{"id":1894,"date":"2025-12-19T19:11:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeppscommentaries.online\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2025-12-19T19:11:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:11:52","slug":"solstice-2025-the-end-of-the-beginning-is-not-the-beginning-of-the-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeppscommentaries.online\/?p=1894","title":{"rendered":"Solstice 2025 — The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end"},"content":{"rendered":"

Solstice 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end<\/b><\/p>\n

To say we\u2019re in perilous times is a bit like saying that crossing the Sahara on foot presents challenges. Even if you only know a small portion of the possibilities, it\u2019s a daunting prospect.<\/p>\n

Historians are all too familiar with what we are going through right now. Most nations on Earth have, at one point or another, had a leader who was utterly mad, utterly corrupt, and utterly contemptuous of the damage his actions <\/span>were <\/span>causi<\/span>ng.<\/p>\n

Just as the specifics of such misrules are as varied as human psychopathology, so too are the end results. The spectrum can range from utter ruin to widespread reform that restores sanity and a functional<\/span> society and economy. Determinants include how much the Mad Emperor gets away with before the inevitable collapse, the strength of the saner and more stable traditions of the nation so afflicted, and the extent of the damage.<\/p>\n

European history is full of Mad Emperors, and the results cover the full panoply ranging from the Emperor being executed or deposed to widespread war, an emptied treasury, and even occupation by annoyed neighbors. England had both the mildest and one of the worst examples of such; in 1688 the generally incompetent and egotistic James II was bloodlessly overthrown by William and Mary of the somewhat better-behaved House of Orange. It was done so competently and peacefully that few Britons realized they had staged an invasion and coup. To this day the \u201cGlorious Revolution\u201d is seen as a peaceful transfer of power, much like Presidential inaugurations were. At the other end of the spectrum was Charles I, who led England to a civil war followed by a vicious republic of religious fanatics. You could say he was in over his head.<\/p>\n

In fact, England is noted for its monarchs of misrule. I could easily give as horrible examples Edward II, Henry VI (who also caused a civil war), Richard III, Henry VIII, and George IV of whom one of his aides wrote,\u2018A more contemptible, cowardly, selfish, unfeeling dog does not exist. There have been good and wise kings but not many of them and this I believe to be one of the worst.\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

That last one might sound familiar to most of us. <\/em>Wikipedia says of him, \u201cHe led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era<\/a>. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash<\/a> to build the Royal Pavilion<\/a> in Brighton<\/a> and remodel Buckingham Palace<\/a>, and commissioned Jeffry Wyatville<\/a> to rebuild Windsor Castle<\/a>. George’s charm and culture earned him the title “the first gentleman of England”, but his dissolute way of life and poor relationships with his parents and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick<\/a>, earned him the contempt of the people and dimmed the prestige of the monarchy. He excluded Caroline from his coronation<\/a> and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill<\/a> in an unsuccessful attempt to divorce her…<\/em>George’s rule was tarnished by scandal and financial extravagance. His ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible, and he was strongly influenced by favourites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoo, boy. And good old George IV would actually be an improvement over what we have now. \u201cThe first gentleman\u201d is not a phrase that springs readily to the minds of most Americans when it comes to The Leader.<\/p>\n

But if you take a look at the map, you\u2019ll notice that it still says \u201cEngland\u201d on that portion of the British Isles. Similarly, other nations that have had even far worse and more destructive rulers are still there: France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Russia, and Italy. All suffered horribly at various junctures because of vicious and incompetent misrule. But they survived, and while all cultures change and evolve, none were annihilated by Mad Emperors. Even the most extreme recent example, Germany, came out of Hitler\u2019s horrific 12 years and eventually became the prosperous and peaceful land it is today.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t begin to guess how much damage this regime has done to America at this point. I strongly suspect our national security is now at best a joke, with most of our most strategic secrets available for Kremlin perusal. Project 2025, the thinly disguised rape of the national treasury and elimination of those pesky civil rights, has proceeded apace, and millions of Americans are facing financial ruin and deprivation as a result. All America\u2019s allies are estranged, and rivals are picking our bones. We\u2019ve lost, perhaps for decades, the advantages of free trade and good will.<\/p>\n

Mad rulers die and\/or are deposed sooner rather than later. Many bring doom upon themselves. Without the mesmerizing toxic attraction of the madman (or as John Randolph once wrote about Henry Clay, ‘like a rotten mackerel in the moonlight, he both shines and stinks.‘<\/b>) public fury against the architects of Project 2025 will explode.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t predict how much more damage we\u2019ll take, or how harsh or prolonged the recovery will be. All I can promise is that there will be a recovery. Many nations have suffered worse than America is going through now, and survived to tell the tale. America will, as well, and with great good luck, will emerge with its core values of democracy and justice still intact. That will speed the recovery.<\/p>\n

And yes, there will be a recovery. It may be painful, but those that live to see it will be the lucky ones.<\/p>\n

The sun rises again tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lose hope. Never lose hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solstice 2025 The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end To say we\u2019re in perilous times is a bit like saying that crossing the Sahara on foot presents challenges. Even if you only know a small portion of the possibilities, it\u2019s a daunting prospect. Historians are all too familiar with what … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Solstice 2025 — The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,602,2330,10,5,450,617,2,60,751,385,2165],"tags":[2504,2499,2502,2496,2503,866,2501,395,207,2500,2497,1171,2498,322],"class_list":["post-1894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-american-psyche","category-civil-war","category-corruption","category-economics","category-foreign-affairs","category-health-care","category-history","category-humor","category-politics","category-religion","category-trump-impeachment","category-trump-second-term","tag-2504","tag-british-history","tag-charles-1","tag-dictators","tag-george-iv","tag-germany","tag-glorous-revolution","tag-hitler","tag-hope","tag-mad-kings","tag-mad-rulers","tag-recovery","tag-ruin","tag-solstice"],"yoast_head":"\nSolstice 2025 -- The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end · Zepp's Commentaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zeppscommentaries.online\/?p=1894\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solstice 2025 -- The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end · Zepp's Commentaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Solstice 2025 The end of the beginning is not the beginning of the end To say we\u2019re in perilous times is a bit like saying that crossing the Sahara on foot presents challenges. 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