Old-Thinker News | May 18, 2014

By Daniel Taylor

A string of scandals involving the federal government is further demonstrating the illegitimacy and hypocrisy of the power structure. Historical cycles point to massive upheaval.

Ordinary Americans are being targeted while known terrorists are escorted through security. Kidnappers, rapists, and murderers are being released from prison; an action sanctioned by the President of the United States. The BATF allows guns to find their way to Mexican drug lords, while the federal government is fighting to disarm American citizens. Mega-banks launder billions of dollars worth of drug money. No, this isn’t a dystopic nightmare; This is our present day reality that we all must face.

The establishment is behaving like a crazed psychopath that knows he is about to be brought to justice. Nearly every agency of government has acquired some form of armaments in the past several years. Police departments across the country are getting mine resistant vehicles. Homeland Security is acquiring billions of rounds of ammunition. The Department of Agriculture recently requested body armor as well as sub machine guns. Many other instruments of war have been stored and deployed.

To an outside observer watching these trends, a grim picture is being painted. Each case in and of itself may not add up to much, but when all of the data points are pulled together we can begin to see a pattern of deliberate action.

What exactly is the establishment preparing for? Historical cycles may give us a clue.

Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe document these cycles in their 1997 book The Fourth Turning. The book reminds us that the old adage “There is nothing new under the sun” is truly rooted in fact. The issues that we are facing today – with new faces and slightly different angles – are the same realities that our ancestors dealt with during their times of crisis.

“History is seasonal,” write Strauss and Howe, “…and winter is coming.” “Like nature’s winter, the saecular winter can come early or late. A Fourth Turning can be long and difficult, brief but severe, or (perhaps) mild. But, like winter, it cannot be averted. It must come in its turn.”

As a society we are sensing the coming winter and (hopefully) preparing accordingly, just as past generations did at their time of crisis. Government is certainly preparing for massive upheaval just in time for the arrival of the Fourth Turning.

What is a turning?

As Strauss and Howe point out, history is made up of highs and lows. During a high, government and institutions are built up while values are established and commonly held. Another generation is born and these institutions are questioned and undermined. Then, an “unraveling” era unfolds. As Strauss and Howe write, “Both the demand and supply of social order are falling. This is the autumnal quadrant of the saeculum, when vines luxuriate, fruit spoils, leaves fall, and the respect for life’s fundamentals reappears.”

A saeculum – which is divided into four “seasons”, culminating in a crisis – is the average length of a long human life, after which there is a societal “reset”. A Fourth Turning happens when issues that have been boiling without resolution for years explode. “Subliminal fears… become urgent” heading into the Fourth Turning.

“Political and economic trust will implode. Real hardship will beset the land, with severe distress that could involve questions of class, race, nation and empire. The very survival of the nation will feel at stake. Sometime before the year 2025, America will pass through a great gate in history, commensurate with the American Revolution, Civil War, and twin emergencies of the Great Depression and World War II.”

4th turnings can happen in more than one nation at a time. As the world has become extremely connected and globalized, most of the world may enter into a 4th turning cycle at the same time, exacerbating its impact on everyone. During these turnings, an entrenched elite fight tooth and nail to remain in power.

Individual choices will alter the outcome

As Strauss and Howe point out, the outcome of this season of radical change and potential destruction is up to us. This generation, just as America’s founders did, will provide the heroes and legends for the next. Your actions and choices during this time will alter the outcome of this historical time period and set the cultural agenda for the next cycle. Your contribution can be as simple as making changes in your personal life and aligning yourself with right principles and truth. It may be as big as speaking out on important issues and spreading ideas for change. Karl Rove once said of the elite, “We’re history’s actors… and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.” The truth is that we the people influence history. We are the individuals who either accept or reject the elite’s designs for our future.