Beware GOP: Millennials Don’t Like What We’re Hearing

[massadvj]

In a prior post, didn't you also say that the "millennials" are also "totally amoral"?

They are amoral, but not immoral.  That is to say they do not abide by a strict Judeo/Christian ethic.  They strongly support gay marriage and do not take issue with premarital sex.  They generally subscribe to a "live and let live" philosophy.  But they do abide by a moral code in that they are environmentally conscious, overly considerate in their relationships with others, and would much prefer to find common ground with an adversary than to fight or even engage in competition.

If that's the case, the millennials aren't going to do the Republicans or the country much good.

There are 80 million of them, and in 2008 and 2012 they demonstrated that they will vote and vote as a bloc.  Some 75 percent of millennials voted for OPapaDoc.  Their size is almost double the size of the Hispanic population (although there is quite a bit of overlap.  A quarter of millennials are Hispanic).  My point is they are not the ones in danger of becoming dinosaurs.  We are.  So it's not a question of whether they can do us any good, but whether we can do them any good.

Wasn't it John Adams who said:
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

In view of the comments above, how does one reconcile the attitudes of the millennials with our Constitutional Republic ??

If what John Adams said is true, then our Constitutional Republic is dead anyway.  We have been a secular society -- which is to say NOT a moral and religious people -- since at least the 1960's.  Yes, the Constitution is very, very sick.  And yes, it coincides with societal decay.  But there simply is no way to put that genie back in the bottle by forcibly imposing religion on people.

I think if people choose to be free, they will actually be more likely to become religious because people who have individual freedom will seek a moral foundation for themselves rather than depending on government to provide a false anesthetic for living.  The transition from a regulated state to a free state will be ugly for a short time, but in the long run people will discover on their own that freedom requires a certain amount of discipline, character and personal responsibility.  Once that lesson is learned, only then can we build a sustainable and productive civilization.
 

[olde north church]

Not really. You are doing yourself down. You fit the first part, at least.

Oh, that part, yeah.  Not very religious though.  I think it's possible to be moral without being religious.  I think morality is more linked to the part of the brain that makes us Conservative.  Hand in hand.

[Fishrrman]

mass wrote above:
[[ But they do abide by a moral code in that they are environmentally conscious, overly considerate in their relationships with others, and would much prefer to find common ground with an adversary than to fight or even engage in competition. ]]

The "preponderance of mindset" as expressed in your remarks above indicate (to me, at least) that the millennials are "fodder for the democrat's cannons", rather than being a potential constituency for either Republicans or conservatives.

All this goes back to a guy named Gramsci.
His suggestions have worked out quite well.

You continued:
[[ My point is they are not the ones in danger of becoming dinosaurs.  We are.  So it's not a question of whether they can do us any good, but whether we can do them any good. ]]

Fishrrman's credo:
"Reality is what it is. It is not what we believe it to be."

If what you say is true (and yes, it is), then we "dinosaurs" might as well accept the reality of it all, fill a glass with our favorite beverage, raise it high, and give a toast that the Founders' Republic made it as far as it did.

Because our time is all-but over.

As you also said, we might have quelled this wave, but that would have had to have been done back in the late fifties/early sixties. We are reaping the harvest from the seeds we let be planted back then.
(Aside: perhaps those who decried the coming of "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" weren't so crazy, after all!)

Those who remain willing to fight to "carry it on" might do well to start looking for someplace other than the United States in which to make "their last stand". Could be somewhere as remote as Australia or New Zealand, or even Iceland. Somewhere far away. It ain't gonna be here.

You continued:
[[ The transition from a regulated state to a free state will be ugly for a short time, but in the long run people will discover on their own that freedom requires a certain amount of discipline, character and personal responsibility.  Once that lesson is learned, only then can we build a sustainable and productive civilization. ]]

Didn't some gal named Rand write a long tome about that back around 1957?

More than a decade ago, I came up with something I called, for lack of a better name, the "Titanic theory":
Think of that great ship.
After it struck the iceberg, it sank bow-first. As the bow sank lower, the stern rose higher. Those who couldn't get into the lifeboats moved to the stern, for it was to be the last place above the waterline.

The country is now analogous to the Titanic.
Some places are already far "underwater", and they aren't coming back up.
There are other areas that even yet remain high and dry, untouched by the chaos that is descending upon the places that have "gone under".

There are those onboard who remain oblivious to the situation before them.
There are others who understand the fate of the ship, who realize it's going down.

Your post above suggests that you are one of those who know "the ship is gone", and there's nothing that will save it. So be it. "Reality is what it is".

In the face of this, perhaps the best course of action for "conservatives" onboard is to get themselves and their families to those parts that will remain out-of-the-water for the longest.

This doesn't ultimately change fate. But it may give them enough time to live out the remainder of their time amongst others of like mind, in an environment that resembles that of their youths -- when the country was morally healthy as well as materially so. Back when the future seemed full of promises, instead of fear and loathing.

On the U.S.S. America what matters these days is no longer about saving the country. That's over and done.
Instead, it's personal.
It's about saving yourselves...

[alicewonders]

mass wrote above:
[[ But they do abide by a moral code in that they are environmentally conscious, overly considerate in their relationships with others, and would much prefer to find common ground with an adversary than to fight or even engage in competition. ]]

The "preponderance of mindset" as expressed in your remarks above indicate (to me, at least) that the millennials are "fodder for the democrat's cannons", rather than being a potential constituency for either Republicans or conservatives.

All this goes back to a guy named Gramsci.
His suggestions have worked out quite well.

You continued:
[[ My point is they are not the ones in danger of becoming dinosaurs.  We are.  So it's not a question of whether they can do us any good, but whether we can do them any good. ]]

Fishrrman's credo:
"Reality is what it is. It is not what we believe it to be."

If what you say is true (and yes, it is), then we "dinosaurs" might as well accept the reality of it all, fill a glass with our favorite beverage, raise it high, and give a toast that the Founders' Republic made it as far as it did.

Because our time is all-but over.

As you also said, we might have quelled this wave, but that would have had to have been done back in the late fifties/early sixties. We are reaping the harvest from the seeds we let be planted back then.
(Aside: perhaps those who decried the coming of "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" weren't so crazy, after all!)

Those who remain willing to fight to "carry it on" might do well to start looking for someplace other than the United States in which to make "their last stand". Could be somewhere as remote as Australia or New Zealand, or even Iceland. Somewhere far away. It ain't gonna be here.

You continued:
[[ The transition from a regulated state to a free state will be ugly for a short time, but in the long run people will discover on their own that freedom requires a certain amount of discipline, character and personal responsibility.  Once that lesson is learned, only then can we build a sustainable and productive civilization. ]]

Didn't some gal named Rand write a long tome about that back around 1957?

More than a decade ago, I came up with something I called, for lack of a better name, the "Titanic theory":
Think of that great ship.
After it struck the iceberg, it sank bow-first. As the bow sank lower, the stern rose higher. Those who couldn't get into the lifeboats moved to the stern, for it was to be the last place above the waterline.

The country is now analogous to the Titanic.
Some places are already far "underwater", and they aren't coming back up.
There are other areas that even yet remain high and dry, untouched by the chaos that is descending upon the places that have "gone under".

There are those onboard who remain oblivious to the situation before them.
There are others who understand the fate of the ship, who realize it's going down.

Your post above suggests that you are one of those who know "the ship is gone", and there's nothing that will save it. So be it. "Reality is what it is".

In the face of this, perhaps the best course of action for "conservatives" onboard is to get themselves and their families to those parts that will remain out-of-the-water for the longest.

This doesn't ultimately change fate. But it may give them enough time to live out the remainder of their time amongst others of like mind, in an environment that resembles that of their youths -- when the country was morally healthy as well as materially so. Back when the future seemed full of promises, instead of fear and loathing.

On the U.S.S. America what matters these days is no longer about saving the country. That's over and done.
Instead, it's personal.
It's about saving yourselves...

What an anguishing reply Fishrrmmn, but every word is true.  Your Titanic analogy is especially chilling to me as I am terrified of deep water, what we are facing is equally as frightening.     

Sad thoughts today. 

[massadvj]

On the U.S.S. America what matters these days is no longer about saving the country. That's over and done.
Instead, it's personal.
It's about saving yourselves...

I edited your post down a bit, but I read it all and cannot say I disagree with it in spite of its darkness.  I myself do not really consider myself a conservative per se, but I do lament the loss of freedom, and in particular free enterprise, that we have experienced in my lifetime.

I will tell you what I tell my students:

You might have an opinion one way or the other about the direction of the world, and that's fine.  But you cannot let that cloud your business judgment.  As businesspersons it is your duty to figure out what the future looks like and then capitalize on it however you can.  All change presents opportunity.  The best thing you can do for your country, for your tribe, for your family, and for your community is to be successful yourself.

[alicewonders]

I edited your post down a bit, but I read it all and cannot say I disagree with it in spite of its darkness.  I myself do not really consider myself a conservative per se, but I do lament the loss of freedom, and in particular free enterprise, that we have experienced in my lifetime.

I will tell you what I tell my students:

You might have an opinion one way or the other about the direction of the world, and that's fine.  But you cannot let that cloud your business judgment.  As businesspersons it is your duty to figure out what the future looks like and then capitalize on it however you can.  All change presents opportunity.  The best thing you can do for your country, for your tribe, for your family, and for your community is to be successful yourself.

You're an excellent teacher Victor.  That's the best advice you can give them.