Holy moly! Take a deep breath, it will be ok. First of all, anything you may have read about a rapid increase in deaths due to the USAID dismantling is all predictions and models. Let’s wait for real data to emerge.
Second, on cycles. Mancur Olson wrote about these in his book The Rise and Decline of Nations. Over time entrenched interest take hold of a society and slowly choke out growth leading to slow economic decline until there is some shakeup that enables new growth and an ordering of society better adapted for growth. The cycle continues. Usually the shakeup is war. (Which risks the shakeup not being a shakeup but an end, if the decay has gone unchecked for too long.) It is rare that a political system is able to enact such a shakeup of its own power. I’m no fan of Trump the man, but in the long run if this shakeup sticks (barring a reaction and ultimate victory of the entrenched interests with renewed fury, which is a big risk), then this is probably for the best. We should be glad for a shakeup that doesn’t burn down our cities. Olson focuses on economic decline. Carroll Quigley in Evolution of Civilizations focuses on broader cultural decline within this cycle. Christ’s death brought new birth. After a shake-up comes new growth. Be glad it’s a civil sort of shake-up.
Curious how Good Friday is celebrated in LDS circles.
We typically "celebrate" it by remembering the experience of losing hope, dwelling in that for a little while. I'm not typically a doomer (at least not about politics), but I think it's a useful exercise to do once a year.
I’ve been to a Catholic Good Friday celebration, and it was beautiful and touching, ending with darkness. I kind of wish I could also have been at the Easter service to get the light back. We don’t have the same exact tradition, but we do of course celebrate the Resurrection and Easter. Our leaders in General Conference have encouraged us to Extend our Easter celebration into the Holy Week more, inspired by some of these beautiful practices of other churches. Our stake has a Good Friday devotional tonight with music, but it will be more like an Easter celebration - it won’t end with the lights out.
Holy moly! Take a deep breath, it will be ok. First of all, anything you may have read about a rapid increase in deaths due to the USAID dismantling is all predictions and models. Let’s wait for real data to emerge.
Second, on cycles. Mancur Olson wrote about these in his book The Rise and Decline of Nations. Over time entrenched interest take hold of a society and slowly choke out growth leading to slow economic decline until there is some shakeup that enables new growth and an ordering of society better adapted for growth. The cycle continues. Usually the shakeup is war. (Which risks the shakeup not being a shakeup but an end, if the decay has gone unchecked for too long.) It is rare that a political system is able to enact such a shakeup of its own power. I’m no fan of Trump the man, but in the long run if this shakeup sticks (barring a reaction and ultimate victory of the entrenched interests with renewed fury, which is a big risk), then this is probably for the best. We should be glad for a shakeup that doesn’t burn down our cities. Olson focuses on economic decline. Carroll Quigley in Evolution of Civilizations focuses on broader cultural decline within this cycle. Christ’s death brought new birth. After a shake-up comes new growth. Be glad it’s a civil sort of shake-up.
Curious how Good Friday is celebrated in LDS circles.
We typically "celebrate" it by remembering the experience of losing hope, dwelling in that for a little while. I'm not typically a doomer (at least not about politics), but I think it's a useful exercise to do once a year.
I’ve been to a Catholic Good Friday celebration, and it was beautiful and touching, ending with darkness. I kind of wish I could also have been at the Easter service to get the light back. We don’t have the same exact tradition, but we do of course celebrate the Resurrection and Easter. Our leaders in General Conference have encouraged us to Extend our Easter celebration into the Holy Week more, inspired by some of these beautiful practices of other churches. Our stake has a Good Friday devotional tonight with music, but it will be more like an Easter celebration - it won’t end with the lights out.