As America enters the final three weeks of summer, the 4th Turning Crisis is deepening and worsening. There can be no doubt that this is the real thing.
On July 10, I wrote that “The 4th Turning Crisis is Here.” In the article, the Crisis Stage was described as
“a time of secular upheaval often brought on by war or revolution. Institutional life is destroyed and rebuilt based upon real or perceived threats to the nation.”
Strauss & Howe, authors of “The 4th Turning” describe it as such:
The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection of civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. Thus might the next Fourth Turning end in apocalypse – or glory. The nation could be ruined, its democracy destroyed, and millions of people scattered or killed. Or America could enter a new golden age, triumphantly applying shared values to improve the human condition. The rhythms of history do not reveal the outcome of the coming Crisis; all they suggest is the timing and dimension.
At some point, the Crisis will end with a new 1st Turning. It will invoke a civic authority revival, greater community purpose and a tendency for people to once again solidify as members of a larger group.
The last 4th Turning ended with the close of WW2. Since then, only the unrest of the 60’s and 70’s has come anywhere close to what we face today. Assassinations, civil rights and anti-war protests, racial riots, anger over Vietnam, and the resignation of President Nixon seen in that era all pale in comparison to today.
Currently, America is beset by a continuing bombardment of concurrent crises, each life altering by itself. Over the course of just a few months, we have seen a global pandemic, an economic crisis, social upheaval, the population placed into home confinement, mass unemployment, a violent protest movement resulting in rioting and looting in major cities, demands for the abolition of police departments and the attempted impeachment and removal from office of President Trump.
Never before has America seen such a unified attack upon its shores, from within or without.
We continue to endure a phase of institutional attacks upon America at this time. The goal is to tear down that which unites and build up further that which divides. Some of the critical institutions that are under attack are:
Religious Institutions – Religion binds a country together. No matter the different branches or dominions, most have the same basic principles that one can count on and which keep people united.
Religious institutions and religion have been under attack since the 1960’s. But in recent years, those attacks have been ramped up considerably. And in 2020, the attacks have been relentless. The attacks have not only taken the form of physical acts of destruction of facilities, but for all intents and purposes, the prohibition of practicing religion. For example, California’s Governor Newson has banned the participation in religious activities across the state as a “Covid Prevention” measure. People cannot get together and worship even though “freedom of religion” is guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Sports Activities – One of the greatest unifiers of societies in America and around the world is the world of sports. Go to a football game or other sport, and you will find all races sitting together and getting along. Never mind that each might be rooting for opposite teams, the enjoyment of being at the game and enjoying the play overcomes all racial and other biases.
Go to a Sports Bar and the same interactions are at play.
Since 2016 when Colin Kaepernick began kneeling when the National Anthem was played and the Colors presented, there have been increasing attacks on sports in general. The attacks were designed to divide America instead of unify by tearing down the “ties that bind.”
Today, sporting events are pretty much destroyed. Again, in the name of Covid, many states will not allow fans to go to games, but must instead stay at home and watch on television. And while the fan watches, he is continually bombarded by BLM themes and messages that are anti American.
Increasing numbers of Americans have sworn off the “woke” sports, teams and players. The sports have not realized it yet, but their business models have been effectively neutered and most teams and leagues will likely not survive.
Freedom of Travel – A bulwark of the American experience is the Freedom to Travel where one wants to go within America. For travel between states, no documents have been needed granting a person permission to go where they desire. But like so much else in the Days of Covid, that has changed.
East Coast states like New York and the State of Hawaii have imposed travel restrictions for those seeking to go there from other states seeing a certain level of Covid cases. If one desires to travel to New York or other restrictive states, then the person MUST submit to quarantine for a period of two weeks. Failure to do so means a person is subject to fine or arrest.
Shades of the old Soviet Union…..
Capitalism – The concept of Capitalism is under severe attack, as it has been since the early 60’s. But now the attacks are crippling in nature.
The backbone of Capitalism is business, both large and small. In fact, small business is responsible for about 60% of those employed in America. But that has changed as well, especially in the Age of Covid.
Over the last few decades, businesses have been the target of increased regulation. Whether it is new standards to address the phony “climate change” claim, the $15 per hour living wage, or claims of racism through the names or logos of various companies, the attacks are hindering to ability of firms to engage in true capitalism. Instead, companies are being forced to submit to the demands of the attackers which hampers the ability to conduct business.
To make things worse, the protests occurring across America are targeting business in the worst possible ways.
- Companies are being “extorted” to comply with radical demands, or face “cancellation.”
- Rioting protesters and looters are targeting stores, large and small, stripping the shelves of all goods and destroying the livelihood of the owners.
- Other stores are being set afire and entire retail and business districts destroyed in the name of “racism.”
But it does not stop here. Under the auspice of Covid, liberal mayors and governors have implemented draconian shut down rules, purportedly designed to stop the spread of Covid. For five plus months now, mom and pop stores and restaurants, those least likely to be able to afford to close, have been forced to do so. The majority of those closed will never reopen.
Additionally, personal services have suffered the same attacks. Barbershops, hair stylists, nail salons and so many more businesses have been put out of business.
As America goes forward, there seems to be no end in sight to the continuing attacks on businesses and Capitalism.
Education and Schools
Another area of attack has been in the arena of education and schools. Since the late 1960’s, the Progressive Left has been engaged in the takeover of schools and universities across the nation.
The education curriculum has been targeted for dumbing down and misinformation. Revisionist history is the standard order of the day.
Covid has furthered this process along much faster than could ever be imagined. In the space of just a few months, schooling has been changed in ways that would never have been considered at the beginning of 2020.
Students are now being required to learn from home over the internet. Gone are the daily interactions that students have had with other students, as well as the hands on teaching that only classrooms can provide.
Even worse, teachers are telling students to not let parents even see what is being taught.
Besides learning the indoctrination protocol of the Left, students face further disruption of the learning of social skills needed for students to survive in the real world. This serves to create perfect worker drones needed for the decades to come.
Family Gatherings & the Family Unit
The family unit is the single most important cohesive factor keeping society together. Disrupt the cohesiveness of the family, and you disrupt the country. For Leftist goals to be achieved, the family unit must be the first targeted priority.
For decades, the family has been the favorite target of Leftists. For any reason or no reason, Leftists have attempted to break up families, often through the use of Child Protective Services, or enacting new laws against the family. Some cities like Los Angeles will cut off power and water to those who fail to follow the new “rules.”
With Covid, the attacks have reached obscene levels. Families are restricted to the nuclear unit and confined to the home. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and even siblings are prevented from seeing close relatives. Family reunions are strictly forbidden.
Outdoor barbeques and parties are forbidden. Birthday? Forget it! Family member seriously ill? No way! And heaven forbid when a family member dies. Either no funeral is allowed, or if allowed, then only ten people can attend.
Weddings are being treated in the same manner. Attendance is limited to just a few people for the most important event in a person’s lifetime.
Next will be full blown efforts to turn family members against each other to the point of notifying authorities for the slightest infraction by someone else in the family. (Yes, it has already been happening.)
Health Care
Like other institutions and industries, health care has been under attack for decades. But Covid has provided new excuses to impose mandatory health restrictions and requirements upon the populace.
Bill Gates wants to instigate a national vaccine tracking system to fight Covid in America. Never mind that the crisis is overblown. What the tracking system would do however is allow Gates and the government to track everyone in the country through electronic means.
Moreover, Gates is heavily invested in vaccine research, development and production and is a primary driver in the proliferation of vaccines globally. His goal is to vaccinate every person in not just America but the world. Plus, creating new vaccines for new outbreaks.
Imagine the profit he would make on such a venture.
To ensure the compliance of the population, a person would not be permit to return to a normal life without the current vaccinations. Travel, work and play would all be affected, with those not vaccinated unable to participate. This could include airline travel, cruise lines, entertainment like concerts and even work related activities.
It has even been suggested by people like Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO that members of families may need to be removed from their homes by force.
“Most of the transmission actually happening in many countries now, is happening in the household at family level…. In some sense, transmission has been taken off the streets and pushed back into family units. Now, we need to go and look at families to find those people who may be sick and remove them, and isolate them in a safe and dignified manner…
Effectively, the programs that Ryan and others advocate for would allocate rights and privileges based upon immunity records and not those guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Expect more of this as the Crisis deepens.
Law & Order
The pride of America has always revolved around law and order. Since the founding of the country, the Judicial System and the cops always represented the best of what any country could hope for.
People came from across the globe to get the America, knowing that when they got here, they could expect to be treated fairly and protected by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the law enforcement professionals.
For at least three decades now, law and order has been under attack by the Leftists. The attacks began gradually, but became more conspicuous as the years passed.
Leftist politicians passed laws and regulations designed to make law enforcement more difficult. Municipal court judges placed on the bench by corrupt politicians or biased electorates ruled more and more often in favor of criminal behavior, letting guilty parties go at the expense of the innocent.
Federal and higher courts became more progressive thanks to Leftists appointing liberal judges. The judges would then rule against the Constitution, Bill of Rights and precedent, further eroding the rule of law.
With the election of President Trump, liberal judges have upped the ante even further. They now rule not only against precedent or the Constitution and Bill of Rights, but attempt to lessen the granted powers of the President as head of the Executive Branch.
Today, we are in the midst of the expected outcome from the rogue legislators and judges. The rule of law has been trashed. Common thugs and criminals are treated like gilded princes while law enforcement professionals are trashed, spat upon, assaulted and even murdered.
BLM and AntiFa are demanding that police departments be defunded. City elected officials are caving to the demands of the protesters and taking money from police department, forcing many police to leave the force.
Law enforcement professionals are now afraid to do their jobs. So it now becomes the rule that citizens must take care of themselves. To do so, there has been an overwhelming demand by the populace to buy weapons for self protection.
US Government
The American political system is at a total impasse now. For three decades, it has gotten increasingly bitter and vindictive. Unlike when Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neil could work together for the good of the country, the trench warfare of today leaves little room for compromise.
Democrats and Republicans no longer even make a pretense of trying to work together. Instead, they run to the nearest cameras to get their faces on the evening news, telling outlandish lies about each other.
Each party misrepresents what the proposed legislation will do for the country, knowing it is false. Meanwhile, they have their hands out underneath the table, collecting payoffs and engaging in different types of “graft” schemes.
For the leaders of each party, it is all about “POWER.” Gain power in any means possible and retain hold of it. Who cares if the American public suffers? Just as long as they have their power.
The American political system is only going to get worse over the next few years. Even with a President Trump, there is only so much that can be done short of revolution now. It will only get more invective than ever, especially if Trump is reelected.
The next five to ten years will be the most critical in the history of the United States. The threats from both within and without will define America in ways we cannot foresee at this point in time.
If Americans can muddle through the upheaval to come, there is a chance that we can return to a semblance of the America of the 1970’s and 80’s. If not, then there is a high likelihood that America as we know it will break apart into 2 or 3 separate countries.
Only time will tell……….
Again, I would like to express my gratitude to Mark and the other Moderators for allowing me to post to this great website. And to all who read my articles and who also comment on them. The feedback is greatly appreciated.
And as always, remember………….
LIFE IS GOOD!
(Even with the hard times we are experiencing now.)
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