special. We pay attention. We are willing to learn. We want healthy debate. We want truth and facts. We want to fight for America and its founding values. You are the catalyst that draws us together. It’s all good.
I have been blessed by the Treehouse and those who reside here, although I don’t comment much I do read them.
I’m fortunate that 3 of my 4 are very right leaning and my 4th is coming along but she’s a teacher so It’s a battle, but one I’m glad to take on.
Keep dropping pebbles everyone, eventually they’ll wash over someone.
Thanksgiving was kinda a bust for me. My whole family, all generations, are liberals with severe TDS because they get their news and commentary from PBS, MSNBC, and NPR. They are completely brainwashed. None of the nieces and nephews intend to have children, few of them eat meat or gluten or sugar, and they cuddle their dogs, dress them up in costumes.
They don’t discuss politics. They don’t discuss anything going on in the world. I could handle that because I have a lot of information, thanks to this and other sites where I read. They just make rare disparaging comments – like referring to President Trump as, “a certain scary political figure”. When asked why they said that, they just kinda laugh and get others to laugh.
I think that they are really afraid to discuss anything because they don’t want to hear anything but an echo chamber. They don’t want to spend time researching anything or challenging any idea. I also think it is partly ignorance of situations and events and a feeling of unease with their “knowledge”.
Darkness hates the light.
Sometimes all you can do for someone is tell the truth gently and have compassion for them.
Some will learn and some will not, our job is to love them and love the truth, and pray for them.
I worked for ‘one of’ the most communist school districts in the country, 18yrs and watched the destruction in real time.
What I did with my kids (sons and daughters), when they were old enough, how to shoot weapons and do it safely with accuracy. I do believe that was my finest moment as a Dad, well besides reading the Bible and why they are reading it. They started to drag their friends along. To this day all those kids are good decent conservatives. They became strengthen knowing they could stand up for themselves no matter their physical strength or stature. They grow up without fear of the communist bullies of today. The bullies are the ones that are fearful. Just the thought of war in the United States makes them want cry out because fear.
Retired Magistrate here: Misinformation or disinformation or just plain lies are nothing new. Look at the New Testament; Paul continually warns of wolves in sheep’s clothing spreading lies to detour people of the “way” (Christians).
During the Middle Ages (so called Dark Ages) most people could not read or write so they depended on the Priests to tell them what to believe.
During the 1800’s and forward into the 1920’s you had “yellow journalism” which focused on outrageous lies regarding a political opponent or an issue the government wanted the general public to believe, that was not particularly in the interest of the general public but was in the interest of the government.
I hear commentators saying that the United States has never been more divided. Nonsense: remember the Civil War, a country totally divided with brother fighting brother. The problem is many individuals are too lazy to actually study world history or the history of their own country. People have the mistaken idea that every issue is something that has never happened before and things have never been this bad before. Of course they have: in this country, World War I, the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II, Korean War, Viet Nam War and on and on. Wars and rumors of wars have been going on all through the history of the world.
The problem is each generation thinks what is happening is new to that generation. It is not.
What is the answer? If you have young children or grandchildren teach them history and give them a moral foundation and respect for their fellow man. Show kindness to others. If you are an older person, don’t sit in your chair and absorb all the rot on TV. Do something with your life; it is never to late. Do not isolate yourself. Visit your local library; there are so many wonderful books that are just waiting for your reading pleasure. Get together with friends of a like mind and share your experiences. Share your knowledge with your children and grandchildren. You may think they don’t want to hear it; however, they may surprise you.
Lastly, never, ever give up. GOD is still in control; look to HIM for guidance and thank HIM for all the blessings that you have.
A crucial difference between those other troubling times and now-
For most of our history Biblical values were respected by most people, and the few who did not hold to those moral beliefs at least paid lip service to them.
Now immorality and down right evil are not only tolerated but celebrated.
That is a very dangerous thing.
The last time that I recall such evil being openly rampant in the West was the French Revolution. Even the Nazis pretended to accept some sort of morality.
Great advice. One of the most important and fun things a parent can do with their child is taking them to get their library card, then letting them pick out the books they want.
Tried to have a conversation about current events with my 56 year old sister-in-law, an avid reader of the New York Times. She ended the conversation with “I don’t discuss politics with anyone who disagrees with me.” As she walked away, I said “then that’s not much of a discussion”. I suppose life is intellectually easier if you ignore half of the information available to you. I’m not surprised young people have no interest in politics.
My thoughts when I read the teachers post was maybe the blank was a need to be filled. Open to different ideas. Not yet formed which can be good. A closed mind is full but an open mind is in need of fillings. Isn’t that a good thing especially for our young?
Thanks.
.
Having read the comments here, I have a different view on the ‘device’ argument: content!
The content of what these kids intake is what is deplorable to most of us here — the devices, themselves, are secondary.
My kids were raised to understand that we are all CREATED equal — beyond that, no one is the exact same as any other person.
The erroneous idea being promulgated to our youth is that they are all the same: everyone’s opinions are valid and should be shared and not discouraged.
I taught my children that the most difficult thing in this life is to deal with stupid people. As most here realize, the desire to buck the opinions of their parents, is a rite of passage for most kids. I was accused of being racist for pointing out that THERE ARE really stupid people in this world — but, that has subsided due to them growing up and having their own real-life experiences.
To allow every single person the ‘honor’ of free speech does not require we all listen to it all. Everyone cannot be correct all of the time (including me) but the onus of being thought of as ‘incorrect’ has become too much for poor sensitive snowflakes.
We spent Thanksgiving with one of our children’s in-laws. Very nice people. But . . .
Speaking with the lady of the house about where all they had lived in the past decade, she raved about the cost of living in NC — how low utility costs were.
I asked what was the energy source that made it so cheap — was there a nuclear energy plant
supplying?
Oh, no, she replied, just regular electricity and gas.
Ok. So then we played a trivia game which she and her husband were quite well-schooled in.
Our other child present was paired up with me, and as I did not raise any fools, we ended up winning.
And my knowledge of ‘trivia’ is not constrained to ‘conservative ‘ issues:
two of my correct answers ran the gamut from Robert Stockdale to Burning Man.
Your enlightening observations can be summed up in ‘old’ but modern parlance.
‘Garbare in, garbage out ‘ [GIGO].
Same for human minds, as for computers, smart phones, etc.
I’m encouraged!!
I am absolutely convinced that it all comes down to parents. We have to catechize our children and persuade them from their youngest days to buy into our worldview, which includes our faith commitments, religion, and political convictions. I found this not much of a challenge for my now three adult children because I know my stuff, and I was teaching them all the time. They are adults now, and I am still teaching and persuading them.
I did not allow the culture (Hollywood, education, media) to catechize them because I was constantly interrogating the culture and teaching them how to identify faulty assumptions, and the worldview faith commitments in cultural products. They learned to question everything and take nothing at face value. It’s gratifying to know they can’t be sucked into the lies and seduced by secularism.
Treepers can sniff out bullsh^t like Truffle Hogs. It truly is a refuge from the ill winds that blow. We have become an impenetrable force thanks to Sundance.
I don’t see many infiltrators lately, I think they gave up commenting but never the less they are still lurking.. I remember the posts always starting “I like Trump, but.” Or “what if Trump is imprisoned what is plan B?” We didn’t answer the way they wanted us to. Some no doubt were from the Meatball camp.
As an elementary school teacher fro 30 years , the progression towards this lack of knowledge and understanding, not only US related info, but real info in general, has steadily been in decline. I was telling another teacher today, that the tests I gave in class 25 years ago could never be passed today.
Not only has the technology completely depleted the common sense and overall focus of students, but the curriculum is being changed in the name of being deeper and better to complete nonsense. Math is no longer taught the way it should be and science and SS are now videos and games. While everyone is looking at the co ed bathroom situations, diversity and illegals, what is being taught in class has gone to shit on purpose and nobody knows. Never mind the new hires are always based on race and diversity where many superior applicants are pushed away.
Ask your children what they have to do in SS, Science and Math. You will be shocked how dumbed down and ridiculous it is. But we have Wifi on the busses to and from school. What a joke.
I am lucky to be in a school where a good bunch of us are MAGA and fight the fight every day. Parents request us in large numbers because we still do what is right as much as possible despite the reprimands from above.
Stay strong, be involved, and open your eyes to what your children go through. I know most of us do. God Bless all of you on this site and Sundance for making it happen.
Bless you for being a steel umbrella under whom your young charges are sheltered from the cr@p storm being rained on them from this society.
You are making a difference.
God bless and sustain you.
The most unreal thing I’ve experienced is the fanaticism my one daughter has for “freeing Palestine” She knows nothing about the history of the area and gets most of her info from social media. The intensity was incredible. Doesnt believe anything from Israeli sources.
My wife tells me dont get into it, it gets intense a bit but I will not let my children be manipulated. If they dont agree/know now, they will remember what I told them hopefully when it matters
Ive already been proven correct. Told her Hospital strike was Hamas failed missle. Explained photogs unhappy photos from other regions/wars are being used as if from Gaza. What has been going on these last few years is mind blowing with the practical “mind control” being used. They’ve perfected something. This all feels like a movie sometimes.
Shes never uttered the word “Palestine” in her life before now and thinks theyre the oppressed.
Don’t challenge her.
Invite her to explain her views and listen.
Ask her to pay you the same courtesy.
She may still disagree, but the fact that you listened to her respectfully will register, and once life gives her a reality check she may find herself thinking that maybe Pop was right.
Leave a light on for her.
Google and other social media is also destroying our next generations ability to critically think with its most recent interference in our national elections!
Follow Google researcher Robert Epstein. My wife and I help fund his election research which has proven that Google has the ability to move millions of votes towards the Democratic candidates of their choice.
He has proven that Google uses their algorithms to remind ONLY Democrats to go and vote. All of us here are very in-tune politically however, 40% are not with 20% or more who don’t get involved until a few weeks prior to the time to go and vote. They then use the Google search engine to look up information about the candidates. If it’s a conservative or just a Republican they bury positive new about those candidates and highlight bad new about them or highlight the positive news about the candidate of their choice.
Epstein has used hundreds of people to record their computer screens which shows that while surfing the internet Democrats are reminded over and over again to go vote while Republicans or even Republican leaning Independents never see anything on their screens. They have to record this activity as Google flashes this information on anyone who’s inclined to voting for the Democratic candidate computer screens while leaving no digital trace at all that it happened.
Google is moving millions of votes towards the Democratic candidates!
Thier algorithms naturally drive what you want to see and ONLY what you want to see creating a sort of cocoon around you and your children so they are no longer exposed to anyone with a difference of opinion. THAT IS WHAT THE MOIBLE PHONE IS DOING TO EVERYONE! Ask a Marxist leaning person about the failure of the vaccine or masks for example and they will tell you your opinion is nonsense – why, because the algorithm NEVER exposes them to anything other than what they want to hear. I didn’t figure out the situation about the failures of Masks in early 2020 from conservatives – it was a Liberal podcast. I didn’t learn about the warnings of mass-vaccinating from conservatives but from Progressive Scientist/Doctors.
The Google algorithm destroys that capability.
Sundance – thank you for all you do. My REAL education began with listening to Rush Limbaugh each day and expanded in spades when I found CTH and fellow Treepers. You are my “go to” news update every day. I trust you. As a result of this, I have become the dispenser of accurate information to neighbors, children and grandchildren. Without me, and one of my sons who is equally informed, I fear ignorance would occupy the space where all the red pills now live. Information and education don’t just happen – they have to be passed on, especially to the young ones. If we don’t know, they don’t know, and the corrupt propagandized system takes over. It is easy to see how this happens…
Picture on the right: Child is proud and feels safe with her mother.
Picture on the left: Child is proud and feels safe with her mother.
Doesn’t matter what you look like, how much money you earn, what kind of car you drive. Children trust and love and know.
How many kids are starved for this information because their parents fear being denounced, kind of like the old Soviet Union? How many times do we need to see parents persecuted because their little darlings went to school as told the teacher what they’re hearing at home that goes against the
indoctrinationcurriculum?You make me so much wiser Sundance. Thank you!
As to Lorrie, I’m reminded of Uncle Argyle in the movie Braveheart.
Argyle: Did the priest give a poetic benediction?
Young William: It was in Latin.
Argyle: You don’t speak Latin? Eh, then that is something we shall have to remedy…
Spend a few minutes each day revealing the majesty of the documents. (maybe you already are 😉)
There are many many people that are political goners. My sister included. Nothing can change their minds…it’s religious for them.
And why was I banned?
CTH is bar none, the best website I’ve ever visited over the past decade. It’s my daily go to… I learn something new everyday, from Sundance and from everyone posting… Thank-you one and all.
Like you, CTH is my daily go-to since almost since it began. I found Sundance through Lucianne.com, also a daily diet. As to the children and what they don’t know, sadder still is they, and often their parents, don’t know they don’t know. Too, these descriptions of isolation remind me of Sundance’s oft-repeated, look and study at the silo structure. It answers many, many questions!
I second that sentiment.👍🏻🏆⭐️
Yup yup again
I apologize.
Amen to that! I’ve only just begun reading the comments. Sundance’s articles were my primary focus and, of course, still are. But in recent days, I’ve explored some of the comments and am impressed by the readership, which seems head and shoulders above the usual social media jabber. I will be spending more time among the comments, but am already slammed by being a news junkie and reposting on social media all day long. I need to better manage my time.
So, to echo your comments, THANK YOU ALL, especially Sundance!
Amen
I am with you hanson Charlie. Whenever some big news story breaks or some nugget of information leaks through Big Brother’s censors, and my acquaintances are shocked, I almost always already knew about it. Thanks Sundance and commentors.
I totally agree and is also my first go to site every morning!