Changes of Heart
On the Fourth Turning, and the debate, Political Upheaval, By Design
I read The Fourth Turning on a recommendation by James Howard Kunstler and liked it at the time (around 2009). Now I think I might have a change of heart about it or at least some parts of it that don't travel well or have been appropriated as prophecy.
In Raoul Martinez's book Creating Freedom there's a passage that I liked that is perhaps a better way to think about history, and the "direction of travel":
"Beliefs reflect what we think the world is like. Values, on the other hand, reflect what we think it should be like. On the turbulences of life, we depend on our beliefs to act as a compass for our values, the signal, in any situation, the direction of travel. When they are false, they lead us astray, often preventing us from realizing our goals. People take wrong turnings, vote against their interest, buy the wrong product, picked the wrong career, marry the wrong person. With better understanding, we could make better choices and avoid many mistakes. You and I may be searching for the same goal, but differ radically in the means we employ to attain it."
In terms of the advance of civilizations (not just the clashes of them) we are not moving any closer to a more advanced society on the Kardeshev Scale, as marionettes in historical cycles. Perhaps the real meaning of our time is to reset that cycle. In some ways, the argument follows for and against the idea that we have genuine free will, or if we are just puppets manipulated by some mysterious power. If there are advanced civilizations that can harness the power of a star or a galaxy, they probably are not focused on the routines of their own planet. Perhaps this is the last Fourth Turning which leads to a world with no Turnings, per se.
I read The Fourth Turning on a recommendation by James Howard Kunstler and liked it at the time (around 2009). Now I think I might have a change of heart about it or at least some parts of it that don't travel well or have been appropriated as prophecy.
In Raoul Martinez's book Creating Freedom there's a passage that I liked that is perhaps a better way to think about history, and the "direction of travel":
"Beliefs reflect what we think the world is like. Values, on the other hand, reflect what we think it should be like. On the turbulences of life, we depend on our beliefs to act as a compass for our values, the signal, in any situation, the direction of travel. When they are false, they lead us astray, often preventing us from realizing our goals. People take wrong turnings, vote against their interest, buy the wrong product, picked the wrong career, marry the wrong person. With better understanding, we could make better choices and avoid many mistakes. You and I may be searching for the same goal, but differ radically in the means we employ to attain it."
In terms of the advance of civilizations (not just the clashes of them) we are not moving any closer to a more advanced society on the Kardeshev Scale, as marionettes in historical cycles. Perhaps the real meaning of our time is to reset that cycle. In some ways, the argument follows for and against the idea that we have genuine free will, or if we are just puppets manipulated by some mysterious power. If there are advanced civilizations that can harness the power of a star or a galaxy, they probably are not focused on the routines of their own planet. Perhaps this is the last Fourth Turning which leads to a world with no Turnings, per se.
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