THE NINE REALMS OF CIVILIZATION

Eric Martindale • November 28, 2018

This is the first of a series of blog posts on The Intellectual Paradox. I am outlining 9 realms of human civilization that are all essential attributes. These are

1. Faith & Spiritual Development
2. Government/Politics/Law
3. Economic Theory & Employment
4. Marriage & Family
5. Community
6. Technology
7. Arts & Entertainment
8. Health & Environment

9. Education

One cannot ignore any of these realms if the goal is to advance civilization. If any one of these realms deteriorates, all of civilization will suffer.

I know many advocates of the Arts that think that the Arts is the key to everything. Get people to appreciate the Arts, and that will open their minds to everything good, they say. Others think it’s all about Faith, or Technology, or really any of the nine. I did list Faith first, so perhaps I have my own bias, but I recognize that all 9 are independent and essential. The nine should work together as a web of sorts. Imagine each as a point in a 9 point star, with lines connecting to the other 8 points. So let’s make a few observations on the 9 realms.

1. There needs to be some people who are completely devoted to each realm. That is their life’s work. They facilitate one realm, or become a respected expert in their realm of choice. Each must recognize that the other realms exist, and have their distinct function in civilization.

2. Some people need to flow from realm to realm, and wear different hats. This is not only acceptable; it is essential for their inter-relationship.

3. Society needs to be stable enough that progress can advance within each realm. Society cannot be divided and pitted against each other with political divisiveness and group identity mentality. Each of the 9 realms needs to accept the objective validity of the others, and the need for the others to advance.

There are writers and whole organizations focused on economic theory. They present economic theory as supreme to all other aspects of civilization, and everything else is a subset. That is a fundamental flaw in their approach.

The system does not work with any of the nine realms in a state of collapse and deterioration. Currently there are two realms that have become almost completely dysfunctional. These are Government/Politics/Law and Arts & Entertainment. That
is the current state of affairs. All of the other 7 realms are suffering because these two realms have broken down. This cannot continue.

Politics must be shamed into honesty. I believe this is possible, and I’m doing my small part within the Republican end of things. Someone else needs to take care of the Democrats, please.... We will state what we disagree with at times, even strongly at times, but hate and hostility must be avoided. Somehow, smart and dedicated people with different political ideas must find a way to work together to end the political hate game. I remember in years past, Senators Chuck Schumer (D- NY) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) were known for agreeing that there must be order, structure, and civility to society, but disagreeing on the specifics. This perspective must be resurrected, and those politicians that have gone hard-left or hard-right must be reigned in or voted out of office.

The realm of Arts & Entertainment must be cleaned up. It’s gone too far in promoting social dysfunction. This realm is directly connected to the other 8 realms, and it dramatically affects each of them.

No better example of the problem exists than the Drag Queen Story Hour initiative, which launched in early 2018. Somehow it was deemed that the world would be a better place if all stigma were eliminated surrounding drag queens. Lets have them meet and greet small children for a story hour, earn their friendship and respect, and then reveal that they are actually men dressed up as women. The only thing worse than this idea are the parents who think this would be good for their children. I was tempted to attend one of these events, and then report all of the parents to DYFS (Division of Youth & Family Services) here in New Jersey.

The focus of Arts & Entertainment has become to promote all forms of sexual liberation. It’s not simply a goal for people to be left alone to do as they want in the bedroom, which some will defend from a libertarian perspective. The goal now is to change the entire value structure of society on these matters, and the laws. And then to declare any words to the contrary to be hate speech. For instance, I just spoke out against the Drag Queen Story Hour. If the most radical artists and entertainers had their way, I would be prosecuted for hate speech, fined, imprisoned, registered onto some kind of hate-watch list, and then monitored by the government and various private organizations dedicating to “stamping out hate and intolerance”.

It goes beyond individual persecution. Whole groups of people are being demonized as the adversaries of any initiative for sexual liberation, and this becomes the focus of their politics. And nobody is more evil and ignorant than the artist or entertainer that does not follow the script on this social reordering of society. To be a conservative in that industry is to essentially end your own career.

The entire realm of Government/Politics has been under major attack by Arts & Entertainment for decades, and has become just as dysfunctional. Arts & Entertainment is also connected to each of the other two realms, and it is further
grinding them down as well. Fix these two suffering and deteriorated realms, and each of the other seven will advance and prosper, especially Faith, Family, and Community. My perspective on this is unapologetically conservative.

The situation is like McCarthyism in reverse. Anyone who is not on board with the Far Left on these matters is considered ignorant, intolerant, and force of evil that must be called out and suppressed. This situation has now matured to the point that it has even infiltrated into our Faith organizations. Church after church is being pressured to change its teachings, to adapt, and to “modernize” on these matters. They are told that if they don’t, they will lose support of our nation’s Youth and dwindle into obscurity. This is all nonsense.

This is what happens when the realm of Arts & Entertainment ascends as the guiding light of our society. As family and religion is minimized, what is actually happening is that we descend into darkness, anarchy, and selfishness.

When there is a reduced value structure to society because of decades of deterioration from the Arts, there is a reduced need to be civil. Gone are the days of the toastmasters, when the ability to speak kind words was a goal all to it’s own. We see this deterioration in our politics today, from both sides. It started with the pundits and talk show hosts at least 20 years ago. It’s now at the point where political figures are starting to realize that the key to winning elections is to be uncivil, to ridicule and demonize their opponents, and to rile up their respective political bases. I could easily list a half dozen political leaders from each major Party that have gone this route, but that would diminish the focus of this blog post.

And when the whole social order of society breaks down, there is less desire to volunteer, to donate, and to participate in community matters.

This exception to this is the intellectuals, especially the older generation. They remain civil, and they remain committed to the cause that the arts are the guiding light to society. They advocate the arts on a level that the Milennials will never reach.

While the intellectuals “get it”, at least in their minds, the common person is adrift, astray, and lost. Some have focused their lives on hobbies or sports team, which is fine. Others are easily swayed by political movements, Left or Right, which then serve as the substitute for the actual value structure of society that has been largely destroyed. These political movements do not proceed in a civil manner, which greatly frustrate the older intellectuals who champion the Arts. They are left wondering “Gee, why can’t we just educate everyone to understand our philosophies, be civil, and volunteer to help others. What is wrong with this country, it must be the damn Republicans”. I call this the Intellectual Paradox.

This is just a sampling of The Intellectual Paradox. That’s the subject of the next blog. Stay tuned. Yes, there’s lots of intellectualism on my end in developing all of this, but I don’t fall prey to the “Intellectual Paradox”, but I present everything in a common sense manner.

I don’t encourage everyone to be intellectuals, and in fact many intellectuals already know what they think they know, and are actually very close-minded. Just a few will open their minds enough to absorb my thoughts. I instead encourage people to be followers, and to have Faith. That is what works for 90% of the population, and that is human nature. No amount of education or indoctrination is ever going to transform the average person into an intellectual. I find it astounding that most intellectuals, as smart as they are, cannot grasp this most basic fact.

So if people are not going to transform into intellectuals, and they must follow something, make it something really good. Most people will never truly grasp it, but at least they are following something really good. That is why Christianity remains the best model for society, not Intellectualism. Be a Christian, and be a follower. Churches facilitate Family and Community, two other essential roles. Follow Jesus for his general guidance, and take the Old Testament with a grain of salt. Most of it is really good, but perhaps the word of man has wiggled its way into more than a few passages. Jesus’ advise is tested and timeless. And please note that if my advice on modern society ever deviates from that of Jesus, follow Jesus.

I was a Bahai for 7 years. I admire Baha’u’llah and His teachings, and while I believe that they take the best of Christian teachings to a higher level, they are currently advocated through a lens of intellectualism, not faith. Bahai Writings are wordy, and require a vocabulary at least quadruple that of the average American. The Bahai’s have no clergy, which allows average Bahai’s to assume the role of pastors. This structure actually encourages many ‘leaders’ to join the Faith. This presents a major problem, as many new Bahai’s in America are of an intellectual mindset, and they carry as baggage their prior convictions on social and political issues. These are typically strong, and very often in conflict with Bahai Teachings. The result is confusion, disorder and a difficult balancing act. This is the primary reason that I left the Bahai’s.

I believe that an intellectual approach, whether or not it is Bahai-focused, can only be grasped by the smartest 10% of the population. No amount of education, prayer, or societal indoctrination will ever nudge that number even as high as 20%. I must state upfront that on this point I am in conflict with how the Bahai Faith is currently presented in America. The followers believe that everyone has the innate capacity to be an intellectual, and yet at the same time, they are unable to balance Bahai Teachings with whatever values they had prior to becoming a Bahai. If that isn’t proof of the Intellectual Paradox, nothing is.

I’m done with trying to make everyone into an intellectual; it’s a guaranteed fail. All advise to humanity must be practical, efficient, economical, and fair to everyone. It must be Faith-based and simple to understand, like the lists of values and reforms on our home page www.thewelcomemovement.com. For those who do want to learn more, or even to intellectualize over what I have written (gasp), there will be plenty more to read. But intellectual theory will never be the end goal of the Welcome Movement.

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THE MUSLIM CONSERVATIVE DECLARATION

By Ahmed Odeh Guest Contributor • September 24, 2024

We are upset that Donald Trump is positioning himself as the great defender of Israel. Trump has done nothing to try to win the Muslim vote, even though most Muslims are social conservatives. Meanwhile, the political support that many Muslims feel for the Democrats is unsustainable, as the core positions of the Left are hostile to our beliefs. Both problems are much more than frustrating. Muslims who are social conservatives must take a stand to state their beliefs. Those who agree with the following 25 conservative points are asked to click on the link below, print it, sign your name to this Declaration, and mail it to the Trump Campaign. Trump needs to be deluged with thousands of these. Each will be opened, because they think it’s a campaign donation. Trump and the Republican establishment need to hear it loud and clear that Muslims are the real conservatives, and that Jews are the Leftist and atheist enemy of the whole world.