My final thoughts on That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

The book starts and ends with the subject of marriage. And Lewis was right, that is where much of the postmodern attack on our society is focused. Most Christians would agree on this (Those who do not, I fear, are dubiously to be called Christians.), but not all of us would agree where exactly it started. I am now Catholic partly because I think this started with the acceptance and widespread use of contraceptives. It's a strange thing. It seems like it should be fine, but it is amazing how destructive that is. Even if you set aside for the moment the poisonous effect of hormonal contraceptives (which is a horrifying problem that almost no one talks about), it is clear that the contraceptive attitude has wildly warped our society.

As I noted before, most of this book is a slow burn. I don't think that really bothered me before, but I definitely noticed it when I was carefully reading it chapter by chapter (and writing summaries for each section). And then there's an enormous explosion at the end, both literally and figuratively. In that, it reminds me a little bit of a Neil Stephenson book. I hear he's been infected by social justice thinking. That's too bad. He's a fascinating writer.

One of the interesting things about this book I noticed this time through is how Lewis explores different kinds of minds: animal & human, man & woman, modern & medieval, upper & lower class, and subject to various kinds of spiritual corruption. Is he perfectly accurate? Of course not, but it's interesting to contemplate.

This book also addresses what does evil look like in action. It's kind of interesting because both N.I.C.E. and the company of Logres have very vague expectations of the responsibilities of their members, but it works out so very differently in the two cases.

One flaw, which I had intended to mention in my comments on the final chapter, which I haven't made yet, is the idolization of the feminine. Lewis appears to fall victim to W.A.W., but nobody's perfect. Both Jane and Mark must make amends for their failures in the marriage, but these amends are very different in nature. Jane humbles herself before Ransom and God. She reluctantly, with some apparent distaste, humbles herself to her husband. Mark, on the other hand, when he realizes his error, is almost worshipful in his attitude towards Jane. This does not seem in balance to me.

One final note, an interesting progression I noticed in this trilogy:

Out of the Silent Planet - Unfallen

Perelandra - Will it fall?

That Hideous Strength - Fully fallen and with corruption almost entirely dominant

Perhaps that's part of why I like this one the least of the three (although I still think it's a very good book.)

We'll get started on Centrism Games shortly. I'll post the first discussion board either next weekend or the one after. Talk with you soon.

Chapter 17 - Venus at St. Anne's

 Part 1 - Mark makes his way to St. Anne's, on the way, stopping at a hotel & reading a book he enjoyed in childhood.

Part 2 - The women of St. Anne's select formal dresses for the farewell to Ransom. They have no mirror, so they must each help the others select theirs, and admire them. At the end of the chapter, there is a great disturbance from the direction of Edgestow.

Part 3 - Feverstone, abandoning the wrecked car, makes his way towards Edgestow. On the way, he notices an unusual amount of traffic flowing the other way, but makes nothing of it. Just as he arrives, he finds himself caught up in a series of earthquakes, culminating in a vast explosion.

Part 4 - At St. Anne's, the company says farewell to Ransom. They discuss the difference between the heavenly nation (Logres) and the corrupt nation (Britain) and England, which is caught in between the two. At the end of the section, Mr. Bultitude makes his way home.

Part 5 - Mr. Curry, on a train back to Edgestow, is stopped before arriving by the catastrophe ahead. He immediately begins planning, in his head, how he will become the founder of the new Bracton College.

Part 6 - A series of animal escapees from N.I.C.E. make their way to St. Anne's. They immediately begin seeking partners, under the influence of Venus, who is arriving to carry away Ransom to her planet to recover there. Ransom sends Jane to meet with Mark and reconcile.

Part 7 - Mark approaches St. Anne's, contemplating in his mind how poorly he treated Jane, and how little worthy he is. He is welcomed by Venus (though he does not know her).

Part 8 - Jane finally meets with Mark again, although we do not see the meeting.

---

And that's the book. Thanks for joining us. We don't seem to do nearly as well for participation with fiction as with non-fiction. Should I cut that out of our schedule? I'm open to the idea. I'm planning to do a midweek post with my thoughts on the book as a whole, and obviously welcoming yours as well.

And shortly, we'll be starting Centrism Games. Talk with you soon.

Chapter 16 - Banquet at Belbury

Part 1 - Jules gives his speech before the assembled Institute, but partway through, begins speaking gibberish. Then everyone's speech (and writing) becomes gibberish. Hardcastle, drunk amid the chaos, shoots Jules. And wild animals invade the banquet hall and begin bloodily killing.

Part 2 - We see both Mr. Bultitude & Mr. Maggs mourning their indefinite captivity. Merlin (who had inflicted the curse of Babel upon the banquet hall) releases both, as well as the other prisoners and animals. Most of the animals he directs to the banquet hall. Mr. Bultitude (one of the great bears of Logres whom he prophesied would do a great work for Logres) follows Merlin.

Part 3 - Merlin rouses Mark and sends him to St. Anne's with a warning to stay away from Edgestow.

Part 4 - Wither and Straik, having escaped the slaughter in the banquet hall, seize Filostrato and drag him to the Head. The Head demands sacrifice and they behead Filostrato. Realizing that the head would demand another sacrifice, they fall upon each other. Wither manages to kill Straik. Wither then meets with a raging bear.

Part 5 - Lord Feverstone sees disaster coming and manages to escape the institute by car. However, before he's gone anywhere, he finds himself controlled by an unseen passenger and forced to drive by the most direct (but not comfortable) route to Edgestow.

Part 6 - Frost, under an impulsion he does not understand, but unable to really reason any longer, locks himself in the objective room and sets it all ablaze.

---

This has, for the most part, been a slow novel with a lot of talking. Well, that all changed in this chapter.

Next week we're wrapping up Lewis and will soon start with Centrism Games. I look forward to your thoughts.

Chapter 15 - The Descent of the Gods

Part 1 - Five of the planetary eldils descend upon St. Anne's. We see the effects of their personalities upon the human inhabitants of the house.

Part 2 - A stranger is brought to Belbury to interview "Merlin." He begins translating for Frost & Wither and finishes with "Merlin" ordering them out (by way of his translator) and then he puts Mark to sleep.

Part 3 - Frost & Wither debate what is to be done with "Merlin." The notice that it very much appears that the translator is in command, but don't know what to make of this. Wither forgets an important appointment, and upon realizing this, finds it very disturbing. The machinery that has, for most purposes, replaced his personality, seems to be breaking down. They return to the room to find "Merlin" ordering one of them to take him on a tour of the facility.

Part 4- Frost takes Mark to the Objective Room and tells him to trample a crucifix. After a long internal struggle, Mark refuses. Before Frost can react, Wither, "Merlin" and Merlin burst into the room.

Part 5 - The nominal director Jules arrives before the banquet. He finds the N.I.C.E. in some disarray, with Wither unaccountably missing. Finally, Frost, and Wither show up along with a couple of others. Wither attempts to introduce him to "Merlin," but this does not go well.

---

So for those intending to continue with Centrism Games, I hope you've ordered your copies, since we're almost finished here. The story of N.I.C.E. comes to a rather jarring conclusion and Lewis wraps up the more personal stories.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Chapter 14 - Real Life Is Meeting

Part 1 - Mark and Frost talk once again in Mark's cell. Frost explains that existence is self-justifying and that terms such as "good" and "bad" are meaningless. Therefore, whatever is, should be. And whatever is growing more so, should grow more so and be encouraged. Mark is sent to the Objectivity Room for training. He is then sent to keep watch on "Merlin" who wakes up and speaks to him in course English.

Part 2 - Jane and Mrs. Dimble prepare for Mr. Maggs's return and reuniting with Ivy, setting them up in a little cottage on the property. They talk about marriage. Jane contemplates the coldness of her own marriage. She then has a chaotic vision of giantess and several dwarves disrupting the house.

Part 3 - Mr. Bultitude wanders out of St. Anne's grounds and is captured by N.I.C.E.  staff, apparently intended for some sort of animal experimentation.

Part 4 - Mark has further "objectivity training" and develops a strange friendship with "Merlin".

Part 5 - Jane tells the director about her vision. He explains to her that she likely saw a terrestrial copy of Perelandra, and that she is in a dangerous position, being neither pagan nor Christian, and that she must find a home. The house gets word that Mr. Maggs is not being released, but instead will be subject to the rehabilitative treatment of N.I.C.E.

Part 6 - Jane walks in the gardens and argues within herself about God & her role, whether she has understood her real place. Then she finds herself seized by God, and sees a brief glimpse of who she is in and for him.

---

So if you would like to join us for the next book, go ahead and order your copy of Centrism Games by Rachel Fulton Brown and the Dragon Common Room. Considering its length, once we've started that, we'll soon be talking about what will follow.

I look forward to your thoughts on this chapter.

Chapter 13 - They have pulled down deep heaven

 Part 1 - Ransom confronts the Stranger at the door. The Stranger has apparently cast MacPhee into an enchanted sleep. After a tense exchange, Ransom identifies himself as the Pendragon, and the Stranger kneels before him.

Part 2 - Wither and Frost debate how to communicate with Merlin. They decide to allow Straik and Studdock to watch over him in turns until something new develops.

Part 3 - Dimble, Denniston & Jane return to find McPhee asleep. They wake him up and the four go to find out what's happened. They find the the entire house (including Mr. Bultitude) asleep. Finally, they see Ransom talking with Merlin. Ransom explains they've quite mistaken who and what Merlin is.

Part 4 - Dr. and Mrs. Dimble discuss Merlin and how the world has changed since his time, with options becoming fewer and grays vanishing into blacks and whites.

Part 5 - Ransom and Merlin talk about what is to be done. Ransom explains that Merlin's purpose is to be a vessel for the power of the greater eldils. Merlin searches for other options, looking to the power of England's king, other Christian kings or even decent pagans to oppose the monstrous witchcraft which has arisen in England. Ransom explains that the entire Earth has been corrupted and they have no other options, no other power but that lent by the heavens. Merlin resigns himself to this assignment.

---

So it looks like Centrism Games is an acceptable choice for our next book. If anyone has strenuous objections, let me know because I have a couple of other options in mind, and am always open to others' thoughts as well.

It is even possible we could get the editrix to contribute a few of her own thoughts to the discussion, which even with our previous living author seemed unlikely. I look forward to more of your thoughts on Lewis's book in the meantime.

Concerning our next book

 So I have an unusual suggestion for our next book. My suggestion is Centrism Games by Rachel Fulton Brown and the Dragon Common Room.

This is a satirical poem about today's politics, somewhat in the tradition of Alexander Pope's Dunciad. Now, I know some of you are not that fond of poetry, but it is a narrative poem, so there is a story to follow. If it helps, it is by Rachel Fulton Brown, who is a friend and ally of Milo Yiannopoulos and Vox Day, among others.

Also a point in this book's favor, even if you aren't a big fan of poetry, it's only 83 pages long, and so will take us just four weeks. If this suggestion is universally panned, I have a few others to throw out. And, as always, I am open for yours.

Chapter 12 - Wet and Windy Night

 Part 1 - Dimble, Denniston, and Jane search the campsite but come up empty.

Part 2 - The narrator describes Deputy Director Wither's bizarre mode of consciousness, which can scarcely be compared to the normal human mode of being. Wither gets a report from the field that Merlin's chamber has been found empty and search parties have been dispatched for the wizard.

Part 3 - Dimble, Denniston, and Jane (which is starting to sound like a law firm) get lost returning to the car and see a strange man pass by on horseback. They call to him, but he seems to ignore them.

Part 4 - In Mark's cell, Frost explains that N.I.C.E. is working with beings he calls macrobes, and that their real goal involves a drastic reduction of the human population. He also attempts to convey to Mark the objective mindset necessary to be a part of this endeavor. This objective mindset appears to be a complete detachment from normal human emotion or moral standards.

Mark resolves not to trust the men of the N.I.C.E. again, but once again feels the temptation of "the inner circle."

Part 5 - There is a conversation in the kitchen at St. Anne's. Someone arrives at the back door on horseback.

Part 6 - Frost and Wither attempt to communicate with the man whom their agents brought back from near the exit of Merlin's resting place. He happily eats the food offered, but appears to ignore them.

Part 7 - In his cell, Mark ponders his situation alone. He begins to imagine himself heroic for rejecting the temptation. Mark is immediately almost entirely pulled back into the whole mess of ambition and desire in his own mind. He recognizes that some kind of outside force seemed to have been assailing him, and that he had been unable to offer any real resistance. He realizes how little he has backing him up and resents that.

---

I found my paper copy of That Hideous Strength, somewhat ironically on the same day I lost track of another book I'm reading. Thanks to Civil Truth for pointing out an electronic copy for me.

Midweek, I'll put up a post talking about our next book. I have a somewhat unusual suggestion, but maybe you guys will go for it. In any case, I have a few other options as well.

Chapter 11 - Battle Begun

 Part 1 - Dimble, Denniston, and Jane search for Merlin. They struggle through the woods in the rain to come upon an empty campsite beside a fire.

Part 2 - Frost, Whithers, and Hardcastle plot what to do with Mark. The scene ends with a bizarre, diabolic parody of a hug and friendly laughter.

Part 3 - Mark is locked in prison awaiting death. He finally confronts, without illusion, what he and his life have been like. He is repulsed.

---

So I seem to have misplaced my own copy of the book. I'm about to order another. Fortunately, I've been keeping my notes in a separate notebook. In the meantime, I'll probably listen to an audio version from the library.

I look forward to your comments.

One question: How many chapters do we have left?

Chapter 10 - The Conquered City

Part 1 - Deputy Director Whithers and Hardcastle tell Mark his wallet was found at the site of Hingest's murder. They implicitly threaten him with murder charges if he doesn't stick with N.I.C.E. (Because everything they do is implicit. They never directly come out & say anything.) The Deputy Director demands he brings Jane.

Part 2 - Mark flees the N.I.C.E. and goes to Edgestow in search of Jane. He sees the refugees fleeing N.I.C.E.'s actions, and sees how the ordinary citizens of nearby towns seem completely uninterested and unsympathetic. Mark panics upon arriving home and failing to find Jane. But upon finding someone to blame (Dimble) and having a drink, he manages to reconcile himself mentally with N.I.C.E.

Part 3 - Mark meets with Dimble to ask where Jane is. Dimble rebuffs him, saying he cannot tell Mark for the sake of Jane's safety. He does, however, offer Mark a chance to escape. Mark says he needs time to think about it. Upon leaving Dimble's office, Mark is arrested by the N.I.C.E. police for the murder of Hingest.

When the N.I.C.E. comes for you.

 I don't know whether you've heard of this or not. It seems to match the modus operandi of the NICE (in the early stages). This was an incident from a month or so ago. A school board held a public meeting in which they invited public comment on their policy regarding students profoundly confused about their sexual identities. A teacher attended this meeting and commented as a member of the public, as is his right. But, he made the "wrong" comments. He held the "wrong" opinions.

I'll let a Canadian lawyer explain what happened from there.

and

Tanner Cross Vindicated

Oh, yes, please come and tell us what you think of this policy. By the way, if you say the wrong things, we'll destroy your life and tar you as a bigot who should be made a social pariah.

This is the early stages of this style of tyranny. I have no idea how far it will advance. I do know, however, that every cowardly hiding your face from the facts because they're not "nice" and you want to be a "nice person" gives them strength. Every conservative who viciously attacks others for saying true, but unpleasant things, lends them strength. We don't have time to play around anymore. Those games have cost us far too much already.

God be with you.

Chapter 9 - The Saracen's Head

 Part 1 - Jane dreams about Mark meeting with the Head and reports her dream to the leadership at St. Anne's.

Part 2 - Mark awakes in terror. He resolves to write to Jane to come to N.I.C.E. Hardcastle finds him while he's struggling to write this letter and threatens them both if he doesn't. Mark decides to leave at once. He has a disturbing encounter with Deputy Director Whithers, who seems to be able to be in two places at once, and resigns himself to his fate, returning to the Belbury campus.

Part 3 - MacPhee gives Jane a skeptic's account of Ransom's adventures and their current situation.

Part 4 - The company at St. Anne's (excluding Jane) discuss their situation. MacPhee demands a plan of action. Ransom says that their priority must be stopping N.I.C.E. from obtaining what is underneath Bragdon Wood.

---

Happy Independence Day, everyone. Increasingly, this day grows bittersweet for me. I fear I may outlive this country, and I've come to understand that our influence on the world for some time has not been what most ordinary Americans would applaud. Our government has become a tool of globohomo.

But it is still my country, and I still love it for what it was, for what I grew up in.

Anyway, God be with you. I look forward to your thoughts on this chapter.

Chapter 7 - The Pendragon & chapter 8 - Moonlight at Belbury

Chapter 7 The Pendragon

[Note: Since this is how I came to know him in the first two books, I will be referring to Mr. Fisher-King as Ransom throughout. I hope this is not too confusing.]

Part 1 - Jane meets Ransom (also known as Mr. Fisher-King) for the first time. She is utterly overwhelmed by his mere presence

Part 2 - Jane talks privately with Ransom. She finds he regards her modern notions on marriage with what may best be described as sad amusement. She is told she must return to Edgestow and her husband Jane is sent away when something great and alien is approaching.

Part 3 - Jane contemplates the emotional experience of meeting Ransom while on the train back to Edgestow. She arrives to find the town in the midst of a riot.

Part 4 - Jane is arrested by the N.I.C.E. police & tortured by Hardcastle for information about the resistance. She escapes them in the confusion of the riot and returns to St. Anne's.

Chapter 8 Moonlight at Belbury

Part 1 - Deputy Director Whithers scolds Hardcastle for mishandling Jane. He says if torture is necessary, it should be all-out, and these half-measures are counter-productive. The two of them then go to meet with the Head, going through an elaborate sanitary procedure before they are allowed to do so.

Part 2 - Jane meets with the household at St. Anne's. She finds the company surprisingly egalitarian, considering Ransom's views on marriage. Also, they have a bear.

Part 3 - Deputy Director Whithers invites Mark to bring Jane to live with them at N.I.C.E. Mark is disturbed by the idea, sensing that Jane's presence will reveal things he'd rather not face about the Institute and his current lifestyle. Mark vaguely turns down the director. He later finds out from Hardcastle that this has gotten him into trouble. In a private conversation in his rooms, Filostrato explains that the Institute's ultimate goal is the eradication of organic life in favor of pure mind, which, he says, has already been accomplished by the inhabitants of our moon. Mark is then told that a form of practical life after death has already been accomplished right here, and he is invited to meet with the Head.

---

First off, I apologize for last week's gap. Considering obligations coming up, I think I'm going to cut back to one chapter a week. Second, I think we have finally arrived at the more fantastical elements of the story that a few of the commenters have been craving.

I look forward to your comments.

Chesterton comments on Mark, Jane, and N.I.C.E.

One theme both main characters and the staff of N.I.C.E.  has displayed so far is a near-pathological unwillingness to commit to anything. Jane is terrified of getting tied down in anything (including her marriage). Mark wants to keep his options open to protect himself financially. The staff of N.I.C.E. are unwilling to firmly commit to a job position or responsibilities of new employees.

In his essay collection The Defendant, Chesterton addressed the modern aversion to commitment. I link to it here for our discussion.

A Defense of Rash Vows by G.K. Chesterton

I fear I may not have this weekend's post ready in time. Various factors this week have conspired to keep me from reading much of anything. If not, I promise I will have the discussion post up for next Saturday. I swear to it.

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UPDATE: Civil Truth shares that the Lewis Society of California is having a Zoom discussion of That Hideous Strength at 10 PM (Eastern) tonight. If you'd like to join, follow this link (requires you to have Zoom installed) [Link removed as expired].

Chapter 5 - Elasticity and Chapter 6 - The Fog

Chapter 5 - Elasticity

Part 1 - Mark returns to N.I.C.E. to clearly establish his position. He is rebuffed by Steele and Whithers, then given an assignment by Hardcastle to write a series of articles rehabilitating the reputation of the executed Alcasan.

Part 2 - Mark has an appointment with the deputy director. He still fails to get any direct answers. He learns is old job is in jeopardy and desperately tries to patch things up with Bracton College. He crosses paths with Feverstone again, who callously rebuffs him.

Part 3 - Jane has lunch with the Dennistons. She is invited to join the group that is coalescing at St. Anne's. She turns them down, but offers to continue to share with them the information from her dreams. They warn her that there ultimately is no neutrality in this fight, and she will wind up with one side or the other.

Chapter 6 - The Fog

Part 1 - Mark pleads with the deputy director to remain with N.I.C.E. He is allowed to do so on much reduced terms, and still with no clear idea of his position or responsibilities.

Part 2 - N.I.C.E. continues its takeover of Edgestow. The people are confused and unable to effectively respond. Mark begin his propagandist work. Bracton holds Hingest's funeral, which is marred by the crude shouting of the N.I.C.E. workmen outside.

Part 3 - Mark joins the inner circle in the library. He is assigned to write up the events of a planned riot before the riot actually occurs. Although he is initially shocked by the idea, he quickly accedes so as not to stand out.

Part 4 - Mark writes his assigned articles giving the N.I.C.E.'s spin on the riots they created. He finds himself intoxicated by his own power, and entirely loses sight of the moral objections he once had.

Part 5 - Jane dreams of being in a stone pit with a dead man on a slab. She senses that someone is coming down to join her whom she should do reverence. Upon waking, she returns to the town of Edgestow and crosses paths with one of the malevolent men from her dreams. Immediately and instinctively, Jane flees Edgestow to join the decent people at St. Anne's.

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I must say that doing these chapter summaries is still a bit difficult because, at this stage of the book, so little is actually happening yet. I hope you are all finding it entertaining and perhaps even prophetic. I look forward to your thoughts.

Chapter 3 - Belbury and St. Anne's on the Hill Chapter 4 - The Liquidation of Anachronisms

 Chapter 3

Part 1 - Mark meets the deputy director Mr. Whithers. He attempts to find out what his assigned task is or if he even has a job with N.I.C.E. Mark does not get any clear answer.

Part 2 - Mark has dinner in the common room at N.I.C.E. He feels adrift and alone. He meets Bill Hingest, another fellow of Bracton College, Steele, and Professor Filostrato. He still has no idea of his role there.

Part 3 - Jane meets Miss Ironwood. She is told her strange dreams are true visions and that this faculty was inherited. She is asked to join their side in the coming conflict and rejects this.

Part 4 - Mark talks with "the Fairy" Hardcastle and Bill Hingest. He learns about the theory of "scientific policing."

Part 5 - Jane leaves St. Anne's, determined to stay out of this whole mess. Upon arriving home, she gets a panicked call from Mrs. Dimble.

Chapter 4

Part 1 - Mrs. Dimble arrives at the Studdock home. The town is being turned upside down by N.I.C.E.

Part 2 - Jane has a dream about an old man being flagged down on the road and beaten to death.

Part 3 - Mark talks with a revolutionary parson named Straik.

Part 4 - At a N.I.C.E. committee meeting, Hingest's murder is announced.

Part 5 - Mrs. Dimble leaves the Studdocks' for St. Anne's. Jane learns of Hingest's murder and realizes that, despite her earlier decision, she is not out of this whole business after all.

Part 6 - Mark is recruited to write propaganda arguing for the destruction of the village of Cure Hardy. He visits the village and finds, despite himself, he quite likes it. He then returns home and gives his wife an almost entirely false account of the past few days, casting N.I.C.E. in a much better light than he really experienced it.

Part 7 - At a meeting of Bracton College, Feverstone passes along that Mark will not be returning. He and Curry start planning Mark's replacement. (Mark had, himself, made no such decision.) The N.I.C.E. construction nearby continues to grow louder and more obnoxious. The chapter ends with the sounds of violence and gunfire outside the meeting room of the college.

---

So we'll see how two chapters a week goes. If this poses a problem for any of you, let me know.

Perelandra - book 2 of the Space Trilogy

In his first adventure, Elwin Ransom was kidnapped by Weston & Devine to Malacandra. The second adventure starts off very differently. 

Ransom is sent by an eldil to Perelandra, which we call Venus. He is not given any clear instructions or mission, only told that his presence is needed there. On his arrival, Ransom finds himself in the middle of an ocean. Just when he starts to panic about going under and drowning, he sees floating, mobile islands made up of some kind of vegetable matter. These islands are constantly shifting, and, being flexible, conform to the shape of the waters beneath them. They have flora and fauna of their own, which Ransom finds eminently agreeable.

After exploring for a while, Ransom meets an intelligent inhabitant of Perelandra, a green-skinned, but otherwise entirely human-appearing woman. After talking with her for a while in the language he learned on Malacandra, Ransom comes to understand that she and the King whom she often refers to are the first of their kind. They are, effectively, this world's Adam and Eve. Ransom also discovers that they have been given one command: They are not to sleep overnight on the fixed land, but to live on the floating islands.

SPOILERS UNTIL MARKED OTHERWISE

Not long after meeting the Lady, Ransom finds them joined by another Earthman, Dr. Weston. Weston, it turns out, has broadened his horizons and is now no longer strictly interested in physics and physical phenomenon. In fact, he is very concerned about the spiritual fate of mankind. After a long, rambling discourse about the nature of spirituality and man's place in the universe, Weston invites the spirit which drives man forward (which he identifies with the Devil) into his own body. He suffers some kind of seizure, and Ransom fears he is gravely ill, perhaps even dying.

After sleeping that night on the island (it was never forbidden to him), Ransom wakes up to find Weston gone, and himself alone. He rides a great fish (I imagine them as something like dolphins) to find the Lady on one of the floating islands. When he arrives, he finds her in discourse with Weston, but not the man he knew. Ransom finds Weston grotesquely altered, looking like a dead man puppeted with strings. He dubs this creature the Unman.

He finds the Unman earnestly trying to convince the Lady of the necessity of her staying on the fixed land, in contravention of Maleldil's command. Thus commences a debate lasting many days in which Ransom argues against the Unman's corrupting influence. Although Ransom does his best, he can tell he is losing ground, and the Lady is in grave danger of falling, corrupting this entire world as Earth was before.

Finally, he comes to the realization that he must put a stop to this, and the most effective way of doing so is by physical combat. After a great internal struggle, Ransom resigns himself to this, believing that it will almost certainly mean his death. When he confronts the Unman and strikes him, and the fight begins in earnest, he finds that contrary to his fears, physically the fight is just one middle-aged academic against another. The two fight for a long time, and Ransom chases the Unman, both riding the great fishes, away from the island. Finally, the Unman manages to drag Ransom down under with him. Although he fears drowning, Ransom finally surfaces on solid land, still grappling with the Unman. He kills him and awaits the coming of day.

After many hours, Ransom realizes that day is never coming because he's underground. He begins a long journey to the surface. When he reaches daylight at last, he spends several days recuperating from his fight in a sweet valley. Then he finds himself guided by the local animals to a nearby peak, where he meets the oyarsas of Perelandra and Malacandra. The three of them await the arrival of the Lady and the King. These thank Ransom for his work in protecting them from temptation. The King then explains his role in the future of the Solar system and how the siege of the Silent Planet (Earth) will be broken and her people set free from the evil eldil who rules her.

There follows an ecstatic hymn to Maleldil, praising him and all his creation. At the end, Ransom is told a full Venusian year (225 Earth days) has passed, and it is time for him to return home, which he does.

END SPOILERS

Honestly, this is my favorite of the three books. The world C.S. Lewis imagines here is perhaps one of my favorite alien worlds in s.f. It is sufficiently alien that it could never for a moment be mistaken for Earth, but also described in clear, comprehensible terms that we can visualize.

The temptation of the Lady is also fascinating to watch. Lewis shows how evil will appeal to us from every possible angle, through our intellect, through our self-image, through rational argument, through corrupt story-telling (hello, Hollywood). Also, much of that is clearly taking a crack at what, in our day, has grown into feminism.

The song of praise for God and the beauty of his creation and the beauty of hierarchy within that creation is transcendant.

It's been a while since I last read That Hideous Strength, so I may be wrong in this, but I believe this is also the most explicitly Christian book of the three. There are clear references to Maleldil (God) becoming man, joining us on Earth for a time, and dying as a sacrifice.

Is this my favorite Lewis fiction? I don't know. There's some stiff competition. The Great Divorce is another possibility. I need to re-read Til We Have Faces someday and think about that one some more. Perelandra is definitely near the top of the list, though. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it.

A very relevant C.S. Lewis quote for our times

 

I may have gotten the quote slightly wrong.

Sorry if you were looking for serious content here. I just came up with this and had to share it.

On a more serious note, one chapter a week or two? I could do either, but I'd like to hear a consensus. If it's two chapters, I'll have to give up feeling smug about finally being ahead of schedule for once.

Chapter 2 - Dinner with the Sub-warden

Pt. 1 - Mark Studdock has dinner with Curry, the bursar, and Dick Devine. After Curry & the bursar have to leave, he continues his conversation with Devine and learns a little more about the nature & eventual goals of N.I.C.E. Devine extends possible invitation to join the organization.

Pt. 2 - Mark comes home to find Jane an emotional wreck. He is utterly unable to help her or even comprehend the problem.

Pt. 3 - The next morning over breakfast, Mark & Jane have an argument, neither able to address what is really frustrating them. The chapter ends with Mark leaving to meet the director of N.I.C.E. and Jane leaving to meet Dr. Dimble’s friend, Miss Ironwood.

---

So the chapters in this book are reliably about 20 pages. Does one chapter a week sound good to everyone here? Should we go faster? Slow down?

Out of the Silent Planet - book 1 of The Space Trilogy

Our current selection is the final book of a trilogy. It works fine on its own, but does occasionally refer back to previous events. It seems only fair, then, to take a couple of midweek posts to describe books 1 & 2.

The book starts off with Elwin Ransom, a college professor on break. While on a walking tour, he meets Dr. Weston & Dick Devine (Lord Feverstone by book 3). The two kidnap him to another planet via Weston’s spaceship. He escapes them shortly after their arrival on Malacandra (the local name), and, after wandering alone a while, meets and befriends a native named Hyoi.

Spoilers until the line break

Ransom lives with Hyoi and his people (the Hrossa) for some weeks and learns their ways. He also learns that they know of his world, and say that it is cut off from the rest of the solar system, ruled by an inhuman intelligence that rebelled against its maker.

While Ransom is out hunting with the Hrossa, his friend Hyoi is killed by a rifle shot from Weston & Devine. An eldil (an angel) tells Ransom that he must go see the Oyarsa, the ruler of all Malacandrans.

Ransom journeys across Malacandra, seeing regions of the alien world greatly different from what he has known so far. He meets another species of rational Malacandran, the pale giants called Sorns.

Finally, he reaches the valley of the Oyarsa and meets the being, whom he cannot clearly see. He recounts his time on Malacandra, and humbly apologizes for his failing to come much earlier, which he should have.

Dr. Weston and Devine are brought captive before the Oyarsa. Not believing in the unseen, they think this is all some kind of trick, and alternately attempt to bribe and intimidate the Malacandrans. This mostly confuses and amuses the audience. Finally, the Oyarsa demands an accounting of their actions. Devine is apparently merely greedy for gold. Weston, however, has a vision of humanity colonizing Malacandra, killing the natives if necessary, then leaping from world to world, escaping extinction until the death of the universe.

The Oyarsa pronounces them both corrupt, Devine weakly so, and Weston profoundly so. He decrees they must depart immediately. They make the return journey, barely reaching Earth before their air runs out.

END SPOILERS

---

This book is the least explicitly Christian of the three. If you know what you're looking for, it's quite clear, but it would be entirely possible to read this book without being aware of its connection to Christianity in specific. It is unavoidably a philosophical and moral book, but without specifically Christian references, a bit like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

It's a bit interesting as an s.f. fan to look at it as an example of early 20th century s.f. The most interesting part to me is his description of interplanetary space as not empty and bleak, but full of life and vitality. Also, he gets it right that the Earth's gravity would no longer affect the occupants of the ship, but doesn't realize that the ship's acceleration would take its place. Thus, he has them affected only by gravity of the ship itself, which, in reality, would be almost unnoticeable.

Another part I found particularly well-done was Ransom's brief mental breakdown upon finding himself alone on an alien planet. It is fascinating and frightening without being too creepy or explicit.

This isn't my favorite C.S. Lewis book. It's not even my favorite of this trilogy. But it's worth a read.

Chapter 1 - Sale of College Property

 Part 1 - Jane Studdock mopes around her & her husband's home by herself, feeling frustrated and undirected. A picture she sees in a newspaper reminds her of a horrifying dream she had which involved one man's head being taken off and another man apparently being revived from the dead.

Part 2 - Mark Studdock (Jane's husband) is on the way to a meeting of Bracton College, of which he is a fellow. We learn a little bit of the history of the college, and of the office politics which run the place. Mark is excited to find himself apparently being subtly invited into the "progressive element."

Part 3 - We are given a short description of Bragdon Wood and its history and legends, including Merlin's Well, under which the great wizard himself is supposed to be buried, neither dead nor alive.

Part 4 - The Fellows of Bracton College hold a faculty meeting, through much careful manipulation & maneuvering, the progressive element manage to get the sale of Bracton Wood to N.I.C.E. passed, which idea would have been greeted with horror by the more traditional elements of the school.

Part 5 - Jane is invited to the home of Dr. & Mrs. Dimble. She discusses some of her marriage troubles with Mrs. Dimble. Dr. Dimble talks about Arthurian legend and Merlin. Something in the discussion reminds Jane once again of her terrible dream, and she tells the Dimbles all about it. Dr. Dimble appears to take her dream quite seriously, and offers her someone to talk with about it.

---

I am currently planning to cover about a chapter a week. I doubt this will be too much for any of you. If, however, it proves to be too slow, we'll consider two chapters.

I look forward to your thoughts.

We will shortly be starting our new book That Hideous Strength

I have to start with an apology. I find "The Power of the Powerless" very interesting and tremendously relevant to the current gaslighting culture. I also find it extremely dense and requiring serious concentration of a type I find it difficult to muster for long periods under current circumstances. This makes it difficult to maintain a regular schedule for discussion. Sorry about that.

Having said that, I plan on us starting C.S. Lewis's novel That Hideous Strength. If you're interested, the discussion post on chapter one will be up next Saturday, May 22nd. I hope you join us.

I have few worries about being able to maintain a good pace with this book.

God be with you.

UPDATE: I am having trouble getting the Disqus comments section to load. If you do not see it, try loading this page in a different browser or in private/incognito mode.

The Power of the Powerless parts VIII - X

Part VIII - Post-totalitarian systems impose a false, anti-human way of life on their subjects. Refusal to play along with the lie is a constant threat to their power. Simple refusal to speak the lie is a form of power and inevitably creates a formidable opposition.

Part IX - We need a higher cause than mere survival and material prosperity. Loyalty to the truth can be that cause. It may not produce immediate payoffs, but it will, by its nature, create resistance to post-totalitarianism.

Part X - In a post-totalitarian system, there is no such thing as non-political activity. Those who depend on lies must fear (and thus must attack) dissent from any possible angle. Nothing can be left alone to be enjoyed for its own sake because there is no telling where dissent may suddenly pop up.

---

Sorry for posting this late (and short), guys. I can only plead that we're still getting moved in and set up and it's consuming more time and energy than I had anticipated. Hopefully, we'll have everything back to normal soon. I'll try to get through part XIV for the next post.

The Power of the Powerless parts I - VII

First of all, Happy Easter, and he is risen!

Second, let’s go ahead and get started discussing Havel’s extended essay.

The Power of the Powerless

Part I - There is a thread of dissent running through Eastern Europe. Who are these dissidents? What is the system they rebel against? What form does their dissent take?

Part II - The system Havel contends with is not a dictatorship as traditionally understood, although it may have started out that way. Dictatorships are run strictly by force, and are, in a fashion, disconnected from the tradition and the larger culture. What Havel faces is something else, which he calls post-totalitarian.

Part III - Havel gives the example of a small greengrocer who posts in his shop the sign “workers of the world unite.” What does he mean by this? What is the real import of that sign? How is his posting of that sign a part of the post-totalitarian system?

Part IV - What is the essence of the post-totalitarian system? When and how does it affect those living under it?

Part V - The post-totalitarian system is driven by an ideology which seems to take on a life of its own. Even those seemingly in power must follow the demands of the ideology, and can be quickly destroyed if they step out of line.

Part VI - Why does the system demand a repeating of its mantras? Why must everyone, regardless of acting in line with its demands, also mouth its lies? Everyone in such a system, down to the lowest level, is complicit in its evil because every act of compliance and compromise reinforces it.

Part VII - What happens to those who refuse to comply? How does such refusal threaten the post-totalitarian system?

---

For next week, we'll read through part XII, page 37 on my copy. I look forward to your thoughts.

The dissident and the powerless

Okay, current plan: the discussion thread for our first section of "The Power of the Powerless" will go up on Saturday morning. For this section, we'll be covering parts I-VII. In the PDF I linked to, that goes up through page 20. Once we've completed "The Power of the Powerless" (which looks like it'll take about a month), we'll start C.S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Apology and a question

 So . . . I've been very occupied the past couple of weeks. Some of you already know why. If you don't, sorry, but it's a bit private. Nothing bad, just not something that needs broadcast all over the internets. Sorry about that.

Having said that, I proposed "The Power of the Powerless" because I wanted us to keep rolling while everybody acquired a copy of That Hideous Strength. However, I suspect anyone interested has had an opportunity to get the book, so now the question: Shall we cover "The Power of the Powerless" or just skip ahead to That Hideous Strength? I've been reading Havel's essay, and I have a copy of Lewis's novel, so I'm fine with either.

Which do you prefer? Essay or novel? Havel or Lewis?

Where did the trash come from?

About a year and a half ago, after Donald Trump criticized Baltimore (then Elijah Cumming's district) as being filthy and unhealthy, a group of conservative activists decided to actually fix something. (Right wing activists fix things. Left wing activists break and burn them. Funny how that works.)

The story from a local news channel

Over the course of a full day, a group of volunteers cleaned up 12 tons of trash from this West Baltimore neighborhood. It was a real accomplishment, and I applaud the organizer Scott Presler.

Here's the question I've never heard anyone address though: How did that 12 tons of trash get there in the first place? Why was this neighborhood such a disaster? And the answer is because the people who lived there, largely black, left it that way. The volunteers, and I'd bet my bottom dollar they're significantly more white than the U.S. population in general, didn't do any miracles. They didn't do one single thing that the residents could not have done for themselves, especially considering that this could have been prevented one bit of litter or debris at a time.

This neighborhood was this way because that's how black people live. White people didn't drive to their neighborhood and dump their trash there. They did it to themselves, and, unless something radically changes, in another few years, that neighborhood will look much the same as it did before the clean-up.

So if you want a clean, safe neighborhood, you want white neighbors. But speaking the truth is not allowed these days.

---

It's not a big margin, but it appears our next book will be That Hideous Strength. I suspect, however, that not everybody has a copy, so over the next few weeks, we'll read through The Power of the Powerless. I'm a bit busy this week, so I'll post the first discussion thread on this next Saturday, March 27, on sections I-VI. I look forward to your thoughts on it.

Chapter seven - They don't pick up trash anymore & Epilogue

In his final chapter, Carlson describes the decay of the environmentalist movement, how they've gone from addressing real practical problems anyone can see with his own eyes to apocalyptic obsessions with global warming based on computer models that bear no connection to reality.

Carlson starts off with the famous "Crying Indian" commercial about litter and how that contrasts with the fate of leftist-run cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, which, in many parts, have descended to third-world levels of filth and disease.

Carlson also mentions how much damage illegal immigrants do to our national parks, which completely fails to jibe with "environmentalist" groups recently becoming heavily in support of illegal immigration.

He describes the stunning hypocrisy of prominent environmentalists like Leonardo di Caprio, Al Gore, and virtually every world leader who attended the meetings for the Paris Climate Accords who routinely use far more resources than the average American, but continually scold the rest of us to be mindful and conserve.

Finally, Carlson looks at the corruption and collapse of scientody in service of this anti-human ideology.

---

I'm still trying to figure out our next book. The current leader seems to be C.S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength, a choice I am just fine with. I want to wait to make sure everyone has their say.

That said, even if we settled on one this very moment, I suspect most people would need a little time to get a copy. I though I'd propose a stopgap measure.

I'd heard "The Power of the Powerless" referenced some time ago, actually on The Federalist, back when us plebs were allowed to have our say. I've been wanting to read it, but never got around to it. I have a copy, which is about 80 pages. Would you guys like to read through this together quickly? If so, I could say up through section whatever next week, and we could cover that pretty quickly, then on to whichever book we choose next.

Once again, Chesterton predicted all of this long ago.

Women being pressured to enter the workforce and becoming miserable because of it? The degradation of our families, of the happiness of women and the sanity of our children? Yep, G.K. Chesterton covered all of it in this gut-wrenching poem.

And if you'd like to hear me and another YouTube nerd talking about this, enjoy:

He was not perfect, but he was, in many ways, prophetic. I hope our society survives the disasters we've created for ourselves.

Options for our next book

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

(If we really want to go "forbidden," we could pick And Then There Were None under its original title.)

A collection of Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries. There are a few we could choose from.

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

Hinds Feet in High Places by Hannah Hurnard

The Princess and Curdie by George Macdonald.

I am, as always, open to other options, and I would like you guys to have fun with this. Let me know what you think.

---

Running total (complicated because people are effectively casting multiple votes):

3 vote for That Hideous Strength

2 for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

1 for The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Chapter six - Elites Invade the Bedroom

In this chapter, Carlson addresses modern feminism. First, he addresses its roots in the writing of Betty Friedan, who divorced her husband and founded the National Organization for Women. He explores the unusual phenomenon that the "equality" sought by feminists has been largely achieved, but women's happiness is steadily decreasing, not increasing.

Carlson also looks at feminists' attitudes towards abortion, shifting from defending it as an unfortunate necessity to championing abortion as a positive good in and of itself. This, of course, totally negates the value of the one thing women are uniquely capable of, which is motherhood.

Feminists, Carlson notes, are strangely unconcerned with the treatment of women by Muslims. While searching for ever-more obscure and minor offenses from white men, feminists completely ignore the sexual abuse of women and their second-class status in Muslim societies. Because of this strange habit, the evil practice of female genital mutilation has now made its way into Western countries.

Carlson also examines the bizarre rise of transsexual ideologies, and, again, its implications for the value and treatment of actual women.

Finally, and this is the part of the chapter that affected me most, Carlson looks at the declining fortunes of men in the United States, their mistreatment, neglect and decline, and what implications this has for society as a whole.

---

I will post sometime in the next day or so a thread to poll about what book we should cover next. As I said, I have my own opinion, but if I ran this blog just by my preferences, at some point, none of you would  be here, so let's see what everyone thinks.

Next book thread

Okay, I know there were a few suggestions in the chapter four thread about what we might read together next. However, I just tried browsing the thread to find them, and they are buried among a vigorous (and largely on-topic) discussion. So here's this post. All I want in the comments is suggestions for what we can read and discuss next. I'll try looking through previous discussions on this subject and see if there are any suggestions to revive.

I'm not going to put any forward yet so that I don't squelch anyone's ideas. I do have a couple of possibilities in mind, though.

Chapter five - The Diversity Diversion

Carlson starts off this chapter by saying that identity politics is being incited as a way to distract the populous from important economic problems that our ruling class is creating.

He gives numerous examples of the growth of racial identity politics in the U.S., including college segregation and growing anti-white discrimination. He also spends several pages talking about Ta-Nehisi Coates, his career, his thoroughly unimpressive book Between the World and Me. Although the book is poorly written and not especially insightful, it received raving praise from white leftists. Indeed, the only prominent "mainstream" voices who disagreed with this assessment were black intellectuals, several of whom Carlson quotes denigrating the book. (Any day now "denigrating" will be declared an unacceptably racist term, by the way.)

Carlson also documents how, for all their talk about loving diversity, leftists with the resources to do so strive to avoid it, showing how they all live in neighborhoods much whiter and safer than the kind they advocate for. This, by the way, includes prominent black politicians like Barack Obama and the execrable Maxine Waters.

As one last example of the problems created by identity politics, Carlson describes the breakdown of the "March for Science" because, shocker, actual scientists (even what passes for scientists today), are overwhelmingly white and male.

Finally, Carlson anticipates the rise of white identity politics and worries what this could do to our country.

---

I haven't gotten to look at all of the book suggestions yet. I'll have to review those and do a midweek post to see what we want to cover next.

Thanks for your contributions. I'll talk with you soon.

Chapter Four - Shut Up, They Explained

Carlson says that liberals in America used to support free speech, regardless of whether they agreed with the cause. He gives several examples of this, including the ACLU, which most famously defended a Nazi group's right to march in a largely Jewish neighborhood in Skokie, Illinois. Another example was the Berkeley free speech movement, where students protested the arrest of Jack Weinberg for passing out unauthorized political literature, blocking the police car for over a day.

Today, says Carlson, the left, including Berkeley, has completely reversed itself on the issue. When Milo Yiannopoulos attempted to speak at Berkeley, students rioted (and the administration and local police allowed the riots) until his speech was cancelled. Other speakers similarly driven from the halls of intellectual debate include Ann Coulter, Condaleeza Rice, and Charles Murray. (I'm aware of more than a few on the right today who would similarly condemn Murray, although they'd half-heartedly agree he should still be allowed to speak.)

The problem extends beyond university campuses, says Carlson, showing up prominently in big tech companies, such as Google, where James Damore was fired for an inoffensive memo which documented quite a bit of science and data saying that "discrimination" was not the primary cause of some people not faring as well in such environments. Brandon Eich, in another case, was driven out of the company he helped found for a minor donation to a Prop. 8 in California, which said that marriage was between a man and a woman.

Carlson ends the chapter talking about the disturbing merger of "journalism" and government power and how this bodes ill for all of us.

---

So we're already nearing the end of this book and it's time to pick our next. The first question is should we continue the previous policy of alternating fiction and non-fiction? I enjoy them, but the fiction books seem to get noticably less engagement.

After that comes the question: What should be our next book? I'll look back over previous lists, but I'm open to suggestion and we'll see what the group, as a whole, thinks. No mail-in ballots, though.

Chapter Three - Foolish Wars

Tucker Carlson documents our ruling class's infatuation with getting the United States into wars which have little to no connection to the interests of the people of the U.S.

Carlson starts off by reporting the warmongering of one Max Boot. From the year 2000 all the way up through today, Boot has advocated over and over for the United States to attack country after country with no clear overall purpose, or at least no purpose relevant to the American people. Countries on Boot's hit list include Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, and Russia.

Boot, by the way, who is so eager to throw the U.S. military, largely composed of white Christians, into the meatgrinder, is Jewish.

Carlson documents the collapse of the anti-war left from the end of the Vietnam war to today. Although there used to be a faction of liberals fervently opposed to the violence of war, that has evaporated over the past 50 years. They made a brief resurgence during George W. Bush's presidency, but as evidenced by their disinterest in Obama's wars, this was strictly about partisan politics, not opposition to war.

Carlson then turns the spotlight to the biggest warmonger of the nominal right: Bill Kristol. Kristol is a never-Trump "conservative." He was initially a supporter of Donald Trump's campaign, but was infuriated when Trump said that the Iraq war was a disaster we should never have taken part in. Kristol seems to imagine himself as the kingmaker of the conservative movement, and has had some success, including sidelining Pat Buchanan. He also has a consistent track record of cheering on war here, there, and everywhere.

Bill Kristol, eager to start wars he and his will take no part in, is also Jewish. Carlson neglects to mention this, nor that he shares it in common with Max Boot.

---

I just wanted to say thank you to all the regular commenters here. I realize I am sometimes slow in putting up my own thoughts on a chapter. But I really enjoy reading all of your thoughts and watching the discussion. So thank you WanderingWonderer, Wiffiely, Mark Taylor, Lugnuts, and anyone I missed.

Keep up the interesting conversation.

You're totally not being replaced, and if you are, you deserve it.

I used to like Andrew Klavan. I really did. He was funny and explained and defended well a lot of things that mattered to me. I didn't agree with him on everything, but you don't agree with anyone on everything.

But this was the last straw.

First off, and this bit of dishonesty is just tiring: when said by a group, it's almost impossible to distinguish "you" from "Jew." And because anyone who doesn't like Jews is scary and evil, the anti-racists decided they were saying "Jews will not replace us."

But let's get beyond that. Why is it wrong to object to being replaced in your homeland? Why is it wrong to say, "This is my home. These are my people. We don't want to be invaded and displaced by a different people"? Isn't this what patriotism meant throughout history?

But no, now expressing this sentiment is bad and evil and makes you a Nazi who masturbates to pictures of Adolf Hitler (that's Klavan, not me).

So what's he saying here? Oh, this totally isn't happening to you and you're a paranoid lunatic to even think that anyone would do that. But it totally should happen to you. Ha ha! Chuckles, chuckles!

And yes, he says "white supremacists," but all that means these days is a white person who doesn't hate himself and his ancestors.

And anyone who objects to the protestors at the U.S. Capitol being called "insurrectionists" and "rioters," if you didn’t object to the gross mischaracterization, the absolute demonization, of the protestors at Charlottesville, you helped set the stage for what is being done to us today.

And now I'm going to think about something else so I can stop being angry.

 

Chapter Two - Importing a Serf Class

In this chapter, Carlson describes the consensus on immigration and how the left has shifted on the issue. It used to be understood that the primary purpose of our government was to serve those who were, in fact, already Americans. Now, however, government policy, affirmed and encouraged by major corporations, is to be far more concerned with the well-being of the populations of every third-world country, whose well-being is apparently best served by importing them to the U.S.

Carlson provides several examples, including hero of the American left today, Hugo Chavez (a hero mostly because he's not white). Chavez, though an immigrant himself, was a harsh immigration restrictionist, understanding that a constant inflow of new immigrants could only drive down wages. However, while still venerating him and adopting his slogan "Yes, we can!" today's left completely denies this basic fact of economics.

Other examples of this shift include the labor unions, and the environmentalist group the Sierra Club, both of which, for differing reasons used to oppose increased immigration, and both of which, in recent decades, have turned a complete 180 on the issue.

Chapter One - The Convergence

 Carlson first describes how the political left in America has changed. He says that, although a little loopy, the left used to care about real issues and actually work to oppose power and protect the little guy. Now, he says, the left is fully on board with nigh all-powerful technocrats running everything and economically crushing the little guy into the dust.

Foxconn manufactures our iPhones under conditions which make American chattel slavery look homey. Uber calls its drivers "contractors," takes no responsibility for them as a company would for employees, and pays them almost nothing. The left offers not a word of protest.

He describes at length two examples to demonstrate the nature of today's "liberals": Mark Zuckerberg and his company Facebook and Chelsea Clinton. Facebook, Carlson, says, is abusive and destructive to its users and its leadership is openly contemptuous of "lesser people." Carlson describes Chelsea Clinton as entitled virtually from birth, vastly praised and rewarded for no discernible accomplishments.

These two, Carlson contends, exemplify today's ruling elite.

---

I must add a note of caution here to some people who are joining in the discussion. From my own notes so far and browsing through the rest of the book, there is an issue which will be coming up in the comments which may trouble you.

This book is about a ruling elite who are carelessly destroying our country. It is a simple fact that many of that ruling elite are Jewish. Just in this first chapter, there are two examples. Carlson never mentions this fact, but fact it remains. And considering they are approximately two percent of the U.S. population, their wild overrepresentation among those causing such destruction is worthy of comment.

I promise this will not descend into wild rants against "the Jooooooooooz" or plotting their destruction, but I (and probably a few other commenters) will also not be silent about this when it is relevant to the book.

The captain is dead

I'm a bit of a gamer. Not fanatical, but interested and involved. So this midweek post is a bit of a diversion.

Carlson uses the metaphor of being on a ship where the captain disappeared and the crew went mad, to the great peril of the passengers. This is, coincidentally, the backstory of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

Alpha Centauri is a 4x game. For those of you not familiar with gaming terminology, those 4 are eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate. You lead a faction attempting to colonize a new planet. Over the course of the game, you must develop new technologies, explore an unknown planet, develop resources, manage your population, negotiate with rivals, and sometimes go to war with them.

The backstory is that a colony ship was sent to Alpha Centauri with the passengers in cryogenic sleep. Just days before they were due to land, the leaders wake up, and someone (no one knows who) murdered the captain. Now, instead of having one clear leader, they have seven leaders with wildly differing ideologies and priorities. These immediately fall to squabbling, and upon reaching their destination, establish seven different colonies spread across the planet.

So, yes, that is literally all the connection this has to our reading selection, but it's a fun game, and I didn't have any other ideas for a midweek post.

Sid Meier also created the Civilization games, which take place on Earth over the course of human history. Practically speaking, Alpha Centauri is Civilization 2.5. It was released between 2 and 3, and uses many of the same mechanics. Honestly, I think Alpha Centauri is, in many ways, a better game than a lot of the Civilization games. Because the developers were using entirely fictional characters instead of historical leaders, they could give them much more clearly defined personalities, and define the factions' preferences and behaviors in ways you couldn't talking about real historical societies (at least, not without offending someone).

Since the game is now 20 years old, it is available very cheaply. If you have any interest in turn-based strategy games, it's worth checking out.

Catch up with you Saturday to talk about Chapter 1.

Introduction: Our Ship of Fools

 Carlson says we appear to be aboard a ship whose crew have gone insane, thrown the captain overboard, and are steering the ship (and all of us) towards certain doom.

He starts this analysis by wondering how the hell Donald Trump got elected to the presidency. This is not a normal candidate, and not one chosen by a happy, contented populace. He is the choice of desperation, screaming that this system is not working for us.

He says that the problems are evident from the decline of the middle class and the increasing separation between the classes in America. The rich and the ordinary working Joe don't interact anymore, except in positions of explicit service. He talks about the problems caused by mass immigration and ethnic diversity. He says the opioid crisis which is killing millions of Americans has been left entirely unaddressed.

The real problem, though, is that our ruling elites simply hold the American people in contempt. They do not care about us or our problems. They consider us more or less a nuisance. This is a dangerously unstable situation, especially in a nominal democracy. So we need to take a look at who these people are, what they are doing, and what we the people can do about it.

---

As usual, next week we'll do the next chapter. Unfortunately, the chapters are of uneven length in this book, so we'll just have to roll with that. I can't conveniently bundle two 20 page chapters together in one week as we've done sometimes before.

I look forward to your thoughts. God be with you.

The ship will be setting sail in one week's time

 Okay, so we're about to start on Tucker Carlson's Ship of Fools. As usual, this will be a weekly blog post with open discussion. For next week, let's start with the introduction. I'll post that thread next Saturday morning. I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year.

Oh, for those interested, I just got connected to Social Galactic. I am, of course, @Zaklog. If you are not there, but want an opinion, I will be happy to offer a review of sorts once I've knocked around a bit and gotten a good sense of it.

God be with you, and let's make this a great discussion, folks.

We will shortly be embarking on a Ship of Fools

For anyone interested in joining our deplorable discussion group, we will shortly be starting a new tome, Tucker Carlson's Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution.

For newcomers, what happens is we read one or two chapters of a book each week, I post a short summary, and everyone chips in with their opinions on the book, what they liked, disliked, agreed or disagreed with. It's nothing complicated. All it takes to participate is a copy of the book and a little free time. I look forward to your thoughts.

Update: May as well add another relevant announcement here: 

New year and back in the game

 I apologize for the extended absence from this blog. Some of it was due to one of the wonderful *ahem* eccentricities of 2020. Some of it was due to a busy work schedule. Regardless, all of that is over with, and I should be ready to resume our conversation.

So to the first order of business: Do we start a new book or finish our last? When I was seriously interrupted, we were nearing the end of the Inferno. We had also decided on Ship of Fools as our next book. So did you guys want to finish the book we were nearing the end of, or just write that off and start the new one? I am entirely open to either possibility.

Oh, and happy new year. Here's hoping 2021 brings us a return to sanity. (Yes, I know it's a very doubtful hope, but what is hope for if not for when things look at their bleakest? Nobody compliments a man on his courage when he's facing off against a four year old with a wiffle bat. If hope is a virtue, it is most a virtue in times like these.)

God be with you. I look forward to your thoughts and continuing our conversation.