When only a tiny fraction of your citizenry makes an effort to understand some world and national history, the sludge of ignorance gets pretty deep. No one is expected to become Victor Davis Hanson, just take a whack at understanding the improbability of the American Experiment. The founding fathers built in safeguards against the danger of factions. Ahistorical fools are trying to dismantle those safeguards.
I'm still not clear about exactly what happened in the Balkans, but I am clear that Clinton, Blair and NATO have gallons of blood on their greedy hands.
What NATO did in the Balkan was the prequel of Ukraine ! Placing their army closer and closer to Russia ..
They bombed and destroyed all that region for no reasons.. both Serbs and Kosovans (many of them live in London UK and tell me all kind of stories press never write about) claim that UN army are there protecting an open channel that is fuelling drugs and illegals immigrants into Europe 🤷♀️ the Kosovars also always mention how they were very secular and only after the war money fuelled through that “channel” from the Middle East “converted” them to the “veil”
Are you sure "After the Great Schism, the Croats remained Roman Catholic while the Serbs became Greek Orthodox"?
And not "the Serbs remained (Greek) Orthodox and the Croats became Roman Catholic"?
This distinction may help understand that the split berween croats and Serbs is not so much one of ethnicity, but rather one more incident of a centuries long east-west antagonism (from the Eastern vs. Western Roman Empire to the II World War and beyond).
Multi-ethnic political structures need a unifying factor to keep them intact. The unifying factor of the Eastern Roman Empire was Christianity, hence its stability and success. The birth and spectacular expansion of Islam in the 7th-8th centuries reduced the Empire by the Middle East and Northern Africa. Ever since, the West and the East, in whichever political form, have been antagonizing. To this very day. Look at Ukraine.
The imperial dreams of the collective West will fail due to the lack of a substantial unifying factor. Consumerism, marketing, LGTBQ+, etc. cannot unify people's souls.
Sarajevo is the meeting place of 4 faiths, both before and after the collapse of Yugoslavia. While deployed to Bosnia in the late ‘90s, we helped facilitate the meeting between US Army chaplains in country at the time and leaders of the 4 groups. The Jewish president, the Catholic, I think, cardinal, the Serb Orthodox metropolitan, and the Muslim mufti. All four had a presence going back hundreds of years with corresponding architecture and history. Keep in mind the Muslims did not conquer Kosovo until 1389 and did not invade Sarajevo until 1463. Then the ethnic war begins in the 1990’s. Can one truly ever trust the situation with neighbors?
« In the vacuum of belief, an atavistic fetish for group identity may arise—that is, defining oneself by one’s ethnicity, race, gender, or political party. » This explains so much of what is happening around the world today.
It’s difficult to understand why we need to continually talk about sexuality and identity- can’t we all agree we are Americans and follow the constitution as well as golden rule. And when you don’t there are should be consequences to your actions. The consequences are dependent on where when and what. A teacher who doesn’t want to use they them should not be punished for using English properly- yet the rioters destroying property get 0. They have brought division hatred and lawlessness. Who thought this would go this far- health scare turned to politics and demise of America
Cheryl, the nation was founded in firm belief in Creator God who was our Sustainer and Provider and to whom we owe obediance. When you remove Him as foundation and underpinning of moral righteous laws, we get unbridled chaos which is exactly what we are seeing. “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”—John Adams 1798
Thomas Sowell discussed how geography impacts culture.
Areas like the Balkans, Scotland, Sub Sahara Africa shared the feature of difficult travel. People in these places are more tribal, clannish and less open to change.
I see this in the US New England. These people use laws to limit growth and new people they can't control.
I think we’re already experiencing this in the US - “In the vacuum of belief, an atavistic fetish for group identity may arise—that is, defining oneself by one’s ethnicity, race, gender, or political party.” Thought provoking article. Thank you.
'I’m pretty hard pressed to see what exactly distinguishes [Croats and Serbs] from each other.... none of my friends professed to be religious.' Goodness - cultural identity runs a lot deeper than how some of the current generation see themselves, especially in the Balkans. This is the mindset that led the U.S. to force through the creation of the only Muslim polity in Europe (Kosovo). Further and deeper historical investigation is required!!
Serbia is closely affiliated with the Slavic nations (especially Russia), while Croatia is closely affiliated with the Germanic nations (including Austria). Remember that a Serb assassinated Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, leading to the start of World War I.
Correct. Yugoslavia imploded in 1992 when the Catholic Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl insisted on recognising Croatia as independent, despite the pleadings and warnings of Lord Carrington (British Foreign Secretary), who flew to Germany in an unsuccessful attempt to dissuade him.
"E Pluribus Unum dissolves" when it is for decades, propagandized against in our public schools/colleges/universities and media....and our borders are wide open for those who have zero understanding or allegiance to our culture or sovereignty!
In the US, the choice is believe the axiom that all people are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or don't believe.
When only a tiny fraction of your citizenry makes an effort to understand some world and national history, the sludge of ignorance gets pretty deep. No one is expected to become Victor Davis Hanson, just take a whack at understanding the improbability of the American Experiment. The founding fathers built in safeguards against the danger of factions. Ahistorical fools are trying to dismantle those safeguards.
Thanks for sharing about the beauty of Kotor.
excellent comment James.
I will second that one.
I'm still not clear about exactly what happened in the Balkans, but I am clear that Clinton, Blair and NATO have gallons of blood on their greedy hands.
What NATO did in the Balkan was the prequel of Ukraine ! Placing their army closer and closer to Russia ..
They bombed and destroyed all that region for no reasons.. both Serbs and Kosovans (many of them live in London UK and tell me all kind of stories press never write about) claim that UN army are there protecting an open channel that is fuelling drugs and illegals immigrants into Europe 🤷♀️ the Kosovars also always mention how they were very secular and only after the war money fuelled through that “channel” from the Middle East “converted” them to the “veil”
This excellent article describes Montenegro's role as a major smuggling node and the role of U.S. corporations/agencies https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n08/alexander-clapp/rip-their-skin-off
Gatsby
Bravo! I'm trusting that you didn't Google it! Will send you subscription when I'm back at my desk!
All kinds of idols are presented to supplant faith in our God.
The 'pop stars', the ''movie stars', the maximally pigmented 'sports heroes'...
But the big one is the Great Idol of The State.
People are praying to the State.
Are you sure "After the Great Schism, the Croats remained Roman Catholic while the Serbs became Greek Orthodox"?
And not "the Serbs remained (Greek) Orthodox and the Croats became Roman Catholic"?
This distinction may help understand that the split berween croats and Serbs is not so much one of ethnicity, but rather one more incident of a centuries long east-west antagonism (from the Eastern vs. Western Roman Empire to the II World War and beyond).
Multi-ethnic political structures need a unifying factor to keep them intact. The unifying factor of the Eastern Roman Empire was Christianity, hence its stability and success. The birth and spectacular expansion of Islam in the 7th-8th centuries reduced the Empire by the Middle East and Northern Africa. Ever since, the West and the East, in whichever political form, have been antagonizing. To this very day. Look at Ukraine.
The imperial dreams of the collective West will fail due to the lack of a substantial unifying factor. Consumerism, marketing, LGTBQ+, etc. cannot unify people's souls.
Sarajevo is the meeting place of 4 faiths, both before and after the collapse of Yugoslavia. While deployed to Bosnia in the late ‘90s, we helped facilitate the meeting between US Army chaplains in country at the time and leaders of the 4 groups. The Jewish president, the Catholic, I think, cardinal, the Serb Orthodox metropolitan, and the Muslim mufti. All four had a presence going back hundreds of years with corresponding architecture and history. Keep in mind the Muslims did not conquer Kosovo until 1389 and did not invade Sarajevo until 1463. Then the ethnic war begins in the 1990’s. Can one truly ever trust the situation with neighbors?
« In the vacuum of belief, an atavistic fetish for group identity may arise—that is, defining oneself by one’s ethnicity, race, gender, or political party. » This explains so much of what is happening around the world today.
The Demonrats are all about identity politics in an effort to divide our nation.
Along with a good strong push from cynical governments and NGOs.
It’s difficult to understand why we need to continually talk about sexuality and identity- can’t we all agree we are Americans and follow the constitution as well as golden rule. And when you don’t there are should be consequences to your actions. The consequences are dependent on where when and what. A teacher who doesn’t want to use they them should not be punished for using English properly- yet the rioters destroying property get 0. They have brought division hatred and lawlessness. Who thought this would go this far- health scare turned to politics and demise of America
Cheryl, the nation was founded in firm belief in Creator God who was our Sustainer and Provider and to whom we owe obediance. When you remove Him as foundation and underpinning of moral righteous laws, we get unbridled chaos which is exactly what we are seeing. “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”—John Adams 1798
America was never a confessional state, which makes integration and even recognition of a common standard of behavior difficult if not impossible.
Thomas Sowell discussed how geography impacts culture.
Areas like the Balkans, Scotland, Sub Sahara Africa shared the feature of difficult travel. People in these places are more tribal, clannish and less open to change.
I see this in the US New England. These people use laws to limit growth and new people they can't control.
I think we’re already experiencing this in the US - “In the vacuum of belief, an atavistic fetish for group identity may arise—that is, defining oneself by one’s ethnicity, race, gender, or political party.” Thought provoking article. Thank you.
'I’m pretty hard pressed to see what exactly distinguishes [Croats and Serbs] from each other.... none of my friends professed to be religious.' Goodness - cultural identity runs a lot deeper than how some of the current generation see themselves, especially in the Balkans. This is the mindset that led the U.S. to force through the creation of the only Muslim polity in Europe (Kosovo). Further and deeper historical investigation is required!!
See my contribution.
Gatsby.
Serbia is closely affiliated with the Slavic nations (especially Russia), while Croatia is closely affiliated with the Germanic nations (including Austria). Remember that a Serb assassinated Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, leading to the start of World War I.
Correct! Croatian “Ustaše” were worse than German Nazi towards the Jewish community there during WW2.
A Freemason murdered the Archduke Ferdinand to begin WWI.
Correct. Yugoslavia imploded in 1992 when the Catholic Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl insisted on recognising Croatia as independent, despite the pleadings and warnings of Lord Carrington (British Foreign Secretary), who flew to Germany in an unsuccessful attempt to dissuade him.
Don’t forget Slovenia broke away first.
"E Pluribus Unum dissolves" when it is for decades, propagandized against in our public schools/colleges/universities and media....and our borders are wide open for those who have zero understanding or allegiance to our culture or sovereignty!
In the US, the choice is believe the axiom that all people are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or don't believe.
Of course many other places around the world have families who have lived there for centuries who don't forget abuses.
The famous fictional character was Nero Wolfe. I’m a big fan!
Nero Wolf