Tag: Gandalf

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Socialism always begins with a universal vision for the brotherhood of man and ends with people having to eat their own pets.”

Toby Young

“When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.”

Charles Evans Hughes

“Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.”

David Hume

“Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

Gandalf the Grey

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Truth & The Fourth Turning

Guest Post by Chris Oswald

If you aren’t familiar with the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory of History, I would encourage you to take it up. As people attempt to process the Trump election, a thing many are describing as the most surprising political development in American history, the writings of Strauss and Howe are proving remarkably prescient.

Those familiar with the model are in agreement that the West (and perhaps the entire world) is in the midst of something Strauss and Howe call the Fourth Turning or, The Crisis.

A key feature of the Fourth Turning crisis is the emergence of the Grey Champion. Trump’s ascendency (as Sander’s surprising relevancy) are manifestations of the Grey Champion phenomena. Those who could not understand how three 70 year olds rose to such prominence in this cycle will find a satisfactory explanation in the Grey Champion writings of Stauss-Howe.

Jim Quinn at The Burning Platform does a good job of juxtaposing Trump with Gandalf (a Grey Champion archetype). If you haven’t read his two part post on the subject, I commend it to you now. His thoughts are more extensive and important than mine and what follows is merely supplemental.

Continue reading “Truth & The Fourth Turning”

GREY CHAMPION ASSUMES COMMAND (PART TWO)

In Part One of this article I discussed the arrival of Grey Champions in previous Fourth Turnings; their attributes, deficiencies, and leadership skills; and why Donald Trump is the Grey Champion of this Fourth Turning – whether you like it or not. Now I will try to make sense of what could happen next.

“Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American people. The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election. For those who control the levers of power in Washington and for the global special interests, they partner with these people that don’t have your good in mind. The political establishment that is trying to stop us is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration and economic and foreign policies that have bled our country dry.

It’s a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities. The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us. The only people brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American people.” – Donald Trump

Seventy year old Donald Trump has assumed the Grey Champion flagstaff. In an increasingly chaotic world, normal working class Americans in flyover country were seeking a leader who could bring order, defeat the corrupt establishment, make tough decisions, and capture the zeitgeist of this moment in history. The ruling elite oligarchs and their fawning minions, occupying their strongholds in New York, California, Illinois, and D.C., are infuriated the peasants have dared to resist. In their secretive secure spaces, the elites are plotting with one purpose in mind – this uprising must be quelled.

Continue reading “GREY CHAMPION ASSUMES COMMAND (PART TWO)”

GREY CHAMPION ASSUMES COMMAND (PART ONE)

At each of these great gates of history, eighty to a hundred years apart, a similar generational drama unfolded. Four archetypes, aligned in the same order – elder Prophet, midlife Nomad, young adult Hero, child Artist – together produced the most enduring legends in our history. Each time the Grey Champion appeared marked the arrival of a moment of “darkness, and adversity, and peril,” the climax of the Fourth Turning of the saeculum. – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe

In September 2015 I wrote a five part article called Fourth Turning: Crisis of Trust. In Part 2 of that article I pondered who might emerge as the Grey Champion, leading the country during the second half of this Fourth Turning Crisis. I had the above pictures of Franklin, Lincoln, and FDR, along with a flaming question mark. The question has been answered. Donald J. Trump is the Grey Champion.

Continue reading “GREY CHAMPION ASSUMES COMMAND (PART ONE)”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When evening in the Shire was grey
his footsteps on the Hill were heard;
before the dawn he went away
on journey long without a word.

From Wilderland to Western shore,
from northern waste to southern hill,
through dragon-lair and hidden door
and darkling woods he walked at will.

With Dwarf and Hobbit, Elves and Men,
with mortal and immortal folk,
with bird on bough and beast in den,
in their own secret tongues he spoke.

A deadly sword, a healing hand,
a back that bent beneath its load;
a trumpet-voice, a burning brand,
a weary pilgrim on the road.

A lord of wisdom throned he sat,
swift in anger, quick to laugh;
an old man in a battered hat
who leaned upon a thorny staff.

He stood upon the bridge alone
and Fire and Shadow both defied;
his staff was broken on the stone,
in Khazad-dûm his wisdom died.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring