Change

                Change is inevitable.  Nothing ever stops change.  Even the Y-chromosome can mutate in time.

                Change on the surface of the earth due to erosion has been gradual.  But change that is sudden like a volcano, earthquake or tornado can be catastrophic.  And so it is with cultures and societies.

                If change comes to quicly to a culture it can cause more problems than it is supposed to solve.  And example is Obamacare. 

                Will Durant said all civilizations are subject to change – they build, peak and then disintegrate, usually within.  This was in 1957.  He further said he thought the American civilization had peaked and was heading down the slope on the other side of the curve.   For those of us in our late seventies and early eighties, we are inclined to agree.  There was drastic change in the sixties that was the beginning of the eroding away of our capitalistic, republican form of democracy.

                Durant blames decadence or the relaxation of morals and the abandonment of God; and ironically that describes the sixties, the era of the hippy and the coffee shop intellectual. 

                Durant says that the ideal civilization is a balance between individual and social interests – meaning a balance between freedom and order.  If there is too much freedom you have chaos, too much order you lose freedom. 

                It is interesting that Durant was raised with the hopes of entering the priesthood but he rebelled, replacing God with history, philosophy and science.  But as he aged he returned to God, not in a heavenly way but in a socialistic way. 

                He said government rules are not enough to stimulate or compel order.  There needed to be a God or religion to support government in keeping order.

                Although a belief in God has declined Durant said as long as there are poor there will be a need for a God.  I would add impotency and injustice to the equation.

                I think the same equation applies to socialism.  As long as there appears to be impotency, injustice and a poor minority there will be a hunger for socialism – the illusion of equality.

                Of course there are a lot of variables.  The socialistic advocates in the current Democratic Party are “capitalizing” on the economic decline, unemployment and selfish interests (like tolerance for homosexuality, polygamy and promiscuity) to gain votes and power.  What the socialistic advocates really want, their goal, is power and big government in which to exercise that power.   The professed altruism of socialists is a means, not an end.  The professional poor, the impotent and the drones don’t seem to understand, or don’t care as long as they think they will get something for nothing. 

                As our population grew so did government.  But I think government grew expediently more than the population.  Every year state and federal legislatures pass dozens, maybe hundreds of new laws which control the movement and behavior of the people.   Can you keep track of all those laws?  And ignorance of the law is no excuse. 

                Big socialistic government passes laws for the good of the people, like seat belts.  With each new governmental administration government tends to get bigger – for the good of the people.  Obama’s health program mandates heath care whether you like it or not, for the good of the people.

                Obama’s health care and stimulus program are sudden changes.  Government got bigger under Bush and its getting bigger and more powerful (dictatorial) under Obama. 

                The Republicans hope to check the sudden changes perpetrated by Obama in hopes of avoiding chaos.  The question is – will the people put their country first, and is it too late? 

                If history can predict the future as Durant teaches, the Republicans may be able to slow change, but not stop it entirely.  A civilization may be able to go back to old ways but it can’t recapture the past.  The ticking clock can’t be stopped.  Old generations die off and new generations emerge with new ideas how to deal with old things.    

                As we age our values and priorities tend to change.  Once the wild oats have been sewn I have noticed some of my peers seem to become religious – at least they start going to church.  I think the religious behavior might be induced by a desire to set a good moral example for their grandchildren.  And I think that they rationalize that if there is indeed a God, it wouldn’t hurt to not take chances. 

                For example the LDS Church form of Mormonism is a clean, family orientated, patriotic religion – a great place to raise children.  My adventure with Mormonism occurred at midlife until I could no longer stomach the deception, absurdities, dishonesty, feigned authority and the merchandising of women and an exaltation. 

                Durant suggests it takes religion for people to be good.  Some clerics allege religion is what makes the difference between good and evil.  I reject both assertions out of hand.  An intelligent skeptic can be just as ultraistic and egalitarian as a church goer.  I don’t subscribe to any religion because if it happens there really is an afterlife and a God, and I hypocritically go to church knowing what I know, I’m afraid God would chastise me by saying, “John, you knew better.”  In other words, I don’t believe that going to church necessarily makes points with God.   And it also depends upon the church.  Attending some “radical and fanatical” churches may actually impair a relationship with God.

                As I have aged, like Durant, my values and priorities have changed but not necessarily in the same direction.  With age comes wisdom, hopefully, and instead of racing from one red light to another and slamming on the brakes, we old codgers coast to a stop – in no hurry to be lowered in the grave. 

                Some young studs tend to write us old guys off as antiquated.  Will Durant was lucid and productive well into his nineties (96).  So when you see that old geezer standing in line at the Golden Corral or hobbling into the senior citizen center show a little respect.  You don’t know the history of that old man, how or where he served his country, the obstacles he overcame, the women he loved, the children he sired, and the help he had given others.  He earned that gray hair, those ruddy wrinkles, old scares and blotches on his skin; for he is an unsung survivor of life’s misadventures torn by love, doubt and conflict.   

                I end this post with a quote from Durant:

                In my youth I stressed freedom, and in my old age I stress order. I have made the great discovery that liberty is a product of order.
Will Durant