A chapter on the impact of the JFK assassination is so riveting that I insisted on reading portions aloud to my family. How, Piereson wonders, was it possible that Fidel Castro and Che Guevara became heroes to the American left when it was a committed communist who killed the left’s beloved Kennedy? --- Just like his brother, Robert, JFK was killed because of his support for zionist israel.
On Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 1:49:31 PM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > *America is due for a revolution > <http://nypost.com/2015/10/17/history-is-repeating-itself-america-is-due-for-a-revolution/>* > > By Michael Goodwin <http://nypost.com/author/michael-goodwin/> > > October 17, 2015 | 10:52pm > > [image: America is due for a revolution] > > Photo: Getty Images > > Here’s the good news: The chaos and upheaval we see all around us have > historical precedents and yet America survived. The bad news: Everything > likely will get worse before it gets better again. > > That’s my chief takeaway from “Shattered Consensus,” > <http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Consensus-Decline-America%C2%92s-Political/dp/1594036713?tag=nypost-20> > > a meticulously argued analysis of the growing disorder. Author James > Piereson persuasively makes the case there is an inevitable “revolution” > coming because our politics, culture, education, economics and even > philanthropy are so polarized that the country can no longer resolve its > differences. > > To my knowledge, no current book makes more sense about the great > unraveling we see in each day’s headlines. Piereson captures and explains > the alienation arising from the sense that something important in American > life is ending, but that nothing better has emerged to replace it. > > The impact is not restricted by our borders. Growing global conflict is > related to America’s failure to agree on how we should govern ourselves and > relate to the world. > > Piereson describes the endgame this way: “The problems will mount to a > point of crisis where either they will be addressed through a ‘fourth > revolution’ or the polity will begin to disintegrate for lack of > fundamental agreement.” > > He identifies two previous eras where a general consensus prevailed, and > collapsed. Each lasted about as long as an individual’s lifetime, was > dominated by a single political party and ended dramatically. > > First came the era that stretched from 1800 until slavery and sectionalism > led to the Civil War. The second consensus, which he calls the > capitalist-industrial era, lasted from the end of the Civil War until the > Great Depression. > > It is the third consensus, which grew out of the depression and World War > II, which is now shattering. Because the nation is unable to solve economic > stagnation, political dysfunction and the resulting public discontent, > Piereson thinks the consensus “cannot be resurrected.” > > That’s not to say he’s pessimistic — he thinks a new era could usher in > dynamic growth, as happened after the previous eras finally reached general > agreement on national norms. But first we must weather a crisis that may > involve an economic and stock-market collapse, a terror attack, or simply a > prolonged and bitter stalemate. > > The book, like its author, is conservative but not doctrinaire. Piereson, > president of the William E. Simon Foundation and a senior fellow at the > Manhattan Institute, uses a scholarly Big Idea template to dissect a > variety of examples that at first glance seem to be digressions. Not so — > he methodically accumulates evidence for relevant and compelling > conclusions. > > A chapter on the impact of the JFK assassination is so riveting that I > insisted on reading portions aloud to my family. How, Piereson wonders, > was it possible that Fidel Castro and Che Guevara became heroes to the > American left when it was a committed communist who killed the left’s > beloved Kennedy? > > Piereson also deftly demolishes the myth of Camelot by recounting how a > grieving first lady created the legend on a single weekend after the > president’s funeral. Jacqueline Kennedy invited famed writer Theodore White > to the family compound on Cape Cod so he could interview her for a Life > magazine issue devoted to JFK. > > There she told White that she and the president went to bed listening to > the soundtrack of the then-popular Broadway show “Camelot,” which was based > on a novel. She insisted that JFK loved the music and the story because he, > too, was a courageous idealist like the fabled King Arthur depicted in the > show. “There will be great presidents again, but there will never be > another Camelot,” Jackie told White. > > White and his editors resisted the grandiose and sentimental story line, > but finally relented to the grieving widow. White later expressed regret > for helping to create the Camelot myth. > > Other sections trace the changes of liberal and conservative orthodoxy and > the rise and decline of American universities. > > Piereson also considers possible elements of the next national consensus, > including a renewed focus on growth instead of redistribution and a bid to > depoliticize government. > > But he is ultimately uncertain what will come next because we are far from > reaching a consensus on almost anything. There are so many fault lines that > the nation seems consumed by a conflict of all against all. > > That doesn’t make for a happy ending, but it is an honest one, and that’s > another virtue of this terrific book. > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZ3ZvM2dhBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NDUxODM0OTA-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! 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