“Watch your top knot.” – Jeremiah Johnson
Bill Clinton thought Hillary would be a good president: “There’s no chance she’ll blow it.”
Alexander the Great is said to have solved the riddle of the Gordian Knot in 333 B.C. Whoever solved the Knot, the legend said, would rule all of Asia. Alexander took one look at the large and complex knot, pulled out his sword and cut right through it. I think Alexander was certain that he’d be successful and that no one would challenge his solution since he had, you know, an army with him. I guess you could say he was so confident that he was knot sure.
One of the things that I’ve seen fairly consistently in my life is that, like Alexander, I generally know the answer right when I see the problem. Some of them, like calculus problems, it took a lot of work to get the answer, admittedly, but there was no place when I said, “Well, if only the Federal government had a Federal Bureau of Solving Calculus problems, I’d be set.” No. I knew the only answer was for me to sit down and hack through that calculus problem until I had it solved.
Most problems in life are just that simple. Too hot in the living room? Get a fan. Turn the air conditioning down. Experiment to see how many cold beers it takes to make me feel cold. But I never think to act on that until I’m uncomfortable. When I’m slightly warm, I don’t go running for the fan, I just deal with it. But when I start to sweat?
Time to take action.
What does a hipster say to create peer pressure? “C’mon, man, no one is doing it!”
I think most people are like this, not just me. Sure, there are things I do when I anticipate a problem coming down the road to save myself the trouble. But like that room temperature slowly rising, at some point I look at the situation and note, “This must be dealt with.” But I always knew the solution.
The solution itself isn’t the issue. Most solutions are mind-numbingly clear. The level of frustration or fear or whatever motivating me just has to be high enough that I’m willing to take the action necessary to solve the problem. To be clear, I also have to believe that my action might work – if I think the air conditioner is broken, for instance, I won’t bother to go over to turn it on and will stick with the whole “drink a lot of really cold beer” idea.
The above paragraph contains all three of dead economist Ludwig Von Mises’ causes of Human Action. Von Mises said for anyone to take conscious action, for any action three things needed to be present:
- A Vision of a Better State
- A Path to That Better State
- Belief That Following the Path Will Take Us to That Better State.
While I’m focusing on today is when we already know what we want, I’ll just noted that it doesn’t have to come in that order.
It turns out my chemistry teacher was right – alcohol is a solution.
On a personal level, I have to be uncomfortable enough from where I am and where I could be to initiate action. The Vision has to be sufficiently far from where I am for me to care. But, again, I generally know the solution, it just requires enough discomfort to create action. If my air conditioner isn’t working in December, that’s not a big deal. If it has failed in July, that’s where I’m willing to pay extra to see the repair folks show up on a Sunday afternoon because the liquor stores are closed then.
Other examples – I don’t paint my house when it’s a little faded, I might need to see some bare spots. I wait until the trashcan is maybe slightly more than full to take it out. But in each case the action isn’t in question. I always know the solution. It’s not a mystery.
It’s similar as a society. In a society, we all have the ability to act as individuals, but there is some minimum number of people that are required to take action. One group, the 3%ers, took their name from the idea that only 3% of the American Colonial population fought and won against the British. I’m not sure that 3% is correct; that’s irrelevant to the post.
Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide.
Certainly, that’s a minimization, because if there hadn’t been broad support for the American Revolution anyway, it wouldn’t have happened. Rather, I am certain that group of fighters represented the symptom of a greater dissatisfaction.
Everyone on the side of the Revolution knew what had to be done. If you take a few minutes to re-read the Declaration of Independence, it certainly spells out the vision, and also spells out the reasons why it was important to take the action.
Of the signers, at least John Hancock had belief that the actions would work, since he signed his name so boldly and largely. And John Hancock never told a knock-knock joke. Why? Freedom rings, baby.
For each of the societal ills we see, the solution isn’t complex, it’s simple. We just haven’t had the guts to implement it. If mobs are ruling the streets of San Francisco or Chicago or Malmo, the solution isn’t to study the problem with a commission. The solution is to make crime much more uncomfortable than the reward for committing the crime.
I’m glad Godzilla® wasn’t Korean. That would have been Seoul destroying.
That solution to stopping crime will involve dead criminals. Oddly, it takes less to keep criminals in line than to stop criminality, but the solution almost always involves Rooftop Koreans and bar owners with very short shotguns and prosecutors that don’t prosecute good and honest people stopping crime.
If the problem is illegals flooding the southern border, the only actual solution is to make living in the United States a living hell for illegals. I assure you, if sufficient pressure was applied, the illegals would deport themselves in weeks.
Have an anchor baby? Fine. It goes into an orphanage or with foster parents. Illegals have to leave. Something tells me the parents will pack up the kids as they head out.
Brought here as a young child and the United States is the only country they’ve ever known? Not my problem. They have to go back.
Drugs? Simple solution. I’ll leave that one to you.
Illegitimate kids? Remove spousal support and child support and welfare. Illegitimate kids will cease in a year and the baby-daddy with 20 different baby-mommas will disappear while those baby-mommas cease to have sex randomly. Or, if they do? They have to suffer the consequences.
What about the kids? Yeah, heard it. Don’t care. It’s that sort of forced compassion that destroys nations, turns them into countries, and eventually leads to Balkanization.
I fell into the reupholstery machine at the furniture factory. I’m completely recovered now.
I’m right and every person reading this knows it.
The wonderful part is that these solutions will take place. Sadly, because the room is getting warmer, these solutions will take place only when the discomfort is so high that it will be unpleasant for all concerned.
And then, once again, the Gordian Knot will be solved.
Demoralization, destabilization, burning it all down from within.
Too much of that lazy and lame when will the government do something attitude has got us here.
I like the meme stating that we won’t be able to defeat the foreign enemies externally until the internal quisling traitors are dealt with.
Collaborators are traitors too.
And there are plenty.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/conservative-groups-draw-up-plan-to-dismantle-the-u-s-government-and-replace-it-with-trump-s-vision/ar-AA1g0dNf
https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
Leftists always project. They always accuse you of doing what they’re planning.
Step by step . . .
Most of the people that need to act and see the need for action are still too comfortable. The system mostly works, day in and out, for most people. The day is coming, probably fairly soon, when it stops working. Until then, no one is going to do what needs to be done.
WORD.
Discomfort is heading upwards. Won’t be long.
Very cool summation, yet it would be prudent to repair the
air conditioner before July rolls in. But, then we act when we are
duly uncomfortable. Bring it on, (actually it is on) so we are willing to act.
We never fix it until it’s uncomfortable. Which will be soon.
Nicely red-pilled summary, and I am especially fond of the ‘tough love’ aspects. But pushing those (relatively) draconian measures past the bleeding hearts, all of whom will shriek, “But the children! is going to be a hard sell. The secret to making any of this happen is to somehow convince affluent White female liberals that it is their ideas, not yours. The smug is strong with that volatile demographic, and until they embrace tough love as their own creation, all I can say is good luck selling it to them.
As an aside, I don’t know if you measure out your puns and merciless Dad jokes, JW, but you’ve got to be approaching some sort of Joke Event Horizon with this one. I am weak from groaning.
Ban female voting.
‘The secret to making any of this happen is to somehow convince affluent White female liberals that it is their ideas, not yours.’
Yeah, let’s turn the moon into a carrot, too. This is the group that Woke Amerika is built around. The coven that is D.C. is merely the spirit-mirror of empowered white females. Nobody is gonna talk them out of their power.
Unfortunately Ray you are right that it won’t happen, but it sort of illuminates the problem.
The opinions of the sheep don’t matter to the shepherd.
Sheep with opinions end up running off cliffs, like Burdened pigs. Same for nations.
Where we’re going . . . we won’t need Dad jokes. (couldn’t resist)
You got me with the freedom rings line…
Always best if coffee ends up on the keyboard.
Are we going to have a peasant revolution motivated by hungry stomachs, or a middle-class civil war motivated by ideology and animosity?
That will be the same group.
Yes.
IMHO the necessary pain (not discomfort) you are referring to is 15 months away, give or take a month.
Depending on the eco-crazy thought of the moment this winter might be the freezing “Ah HA!” moment.
The NE of America is one idiot error from not having enough natural gas to keep the lights on and homes heated.
15 months would be a blessing for the slow in preparing (IF they are paying attention at all).
My take is that it could be 8 more years. Depends on the currency.
This is your best post since you started the blog.
Thank you.
“Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things.” ~ Marvin Heemeyer
Strike “Sometimes”, insert “Now is the time that …”
Or, in the words of the venerable Clint Smith, “Boom to the crotch, boom to the crotch, then go to work.”
Yup, coming soon . . .
100% spot on sir. the last paragraph saved me however many keystrokes are in there.
Thank you.
I would have gone with “Seoul crushing,” but stylistic differences are a valid thing.
I like it! I could always use editing, because my blood is type O.
The Black Swan will come when it’s least expected. I’d be shocked if no blood is spilled when it does.
The future lies on the other side of rivers of blood, mountains of skulls, and oceans of tears.
The only choice is whose.
It will be. It’s gone too long, too far.
No TED talk here. We just have JOHN talk!
Thank you!!!
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war
and my fingers for battle
(Ps. 144)
Amen.
Tools only work when you use them. Or, as Sir Pterry wrote:
“The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.”
“Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil… prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun.”
“Give a man a fire and he’s warm for a day, but set fire to him and he’s warm for the rest of his life.”
“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.”
Excellent, excellent quotes. But I’d expect nothing less.
I’ve been saying for Years that “As long as the Lights are On, there is Food (or some chemical facsimile thereof) and Cheap Beer at the Grocery, GhettoSportsball, and Pron and Instathots on the Interwebs, the vast majority of people Don’t Care who is President, Don’t Care that the Just-Us Department hides the Corruption, and Don’t Care (or want to Understand) that the zionist neoclowns, led by the (((nudelmann-kaganovitches))) are trying to start a Nuclear War with Russia.
The Apathy is so thick you can Cut it with a Dull Cake Knife, and only something that creates Widespread, Direct Hardship for Millions of Couch Potatoes all at once is going to have any chance of creating the conditions for a proper rebellion against the Corruption. Nuclear War might do it, but on the other hand, if The Bear were to Vaporize “the Swamp”(tm) a lot of people either wouldn’t Notice, or wouldn’t Care.
Comfort is starting to disappear, and at a rapid clip. The State is finding printing prosperity is not going to happen.
John, I approached this same subject from a different angle for Monday’s post – short version, we have a society and civilization which currently has no vision other than live under more control and with less enjoyment. People will not invest in that kind of society. It is things like that causes societies to rupture and civilizations to faile
And that’s where we’re headed, but the violence will start sooner.
Stop. Teasing. Me.
No one wants the shooting to start because they know it’ll be so wonderful. It won’t be any such thing.
They want it to start because they know it will work.
Period.
It will. And it is inevitable.
There’s an election coming.
Hope y’all have enough ballots for your voting machines.
My state is so red that we’ve got it covered. We do need more red state folks in charge of local voting . . . .
perhaps I should have spelled ballots differently…
Vote from the rooftops.
The tally never lies.
Hahahahaha! I get it.
The a should be pronounced as the a in “senate”.
Yup.
“prosecutors that don’t prosecute good and honest people stopping crime”
^^THIS^^ is the central issue. No one wants to risk prison for anything less than an imminent threat to their own life. You may still go to prison (ask Daniel Perry) but at least you aren’t dead. Anything less and it just isn’t worth it.
There’s been a lot of online hand-wringing over the thug who beat a 60-year-old woman with her own cane in the subway. ‘Why didn’t anyone intervene?!’, ‘How could someone just video it and do nothing?!’, etc. I have seen zero acknowledgement that effective intervention would have involved shooting the attacker and I suspect most of the hand-wringers would loudly call for the arrest of anyone who took such action.
They would. Just as one mother I heard was upset that her son was killed by an AR while HE WAS BREAKING IN TO SOMEONE’S HOUSE. It just wasn’t fair, she said.