While we argue about what a woman is and whether 2+2 still = 4, the reality is there are far more powerful tectonic processes afoot.

Western civilization is old and it is tired. It hasn't seemed that way because the main torchbearer of WC is the US, a young country, but...

...as a civilization we are exhausted. (That's one of the reasons that in the rest of the West we begrudgingly admire the American spirit - it represents the best of what we used to be: daring, confident, industrious).

Have you ever known a man who was super talented at 30...

...built something important by 50 and then retired at 65? He used to be disciplined, driven, powerful. Now he just wants to play with his grandchildren and indulge their every whim.

That's us.

Our great empires have been and gone. Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland...

Sweden, Norway, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Greece are all shadows of their former selves.

Often, the decline was organic and "natural".

Hard times create hard men. Hard men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.

We've...

been living the good times since 1945 and we are spoiled rotten, distracted and weak. Hard times are coming. /End