I confess that I was prone to clutch at fake straws from time to time before 2019-2020, but the birdemic put an end to all that for me (hopefully).
"Those who seek radical change from reforming current institutions; by infiltrating and re-occupying enemy-held ground."
Yes, the Hungarian PM is often lauded in certain circles for that. Just the other day, he was asked whether he was considering taking his country out of the EU. His response? He has no plans to leave the EU. His plans involve *taking over* the EU.
This is the sort of thing that gets certain circles riled up with optimism; however, if they paused long enough to really contemplate the implications of what the Hungarian PM is saying, they might just understand that any optimism invested in the Hungarian PM -- or others like him -- is severely misguided.
But, as you said so well in your other post from yesterday, that would require unlearning a lot of basic assumptions and learning or discovering "sounder" ones. A coherent set of metaphysical assumptions quickly exposes fake straws like the Hungarian PM (and hinders one from attempting to clutch at them).
8 February 2024 at 08:50
Colin said...
I repent the sin of getting excited for several minutes about the story about a recent 2 hr chat in the FN..
@Frank and Colin - Both excellent examples of what I mean.
8 February 2024 at 12:14
Clutching at fake straws seems to be a favourite activity among those who might regard themselves as "conservatives" or "on the Right" or "based" - those sensible, moderate, realistic, constructive, pragmatic folk; who prefer actions to words; who seek to roll-back leftism, atheism and materialism bit-by-bit and by traditional means. I mean those incorrigible optimists (i.e. those who fail to realize the severity of the situation, and refuse to learn from experience) who continue to take an active interest in mainstream politics in general, and elections in particular. Those who get excited by the positive possibilities of allegedly-dissenting persons who participate in public discourse and feature in the mass media.Those who seek radical change from reforming current institutions; by infiltrating and re-occupying enemy-held ground. Those most vocal in criticizing and boycotting those that seem most-extremely-evil among powerful, wealthy, high-status corporations and bureaucracies. Those who seek support for building new more-functional, more-effective, more-efficient organizations to outcompete the current market leaders.And so on. Putting energy and resources and hope into such activities; is not just clutching at straws in relation of the vast bulking haystacks of current trends; but it always turns-out - over-and-over again - that these are fake straws...Pseudo-straws whose covert connections and this-worldly motivations mean they are just another part of the haystack - part of the problem; not an alternative source of "nourishment". Grasping at fake straws is not just a waste of time, it is a consuming distraction from what we ought to be doing..Not just a distraction, but The Wrong Thing Altogether. Things are much, much worse than such people think; and failure to grasp this is fatal, because it reveals a failure of discernment; which is itself revelatory of corrupt collusion. This is a spiritual war; and if we are not fighting the war spiritually - then we are not fighting it at all.
"Clutching at Fake Straws..."
3 Comments -
I confess that I was prone to clutch at fake straws from time to time before 2019-2020, but the birdemic put an end to all that for me (hopefully).
"Those who seek radical change from reforming current institutions; by infiltrating and re-occupying enemy-held ground."
Yes, the Hungarian PM is often lauded in certain circles for that. Just the other day, he was asked whether he was considering taking his country out of the EU. His response? He has no plans to leave the EU. His plans involve *taking over* the EU.
This is the sort of thing that gets certain circles riled up with optimism; however, if they paused long enough to really contemplate the implications of what the Hungarian PM is saying, they might just understand that any optimism invested in the Hungarian PM -- or others like him -- is severely misguided.
But, as you said so well in your other post from yesterday, that would require unlearning a lot of basic assumptions and learning or discovering "sounder" ones. A coherent set of metaphysical assumptions quickly exposes fake straws like the Hungarian PM (and hinders one from attempting to clutch at them).
8 February 2024 at 08:50
I repent the sin of getting excited for several minutes about the story about a recent 2 hr chat in the FN..
8 February 2024 at 10:24
@Frank and Colin - Both excellent examples of what I mean.
8 February 2024 at 12:14