My title derives from Hungary’s 2016 national (football) chant, which does not really translate into any decipherable message – other than to give the chance of shouting the name of a great nation. The ancient royal motto was Regnum Mariae Patrona Hungariae, a tribute to the Catholic heritage of a great people. For a while, the simultaneous cry was Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate -With the help of God for Homeland and Freedom! If you’re into God, freedom, and I suppose, “Ria,” then keep reading.
The Third Republic of Hungary, a little larger than the US (client) State of South Carolina, is another of the terrific Central Euro nations that are sometimes described as “Eastern.” It’s south of Slovakia, east of Austria, west of Romania, and north of the rump states of the former Yugoslavia. It’s been in the news lately, even in fading Amerika, for very good reasons.
A noticeable trend continues, there: the clear and coherent nation of ten million is 98% Hungarian with a small admixture of other Slavs, Germans, and a few Roma. As estimated it is at least 60% Christian (40% Roman Catholic). A quarter of those surveyed did not answer and other evidence suggests the Messianic population is considerably higher. (The minor party of the right-wing governing coalition even has “Christian” in its name!) As in Poland, the incompatible are not welcome.
The national IQ average is in-line with that in Poland, with the same upward trajectory as Slovakia. In fact, partly, for some of the reasons below, this trend might be starting to accelerate.
She’s a beauty of a country, home to rolling hills and valleys, replete with both forests and gentle grasslands. Four mountain ranges are present, including the far eastern tip of the Alps. The climate is variable, with warm summers and cold winters – partly governed by geography and elevation, as much as by latitude.
Booming Budapest, the capital and largest city, is home to a metro population of over three million. This metropolis, and most other cities and towns, is a blending of the modern and improving and the traditional, the proud, and the beautiful. By general European standards, the cost of living is low. Taxes are moderate and, as in Poland, the people who pay for the various social services are the same people who reap the benefits of the programs. The house currency is the Forint (300ish = 1 USD), though a possible conversion to the Euro is under consideration. Hungary is a full member of the EU and a Schengen country.
Hungarian is a different kind of language than Slovak or Polish, but it is learnable. Consult Duolingo or Hungarian101, a Youtube series.
The Parliament is controlled by the combined forces of (majority) Fidesz, the Hungarian Civic Alliance, and the Christian! Democratic People’s Party (a minority splintering of Fidesz). Together, they hold a narrow … super-majority of the 199 seats. They are also regularly joined by other center-right, pro-Hungarian parties. Viktor Orbán “The Man!” is Prime Minister and leader of Fidesz.
Orbán, a man of the kind America needed when it still counted, is the architect of Hungary’s successful stand against the powers of homoglobo. Soros and Co. called, as usual, for third-world immigrants to “fix” the Hungarian economy and society. However, Orbán became possessed of the insane idea that somehow, magically perhaps, it was possible to birth new native Hungarians. In 2019, Parliament enacted his plan via the … Child Tax Credit!!!
Yes, young people, buy into this graduated plan and see your population (magically) increase while your tax burden declines. If a happily married couple (magically) produces four or more future citizens, then they PAY NO TAXES! It’s brand new, but I can predict where this will go: First, there will be a baby boom, silencing the globos with vigorous native blood. Second, place your bets, tax revenues will, particularly in the long-run, rise. A win, win, win.
We know this is a winning scheme because of the way the enemy’s lapdog media spins it – as a move of “desperation.” By their words, we know who is really desperate. And, in Hungary, the enemy has great cause to worry. It’s another nation where the true and the beautiful is celebrated, expected, and enforced, and where the values of Amerika – sodomy, abortion, obesity, usury, and death – are frowned upon, ridiculed, and forbidden.
Again, your ticket for admission to this branch of real civilization is either employment or education-related. Your task is to research the specifics and logistics. Start Page and the Duck! Soon, very soon, I will revisit Poland, where I have uncovered nearly unbelievable programs designed to help both the nation and (certain) young internationals, like YOU! You will not want to miss that, along with some of the extended cultural information I’ve found.
I’m doing all of this for you, the future of the West. For your part, those who take the plunge, again, please send me a postcard!
*Should this article be republished elsewhere where my prior general permission has been obtained, I insist that it be disclosed in full or not at all.
** Next up, it’s back to Poland! Staggering good news. Then, on to Romania, the Czech Republic, and/or elsewhere!
Hello and welcome to our eighth anniversary here at this highly respected web log. The obligatory linking of the original post:
Yes, I was so proud that I did one more entry and then took eight months off, followed by two years of intermittent attention. The stride was found and hit hard in 2015. But, it did develop eventually.
This year has been a little … what’s the word? A little slow. Then again, this is the year that America went utterly insane, right? It’s funny, but January and February (especially January) were strong. Then, the bottom fell out, reaching a low in April and May. With other projects working to one degree or another, with other plans floating around, and with the fiction calling louder every day, there came a brief moment when I considered halting new posts and possibly even scraping the whole thing. But…
I’m still kind of proud of this little corner of the web. Things continue to develop. And, I foresee yet more to come. My outside columns will continue and hopefully I’ll have some major news about that part later in the summer!
Thanks for being along for the ride. More mad ravings dead ahead.
-Perrin
Jeśli potrafisz przeczytać to zdanie i jesteś w ojczyźnie, czy jest możliwy azyl polityczny? Blog w zestawie?
Uh-oh. If you’ve been following my tour of central and eastern Europe, and you’d like to escape before they start hunting you for sport, then I’d recommend doing so immediately. Otherwise, you may have to wait.
European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times.
The most dangerous (and inconvenient) chest cold in history. I assume this only applies to Americans and that “women and children” “refugees” “fleeing war and oppression” and “coming to strengthen the EU” will still be welcome in France, Germany, England, and Sweden with open checkbooks and bared throats.
PS: The great tour will continue, travel ban or no, right here, maybe as soon as later this week. Next stop: Hungary!
Imagine a second Switzerland, or rather, think of it as a third Switzerland, after the second, Austria – one to the east of, to the east of… Go on, consult the atlas. Slovakia is smaller than Poland, being approximately the size of the Confoederatio Helvetica (West Virginia-sized). It is an impressive mountain range (the Tatras) bounded on the south by the fertile plains of the Danube river valley. This astounding country has been separate from the Czech Republic since 1993 and the Velvet Divorce, a rare, amicable, and profitable parting of cousins.
More importantly, it is, like Poland in the north, a nation with a distinct and proud people. Eighty percent of the population is comprised of ethnic Slovaks. The rest are predominately other, closely-related Slavs from neighboring countries. Hungary (which we will get to soon!) is heavily represented. There is a decent smattering of Poles, Czechs, Germans, Russians, and other Euros mixed in. Like the Poles, Slovaks steadfastly refuse to admit third-world problems.
As in Poland, a majority of Slovakian people (two-thirds) are Roman Catholic. A large part of the remainder is comprised of other Catholics (C-Town: there are twenty-six kinds of liturgical “Catholics”) and Protestants. Unlike in Amerika, there is no downward spiral in Faith.
I don’t necessarily like the national intelligence data I found, though as-is, the average Slovak IQ is at least a third of an SD higher than that in Amerika. I strongly suspect that, like their neighbors, the Slovaks are experiencing a localized, latter-day Flynn Effect, with mental abilities increasing. This has certainly been the case for the past generation, or since the end of communism in 1989. I imagine the good trend will continue, even as Amerika dips under the “Dutton-Woodley” Effect, falling on average .4 points per year. If these trends do continue, then Slovakia will probably max out in another generation, on par with pre-diversity Germany or with current-era Japan. America – at the current rate of decrease – is a mere fifteen years away from parity with the world average, 86, at the border of “dullness,” and only seven to eight years away from sinking below the average needed (90) to generally guarantee societal stability. Yes, MB, 2033 now looks a little too optimistic (tick, tick, tick). But, that’s not for us to worry about.
Slovakia is a dream-like land of pleasantry and cleanliness, of mixed modernity and convenience with ancient bucolic charm. Here are a couple of assignments for you, the young intrepid traveler: On Startpage or the Duck, take a picture tour. Start with “high Tatras Slovakia” and see what you get. Then – and this is really fun and informative – from Startpage, use the Anonymous View of Google Maps and take a Street View “drive” across the nation. Start in the capital, Bratislava, and go out the E58 to Nitra. From there, continue on to Zvolen. Turn north on the E77 and proceed to lovely Banská Bystrica. This, readers will recognize, was Tom Ironsides’s adopted hometown while he was teaching in-country. From BB head east to Poprad and Kezmarok (Käsmark), high in the very ski-able mountains. Poland is around the northern corner.
Along this route or any other you choose, you will kindly observe a few things. First, all of the roads are in excellent shape. The highways are ultra-modern extensions of the Autobahns and Motorways of the Western countries (Austria, Germany, France, etc). Notice the lack of copious road signs; unlike shit stupid Amerikans, the Slovaks do not need constant reminding about their speeds, seatbelts, curves, and other matters that good drivers take for granted. Notice also the lack of older or broken-down vehicles. The streets are free of litter not because of the laws or civic group efforts but because of the pride and civility of the people. In the towns, with their faces blurred out, the native people are occasionally on display. There is something familiar and similar to all of them. Compare all of this to any road near you in the corroding Empire.
Indulge a couple of videos.
Poprad approached from the air:
(The High Tatras around Poprad. No visible demographics to censor!)
By road:
(Roadtrip from Poland to Slovakia)
Okay, I’d better level with you for a second, using Poprad as an example. [Sigh…] This “up and coming” place may not have all the luxuries you, the American, expect. While they have a Mercedes-Benz sales office in the mall, you have to go a few blocks down the street to the main dealership for service. I know, right? Cool fact, number one: that same street with the dealer and the mall, along with the parallel superhighway, runs right by twelfth-century Spis Castle, half an hour to the east. Cool fact, number two: even SUBSTITUTE readers don’t know this, but Dr. Ironsides leased a Benz SUV at this very mall.
Lest I forget to add this elsewhere: BEER!
Since 1993, Slovakia has been steadily rising across all measurable, positive categories. If you want modern, then it’s there – malls, hi-rises, highways, airports, wi-fi, et cetera. It all comes with a wonderful ancient historical twist. Cruising down the highway at 81 MPH (130 KPH), in a long mountain valley between idyllic villages, you might pass the grandeur of castles like Spis, or one of the other plentiful reminders of the past. And, everywhere, one finds the unadulterated beauty of nature. Rolling, green fields. Forests, home to deer, wolves, and bears. Snow-capped peaks both concealing of and mirrored in glass-clear lakes. OFF THE ORBITZ! I have more…
When you poke around for information, beware that most tourism sites, even the best, inherently steer the adventurer towards Bratislava. This is much the same way that France = Paris, England = London, and Amerika = New York. It’s a fine city and the largest, but it’s not the only one. You’ll no doubt figure out where to start and what to see.
The promotion has worked, as the country is home to numerous booming industries, especially automotive manufacturing and technology. Again, you’ll need a reason to be there. Employment is where you look for it. From Zilina to Kosice, they hire English speakers as English teachers – though they expect the teacher to have a rudimentary understanding of Slovak. Higher education really is both in Slovakia and is another real entry possibility. Startpage or Duck all of that.
Ahoj a dobrý deň! You’ll need to know the language, which is somewhat similar to Polish and Czech. Alas, Duo and Babbel do not yet offer Slovak. So, try the following: Slovak from the EU, and; Radio Slovakia International, offering at least ten easy video lessons, along with general cultural discussion. While you’re at it and coming up to speed, consult the Slovak Spectator, an English newspaper.
Currency-wise, until a decade ago, the Slovaks relied on their own native Koruna. Now it’s the Euro all the way. And, there, it goes a long way. Slovakia has some of the lowest taxes in Europe and a lower than average cost of living – with an improving individual/family purchasing power. As with any move, it will take some getting used to. But, as I said last week, there’s nothing holding you back!
A few related matters:
A correction? I refer to Poland as an “Eastern” Euro nation, and it arguably is. However, they consider themselves “Central,” which arguably they are. They’re also, by the map, Northern. Potato, ziemniak.
A Caveat: I’ve been tossing around these ideas like we still live in a partially sane world. Sorry. There are still a few transatlantic flights at present, with more scheduled for the coming months. France and a few other countries may institute quarantine rules for foreign arrivals or other impediments. This too shall pass, this too shall pass. In the meanwhile, check with your airline of choice, the CDC, or the EU/country of arrival. What’s that? Afraid to fly? Love flying, just not commercial (that’s me)? Then, I have an alternative idea for getting across, rather than over, the pond – it takes a little longer, but it’s cheaper than flying and is its own mini vacation. More on that later, before the ship sails, with you, the cargo (hint, hint) aboard.
Immediately after I finished my draft of last week’s exposé on Poland, the news broke of the calamitous but utterly predictable collapse of “conservative” principles in the worthless, enemy combatant Supreme Court. Tis to yawn, but it helps make my point about leaving. And, about the same time that I submitted the Polish column, old MB posted his primary election tally and analysis, complete with the question: “Is the GOP in the Home County Doomed?” Allow me to answer that: YES! Here’s an alliteration(!) for C-town: Demographics Determine Destiny. (Que Slipping Away by Dave Edmunds).
Back to last week and Poland, many of those “rights” that Roberts and his idiotic, black-robed cucks suddenly invented out of whole cloth, are crimes in Poland. Amerikans are an increasingly stupid, ignorant, mentally-ill band of weak, deluded fools, lacking the ability to grasp reality. There’s this idea that Europe is somehow lost. The truth is, of course, the polar opposite. The worst of the Old Continent – France, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden – are still, at a minimum, 90% or more French, English, German, Dutch, and Swedish. And, the natives are getting restless. Europe, rest assured, will remain Europe. Period.
There will be war in the US and it will probably be protracted and brutal. This is the price of over a hundred years of cowardice and distraction. The result is impossible to determine, though nothing will be the same. The most likely outcome, after much death and suffering, will be balkanization. That is our happy cross to bear, even those of us who spent our adult lifetimes trying to avert disaster. The young need not suffer through the end of our mistakes. Thus, I offer these escape-route recommendations.
Kids, with the exceptions of a few larger urban areas, almost all of Europe is a better option than where you are now and certainly better than where you’ll be in a decade. I started with Poland for a reason – internal harmony. Here, a few more caveats: Unless you are ethnically Polish or unless you have a direct Polish lineage, it will be somewhat difficult to establish yourself there – as is the case in most of the countries we’ll look into. However, it’s not impossible. After personal compatibility with the nation – and they generally reject incompatible applicants out of hand – the reason to be there is the foremost concern. The two best routes are employment and education. If you just want to move in sans specific purpose, and assuming they even let you apply, then you’ll have to bring plentiful documentation about yourself, health insurance, and sufficient financial resources. Don’t let that necessarily trouble you as you can and should find a reason to fit in – university study suggests itself as an ideal cause.
Not to harp on Poland, but I did even more digging. The dollar goes a long way with things like hotel rooms, houses, and menu items. Even before you launch an exploratory foray, take a Google Maps (via SP or the Duck) vaca. I examined Krakow and was overwhelmed with the local culture. And, that’s me, the recluse, impressed with a sizable city. You can and will find your place!
For the trolls, mid-wits, and assorted people determined not to get it: yes, I’m concentrating on the young folks of my people, Westerners. After I wrap up this series, I’m going to address those of us who will remain amidst the fires. We have options and responsibilities. The great news is that what eventually comes will be much better. As for the other peoples of goodwill, I’ll get this out of the way right now.
For the rest who DO NOT wish to participate in the mess they’re helped create in the US:
Post-1965 newcomers: You know where you came from; go back.
Jews: Sorry, no China. Heed the call of Aliyah before the offer is rescinded.
Blacks: Marcus Garvey is in the news lately. If I was an eighteen-year-old black man, my choices would be, probably in this order: Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya.
Indians: Hold tight; you may have the chance to expand the reservations and/or reclaim former territories. Who knows?
Not that it’s my business, but I sincerely hope those points can help someone. Heck, I hope all of this series helps somebody. If it does, please send me a postcard!
The hellish and failed public schools sometimes spout drivel about the importance of teaching critical thinking skills. They never deliver and, in fact, move hell and earth to prevent intelligent discourse. Vox Day and a reader have articulated (very well) why that is: a passage from The Ethics of Rhetoric by Richard Weaver:
Examples of this kind of contrivance occur on every hand in the impassioned language of journalism and political pleading. In the world of affairs which these seek to influence, the many are kept in a state of pupillage so that they will be most docile to their “lovers.” The techniques of the base lover, especially as exemplified in modern journalism, would make a long catalogue, but in general it is accurate to say that he seeks to keep the understanding in a passive state by never permitting an honest examination of the alternatives. Nothing is more feared by him than a true dialectic, for this not only endangers his favored alternative, but also gives the “beloved”…some training in intellectual independence.
What he does therefore is dress up one alternative in all the cheap finery of immediate hopes and fears, knowing that if he can thus prevent a masculine exercise of imagination and will he can have his way. By discussing only one side of an issue, by mentioning cause without consequence or consequence without cause, acts without agents or agents without agency, he often successfully blocks definition and cause-and-effect reasoning. In this way his choices are arrayed in such meretricious images that one can quickly infer the juvenile mind which they would attract. Of course the base rhetorician today, with his vastly augmented power of propagation, has means of deluding which no ancient rhetor in forum or marketplace could have imagined.
Reading the subtext closely, one finds that Weaver is describing mental rape, in the case of the schools, of children. Vox is dead-on accurate when he says a competent mind must be trained in both rhetoric and dialectic so that one may see and defeat the lies. No government administrator wants and most teachers do not want that as they see it as both an affront to their precious authority over the “beloveds” and a direct challenge to the narrative their masters have scripted for them to deliver.
How does it work in practice? An example: A likely CIA front company runs a reading tutorial program that practically ensures reading is not learned. It is geared towards middle and high school students. One of their recent lessons was on the great sodomite hero Harvey Milk. That’s how the demon-possessed freak is presented – as a hero. They end with Milk’s execution, a grand tragedy as they see it. They expect the kids to go along. This sort of evil is pushed at all levels, including the elementary. What they purposefully omit is that Milk was a child rapist and that many of his victims went on to become child rapists or commit suicide or to do both. A discerning mind might rebel and ask questions, which would defeat the point of the indoctrination.
This is also the reason why it has become next to impossible to carry on a conversation with the average person. Beyond their declining innate mental faculties, they are untrained in the art of thinking.
It’s not “homeschool or die,” it’s homeschool or watch civilization die.
We have just a great TPC column coming next week, though I sense that the famous TPC summer fishing sign is lurking around the corner. (?????) Anyway, national affairs take a happy turn for the future, especially for the younger generations. You won’t want to miss it!
Also, why does the CPI calculator say a new cordless drill should have only increased by 40% since the last time I bought one? I paid almost exactly double for essentially the same thing. Hopefully, it lasts as long as the older model, which is still in low-power operation and rocking duct tape!
Also, also … also, somebody in the ATL will miss that Baconator or chili or potato any day now.
That’ll do. Thanks for stopping by without trying to topple my statues. P
Last Thursday, June 4th, as any paperwork American or public school history student could tell you, was the 76th anniversary of D-Day. Then, thousands of American men were wounded or killed in the late stages of the second phase of the Great Civil War of the West. With massive Soviet assistance, their compatriots and allies went on to claim victory. The celebrations and remembrances were muted this year due to our cities burning and the plague and so forth. Perhaps general interest wanes.
Similarly, not so many folks know the significance of today, the 53rd iteration or anniversary of Liberty Day. It was a time just after the horrific changes of 1965 and just before the abortion of 1973, another day of unprecedented events of American military and cultural history.
This day honors the valiant, if tragic combat trials of the USS Liberty, AGTR-5. She was probably the most advanced surveillance warship (a Technical Research Ship) of her day, a model of Navy and NSA efficiency and ingenuity. Unmistakable in appearance, she bore her numbers prominently and, with her unique, multi-antenna design, she resembled no other vessel in the world.
On the afternoon (local time) of June 8, 1967, a Thursday, while cruising lawfully and peacefully in international waters, she and her crew were suddenly attacked by a determined and vicious opponent. Barrage after barrage came from the sea and the air. During the hellish whirlwind, she withstood 30 mm cannon fire, rockets, napalm, and torpedoes. 34 Americans were killed and another 174 were wounded. Though the ship herself – due to the heroic efforts of the crew – remained afloat, she was unsalvageable, being decommissioned the following year.
This incident was a first (and only) in American history. Never before had a Navy ship come under an unprovoked attack without warranting a suitable counterattack. Liberty successfully radioed the Sixth Fleet and a rescue force was dispatched from the USS Saratoga. However, as has never happened before or since, the US fighters were recalled under direct orders from the accursed and surely damned Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara. Neither he nor the bloated and wicked Lyndon Johnson had any use for their own servicemen. No retaliatory action was ever taken against the hostile foreign country which almost, pursuant to their plan, destroyed and sank an American ship.
The results for the crew were mixed at best. While they were sternly ordered, under penalty of Court Martial, not to speak about their harrowing travail, they were quietly and belatedly commended for their efforts.
This episode would have been worthy of a Johnny Horton ballad, had he not died in 1960. Imagine, if you will, something along the lines of The Sinking of the Reuben James, Sink the Bismarck, or John Paul Jones. Here, out of respect for the dead, the warriors, and the artist, I won’t even attempt one of my spoof covers.
The ship’s awards include:
The Medal Of Honor, Commander William McGonagle;
11 Silver Stars;
20 Bronze Stars;
200+ Purple Hearts;
The Combat Action Ribbon; and,
The Presidential Unit Citation.
She remains the most decorated Navy ship for single combat engagement. Oddly, Johnson, may he burn in hell, didn’t see fit to personally present the awards. Unlike previous (or subsequent) heroes, these brave men were not invited to the White House. They didn’t receive the Unit award until 1991 when George “The Vomiter” Bush saw fit to kind of toss it at the survivors as his limousine whizzed by. All ceremonies were clandestine and the name of the hateful enemy was purposely omitted. (Imagine a D-Day commemoration without mention of Nazi Germany). The events were long hidden from the public; odds are, this is the first time you’ve heard the tale, no? There also has never been a formal inquest. Many and dastardly firsts.
There is a semi-credible rumor, a theory that the attack was a related diversion, orchestrated by Johnson (who was just the kind of guy to do such a thing), that was supposed to be the kick-starter for something much worse. Again, Johnson would have been the one. Yet, we’ll leave that, for now, to the speculative or to your own research. Either way, it was another day of infamy, buried under decades of further infamy.
Many never knew. Some know and denigrate this important chapter of our history. Among the latter-day trash, is worthless neo-con dipshit Charlie Kirk, who dismissed the attack as a “conspiracy theory.” Dishon. Dan Crenshaw won’t even publicly discuss or acknowledge the date of the incident. Yet and still, there were investigations of limited scope. Excuses were given. Some apologies made. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Admiral Thomas H. Moorer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among many others, concluded unequivocally that the attack had been deliberate, intended to destroy Liberty, kill her crew, and entangle America in another war. A friend of mine was, upon a time, close friends with Admiral Moorer. He also met with several survivors. None of them thought there was anything theoretical about the attack – in the premeditated murderous conspiracy or in the lethal action.
We owe more than can be imagined to Liberty’s brave crew.
If you would like to further honor the men of Liberty, or if you would like more information about the chief incident of 6/8/67, then please contact the following:
James E. McPherson
-or other-
Acting Secretary of the Navy
Office of the Acting Secretary of the Navy
1000 Navy Pentagon, Room 4D652
Washington, DC 20350
703-697-7391
secnavpa.fct@navy.mil
-or-
Embassy of ISRAEL
3514 International Drive N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
202-364-5500
info@washington.mfa.gov.il
Tell them that we will never forget – not the attack, not the ship, not the crew, not the cover-up. Further, learn about our fading American history, especially the parts that the agents of evil would rather you never discover. Remember the Liberty! Or, ignore her and let the battle be a metaphor for the strafing of America.
It’s no secret that, around here, the government schools are frowned upon as satanic prisons where children are abused and civilization is crushed into oblivion. What if it’s not the government part that’s the main problem? After reading this book and thinking about all I have seen, lived, and experienced, I think the idea of “school” itself is problematic. Such is McDonald’s premise in this excellent, methodical, and entertaining work.
I just gave it 5 stars at Amazon and Goodreads and I may go back and incorporate some of these words in a house review. First, there was one thing that caught me a little off guard in the pages. It’s something McDonald doesn’t shy away from and qualifies upfront. There is, to me, an inordinate amount of reference to the … alternative lifestyles. That said, by way of qualification, the author notes that the modern trend was largely started by radical leftists and leftover hippies, then followed increasingly by the Christian right. She also praises Andrew Carnegie, for whom I have no sociological use at all. But, at any rate, the whole tome is very well-balanced and apolitical.
And, though the current “movement” started in the 1970s, the concept is ancient. Until about 150 years ago, there were next to no schools anywhere. Or, at least there were no monstrosities of the kind that dot American towns and cities these days. There were colleges, elite academies, private tutors, and local private collective efforts, but the bulk of human education was left to the family … and to the children themselves. And it worked.
It still does.
I made something like 169 Kindle notes and highlights as I worked my way through. Most of them, I’ll leave off, here. What really stood out to me was the concept of what McDonald styles the “instruction assumption.” We, most of us, naturally (or unnaturally) assume that to learn one must be instructed. I wrestled with this, as likely you will as well. McDonald did. It is a fallacy.
Who taught you to stand up? To walk? To talk? To run? The answer is “you.” Believe it or not – and the book really helps – children can and will continue to self-educate, constantly and with all subjects. The purpose of an “instructor,” a parent, is to maintain a state of freedom, riddled with inspiration and opportunity, so as to facilitate what the child can do on his own.
“Public” schools are antithetical to this natural process, as are many (most) private schools, and even curriculum-directed homeschooling. A period of “de-schooling” may be required to dispense with the horrible habits of conformity and debasement.
Some quotes:
“The reason kids hate school is because it’s school.”
“It’s Not the kids. It’s the schools.”
Let those words sink in. If you’ve worked in a school or if you have a child in a school, then you subconsciously know. If not, then remember back to your own experiences so many years ago.
McDonald breaks down, as have many other analysts, how modern schools are designed to break spirits, foster useless conformity, and miseducate. This is the opposite of learning. For doubters – and I had my doubts – she presents example after example, to include academic studies and historical examples, that prove the laissez-faire approach not only works but that it generally works much better than the alternatives. It works for happy children and also for the greater society. Most of our titans of intellect and accomplishment, from Athens to London to Philadelphia, were unschooled and yet managed to change the world or parts thereof. Her example of “young Tom” was insightful and hilarious. *I understand that Tom Ironsides also read the book and is reconsidering his classical school model along more decentralized lines.*
Children can forego school completely, take no standardized tests, receive no useless credentialing paper, exempt the SAT, and still gain admittance to a good college. There, they typically outpace their schooled counterparts. College is not the only secondary path; it may not be the best one given a particular child. There are all kinds of alternatives. The keys are freely-informed consent, individual interest and pacing, and independent and critically-acquired knowledge. Those keys are natural. What goes on in the dull halls of the K-12 world is not.
The solution, as is often the case, is freedom, in this case freely allowing the child to pursue his own interests at his own pace. Even in our crazed, rule-plagued country, this is legal in all 50 states. I developed a sense of awe in the reading. I was also a little jealous; this could have and probably was the best (non) system for me. But, times change. Think of this, for those in the know, as a Sudbury School in the home.
Given human nature and especially the nature of Americans (or what passes for them), I doubt this self-directed methodology will appeal to the masses. But it should. UNSCHOOLED gave me a great, renewed sense of hope. If you have children or if you care anything about the future of intelligent civilization, then I highly recommend not only the book but at least an exploration of the ideas within it.
Commencement Under Social Distancing And Civil Unrest
Welcome back, beloved readers. I trust your masks are properly fitted. Last Friday, I had to modify this column in order to account for the ongoing annihilation of the United States. First, about that…
When I wrote, “imagine it nationwide, thrice as intense, maybe with a few heavy bombing runs and some armor on the streets, and you’ll have a good image of a not-too-distant future,” I was not giving instructions nor did I mean the future as in four minutes after I pressed send. Anyway, this is what we get for so many decades of willful decline. What’s happening in Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, DC, LA, Houston, and most other cities has nothing to do with George Floyd. It is the attempted refutation of civilization and confirmation of what went wrong with the Tower of Babel. It is urban, 4G warfare. Sadly, more will follow.
Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2020!
Here are a few things that I might do if I were in your shoes and in possession of what I know now. You won’t pay attention to all of this and that’s okay. Everything I mention isn’t appropriate or necessary for everyone. That too is fine.
You’ve done it, and we are proud of you. Most of you, statistically, just graduated from public high schools. Some of you were stuck with a “digital” ceremony while others got to march in person but strictly under Doctor Fauci’s restrictive gaze. Either way, you’re out and that is fantastic. Many of my other columns are about how bad the schools were and are.
But, as predicted by Hall & Oates, the long halls and gray walls have split apart. There is life after high school – though it’s considerably stranger now than it used to be. You lucky young adults are free of the government’s education plantation prison. Here, some bad news – the world has myriad other bullshit schemes just waiting to continue that controlled existence you just escaped. My advice? Don’t fall for them or into them. I recommend a departure from the prevailing anti-culture.
This is and is not the “monastic option” as set forth by Morris Berman in Twilight of American Culture. It is and is not what John Taylor Gatto and Anthony Esolen have written about young people, education, and society. It is and is not what Neal Boortz devised in 1997 in his Commencement Speech. It is and is not an extension of my 2015 article, Valediction. Valediction means “farewell” or “in parting.” It, of course, stems from the Latin root, vale (buh-bye!), and is the cousin of our adopted word, valedictorian (highest grade in the class). Current valedictorians may or may not be deprived of speeches of their own. With such an introduction, I’ll try to keep mine relatively short and bulleted. Here goes:
Keep Faith In God.
Get your life out of sync with the rest of the world as soon as possible. Like now. The greatest advice of our column’s namesake, C.F. Floyd.
Stay out of debt. All of it. There is no such thing as good usury. This especially applies to evil student usury. Cash.
Rethink college. Some are good to great. Most of them are worse than useless. Consider working while learning a trade and independently studying your academic field(s) of interest. Keep it simple, cheap, and logos-based.
Work hard for something worthwhile. Whatever you do, make sure it’s honorable and that you enjoy it.
Seriously rethink your relationship with what I call The Empire. Almost nothing you’ve been taught about your country is true anymore. America collapsed. The United States is collapsing. Something or some things will remain or emerge. Use your imagination and your wits to fit in or get out.
Abandon the popular “culture”. The mainstream is owned and operated by the enemy, for their interests and against yours. This includes television, movies, social media, pornography, drugs (to include most prescriptions), (c)rap, and other facets of the low, garbage anti-culture. You’ll never miss it.
GET OUT OF THE CITIES! After this past weekend, this should be self-explanatory.
Consider moving somewhere remote. In America or abroad. In a new country, the goal is to blend in so well that natives assume you are one of them. I’m slowly inching towards the hills. If I was young and I moved overseas, my choice(s) would be in Eastern Europe.
Diversity + Proximity = War. Find your tribe. All the fluffy things you were told about “inclusion” helped fuel what’s burning our cities. Ali’s “bluebirds and redbirds” again. Yeah, sure, you know an exception. Know too, the rule.
Young men: Get in shape. Read everything.
Young women: Stay in shape. Be pleasant.
All young people: Think, behave, speak, and dress like civilized adults. Know and accept Jesus Christ. Know and hate evil.
Get married young and start a family. Don’t be afraid to start poor. His income, whatever it is, will be enough. She can manage the house, however large or small. Do not obsess over or wait for “the money.” Avoid like the plague anyone who tells you otherwise.
Do not be afraid. Fear isn’t natural. Avoid anyone who suggests otherwise.
Celebrate the beautiful. The wonderful. In everything.
There’s so much more, but I trust you will find your way bravely and expediently. I may have some more tips along the way. In a few future columns, we may explore a few affairs from some of those incredible and sure to be around in a century Eastern Euro nations. For my part, I relish presenting positive news about decent people who are willing to defend their traditions, about cultures that still actually are. Next week, we’ll celebrate a little of the forgotten (or obscured) history of our former nation. And, should the current events move to the next level, like with B-2 Spirits or something, I suppose I’ll deal with that too. Get out of the cities!
PERRIN LOVETT 
You must be logged in to post a comment.