“Do you mean he never told you the tale? To amuse your captain? No? Never told how the Enterprise picked up the Botany Bay, lost in space?” – Star Trek, Wrath of Khan
Violence can’t cure violence, but it sure can destroy an alien robot.
I mentioned last week about a scene in the Netflix® remake of the 1960’s series Lost in Space™ where the father, John Robinson, (a Marine, I believe) was attempting to use a 3D printer to print out a gun. The reason he wanted to print out a gun? They were on an unknown planet with unknown hostile critters around them.
In the next episode, there were space eels (complete with space teeth) that were drinking the spaceship’s space fuel. Without the space fuel, the space ship becomes better known as a “house.” And in this case, a house that was in danger of being crushed, perhaps killing the entire family.
A good time for a gun, right?
No.
He had to fight the space eels with a knife, and, though they did survive, he still doesn’t have a space gun. Because . . . there are no reasons to have guns in space, according to his wife, Maureen Robinson, who has the keys to the 3D printer.
I actually laughed out loud.
Stranded, on an alien world, with dangers, unfathomable dangers surrounding you isn’t a good reason to have a gun? I’m pretty sure that the number of mothers that would share that sentiment is very near zero, even someone very liberal. Why?
Reactions to conditions change opinions, and the elements of danger change how we act as a society and as individuals, and the values that we hold dear. An example: very few (nearly zero) people knowing that a dangerous person is inside their house, outside the door of their child, would not want to have a gun. The old saw is that the police are only minutes away when seconds count, and it’s an accurate phrase.
What other values besides personal defense change in response to societal stress or imminent danger? Quite a few:
Family – in times of danger and stress, society as a whole will tend to push more toward monogamy, restricted sexual mores, and more stable families. Why? When resources are constricted, there is a real danger that family dissolution would lead to great disadvantages to the family. Hence, families bond together more tightly. Divorces dropped significantly during the roughest parts of the Great Depression – dropping 25% during the first few years. Divorce rates have headed back up, and it’s nearly certain that the great economy plus the social safety net of the various welfare programs have had on the family.
Oh, next one dad is going to read is about environmental regulations associated with nesting migrant waterfowl. YAY!
Capitalism – Ironically, the great degree of material prosperity brought about by capitalism actually agitates people to want to take the stuff that other people earned. For whatever reason, this isn’t known as greed. I had a conversation with a friend, and noted that since socialist countries tend to freeze intellectual progress, wouldn’t it be better if we went farther into the future before we became fully socialist so we could have the innovation that capitalism provides. He thought that was a good idea.
Communism has been the result of social upheaval, not communism in the past – and you’d think that would be an indicator that communism was inevitable with a large enough crisis. And it appears it might be, but only in nations built upon totalitarianism in the first place – when Russia fell it was from one absolute government to another. When China fell, it was from one a military ruler to another military ruler. But the United States was different – sure, communists made a run at the country, but there wasn’t any real chance they’d win. Why? Americans had been free – and the fabric of the nation was built upon the idea that if you let a man have a chance, he can make it. That’s the American Dream, right? No part of the American Dream has ever been “give me everything and I’ll give you my soul.”
During tough times, will Americans still turn towards capitalism? Yes. At least now. More on that for a future post.
Yeah, I’m making the memes now. My kids hate this. All bad “dad” jokes.
Good and Bad – In a crisis, good and bad exist. Liberals hate the concept of good and bad – it’s judgmental. It’s a violation of a basic premise – that all cultures are equal. And, maybe on some sort of academic realm, they are. But cultures are vastly different at the most basic level on the outcomes of wealth and individual freedoms they produce, and some are horribly inferior on this basis. They’re bad.
There. I said it.
And if we’re fighting them? They’ll be the bad guy. And you’ll agree, liberal or conservative (if we’re in a crisis).
He only laughs at pratfalls in movies if he knows that the person broke a bone during filming.
I won’t go through them on this post (but each topic could be its own post), but the following topics are also ones where people will change their opinions based upon the level of crisis in society:
- Immigration
- Nationalism
- Small government
- Political correctness
As many of my college textbooks said . . . the proof is elementary and left to the reader. But I might post about them in the future.
We are in for changes in our future, and the very mindset of society will change in response to our condition. Be ready. Or, failing being ready, have a knife to kill the space fuel eating space eels.
