After the United States dies, the evil of prohibition will (albeit gradually) follow it into Hell. – “Successor”
Four years ago I wrote “The Mills of the Gods”, in which I explained that…
…my perspective on human affairs had undergone a dramatic shift toward the cosmic…my viewpoint…receded, as though I had stepped away from a magnifying lens through which I had always viewed the world…since then I have been unable to view the timescale of any human life as “long”, and in fact often catch myself talking about stretches of many decades as “brief periods in history”…
Though at the time of that writing I imagined the process as a singular shift, I have since come to realize that it was only the beginning of a continuing process which has since gone much further, and will probably continue until I leave this world. Whether the disassociation is merely a part of the original process, a response to the deep emotional trauma of the past few years, a defense mechanism to protect my psyche against the cultural horror show I chronicle every day, an adaptation to make me a more effective activist or some combination of several or all of these, I cannot tell; all I know is that I’ve come to view the present as an historical tableau, a set of events that has already happened, which I observe unfolding as though I were a time traveler from a future age. This isn’t to say I know what’s going to happen; I usually don’t, and even when I do I arrive at the prediction by cognitive processes rather than precognitive ones. At least, I think that’s the case, and if I’m wrong it’s probably better I don’t know about it just yet.
So, while many of my friends are extremely concerned and even frightened by the events of this century so far (and especially recent events), I tend to view them with a sort of detachment. This isn’t to say that I’m not angry or offended by them, but I also tend to burst into tears when watching any depiction of the First World War and a number of other historical events that I’m not aware of having been a part of. Expressed less metaphysically, the political events I’m living through now don’t really feel any more real or personal to me than the events of the Great War, the Roman civil wars or the constantly-shifting political landscape of ancient Mesopotamia, and my tiny part in the events of the present often feels almost inevitable, as though I’m following a script written for me long ago. People call me heroic, but I don’t feel heroic; I usually feel as though what I’m doing is the only possible choice, or at least the only moral one.
And so, unlike most Americans, I have no innate sense of American exceptionalism; I understand that the current American government will soon (on the historical scale of time) fall, just as all bloated, decadent, dying empires do, and that we’re already beyond the point at which future historians will divide the “classical” US from the late-period one. I understand that when the collapse comes, it’s not going to be pretty or nice, and that a lot of innocent blood will be spilled along with that of the tyrants and revolutionaries. I recognize that it’s very unlikely that a new federal government without a clear line of political succession will be able to hold onto all of the states any more than collapsing Rome could hold onto all of her far-flung provinces, and that it’s very likely that in another century the map of North America will look at least as different from the current one as a map of modern Europe looks from an 18th-century one. I understand and accept these things as wholly as you accept the events of the 19th century: as phenomena that, while one might have feelings about them (even very strong feelings), there’s absolutely nothing one can do about them. Call that fatalism if you like; I don’t see it that way. I see it as history, and I see history as a continuously-unfolding process stretching into the far future rather than as a collection of moldering facts about the dead past.
Right on. Well said.
And each human being, just like every other creature in this universe has her or his role to play with the cards (s)he has been dealt. On the scale of universal time we last less than an eye’s wink, just enough to do what we are meant to do. This is not fatalism but a sense of perspective. It’s good to be aware that we didn’t invent creation and are definitely not in control of it, not even responsible for it. The tricky thing is our mind. No one has figured out what its purpose is in the grand scheme of things (except for being a pain in the ass on the diminutive, human scale of things).
Consistent with history and observable facts. In fact, rather obvious. Also, I am sure, the Romans and many other civilizations before and after them had their own version of “Exceptionalism”. In the end, all it is is a delusion to make those believing it feel better.
I do share that detachment though.
Indeed, time scale is often lost upon both doomsayers and enthusiastic optimists.
Depending on what you consider beginning and end points, the Roman empire lasted from about 450 years to about 1450 years from inception to final collapse. The USA has been in existence for about half the shortest estimate for the Roman empire.
On the shorter end of modern empire longevity, the USSR lasted less than 70 years.
On the shorter end of historical empire longevity, Philip II’s Macedonian empire rose in about 25 years. His son Alexander’s greater empire lasted less than that.
As the 20th century philosopher Walter Benjamin noted:
It’s the same cast of characters and stories over and over again, the only things that change are the costumes and the props. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players…”
A minor correction: You should say “a historical” not “an historical.” The h is sounded, not silent.
Nope.
“A historic is more common in both American and British English, but both usages are sufficiently common to be considered correct.”
Don’t try to fucking correct anyone if you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about; I used to teach composition, asshole. Pointing out typos is one thing, “correcting” syntax is quite another entirely.
See Joel Garreau’s book from 1981–wiki page below–which sets up the regionalization of the US.
I’m with you, Maggie, on the collapse of the US. I think what most people are afraid of is acute pain going on for a long time. That’s why they’re horrified and afraid. Worse, it’s the denial of that ever happening to them which allows the conservative idiots to propose hurting at least 10% of the population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Nations_of_North_America