This piece reminds me of Paul's letter to the Romans:
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
28 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.
31 What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; 34 who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For thy sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No author in the history of the world has had such an enduring and powerful legacy. His writings are so masterful that they are still relevant today, some might say even more relevant than at the time he wrote them.
I suspect that for each work we still have of his, there are dozens and perhaps hundreds that were lost. I wonder what the world today might look like, had they not been lost.
I also wonder how permanent today's archives will be -- stored mostly as ephemeral electron charges, or magnetic dipoles, in micro-miniature gadgets with lifetimes measured at best in decades. A far cry from stone tablets, or even papyrus scrolls. They say that 'the cloud is forever' but then, they said that about the great library at Alexandria. No archive is more permanent than the patron who supports it, and few such organizations last very long.
In that light we do have to give credit to the Roman Catholic Church (disclosure: I'm Christian but not Catholic) which is the world's longest-lasting organization, 2000 years and running. The Church is I think largely responsible for the preservation of the early religious writings in a time when most of the world was allied against it. While it seems that the Catholic Church today has in many ways strayed from the path of righteousness, I have hope and faith that it will be restored to its principles. Men like Archbishop Vigano give me that hope.
Great article! I have always taken away from it, that no matter your station in life, or your struggles and hardships, what YOU do and what YOU are grateful for will determine if "It's a Wonderful Life".
The war we find ourselves in now is not a war for the gain of, possession of, or control of a land and its resources; it is a war to gain control over your self-will and spirituality. What has transpired since the covid break-out in 2020 is the enemy repeatably demonstrating the power of "The Narrative" to us. And that no matter what you, or we collectively, believe or want - they are going to do what they want anyway and we just have learn to accept it. As you have pointed out, if we do not take charge of our own mind, convictions and actions, the substance of what we are will slowly fade away until we don't even know what is worth fighting for anymore.
For me, all of 2020 and 2021 was filled with hate and contempt about what was taken from us, and how we let it happen. And it seemed there was NO ONE in the right position or of a righteous mind-set to expose all the corruption and to help get Trump back to put us back on an even keel.
2022 I have been focused on "letting go of Trump". A realization that he pointed us in the right direct direction and now we have to take from here. The mid-terms were just another reminder as how the enemy operates with impunity, which made it clear that Trump sacrificed his Presidency to put us in a George Bailey "Alternate life" - which will hopefully instill the epiphany in all of us that we need.
Isaiah 9:2
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Brilliantly written! I always thought this movie was a little out there and now it all seems much clearer- and I thought everyone watched it to hear every time the bell rings an Angel gets its wings. Thank you and Merry Christmas Burning Bright!
The arc of earthly humanity’s journey through the ages is one of fitfully but steadily increasing personal freedom and autonomy.
The inconvenient truth of this arc of progress is that it is inexorably tied, as far as I understand it, with the arc of western civilization.
The plight of humanity, before about 600 BC when western civilization was born in Ancient Greece, was of enslavement of the many by the few.
I don’t think it’s enough just to say that personal freedom was principally enabled by technological progress.
The older Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Chinese civilizations, among others, witnessed impressive technological advances to be sure, yet personal human freedom didn’t keep pace with technology because, for the most part, enslavement by the few, of the many, continued to be the norm.
There was something about how western civilization treated the individual human mind, and individual human achievement, which prior civilizations couldn’t or wouldn’t do.
It is for that reason, it seems to me, that the western invention of the printing press (for there is evidence that printing technology had been invented earlier, outside the west) is what is credited for transforming humanity itself within the space of less than a century.
Societal power structures that had stood for centuries were upended within a few short years. (Remember this dramatic outcome as I develop my thesis below).
The European Renaissance, and the cultural, intellectual, social, scientific and humanitarian riches it unleashed on the world, was a direct outcome of mass production of the printed word
The link between the origins and development of western civilization and the creation of the United States of America, I will posit, is direct and causal. Our founding fathers, for the most part, were in many ways classical scholars themselves and understood the underpinnings of western civilization perfectly.
In the same way that the 15th century printing press transformed humankind permanently 500 years earlier, the 20th century invention of the internet and cyberspace in the United States is and will increasingly have similar consequences for the future of humanity.
Which brings me to the incredibly powerful message of It’s A Wonderful Life.
Part of the lesson of the story is that the work of bringing societal enlightenment through self-knowledge and strength must be done by every human, individually and for themselves. Wisdom cannot be legislated.
Which is why that lesson has continued to be spread imperfectly (if at all) to succeeding generations.
While the message was pure gold, its value was incapable of achieving full potential because it arrived at the very same time that the intellectual and educational backbone of America began its decades’ long corruption and contamination with the fatal poison of collectivist idealism and communist thought.
Now fast-forward 50 years to the internet age, which has provided pretty much every human being on earth the potential to access the combined sum total of all human knowledge created since the beginning of humanity itself.
As Americans relearn the same lessons we have repeatedly learned (and then systematically UNLEARNED) since the creation of the Union, it is today’s technology which I believe will potentially change the outcome of the wisdom of works like It’s A Wonderful Life from failure to success. Why?
Simple. Just take for example what Elon Musk did with Twitter this week. He just flipped a switch and now anyone can see exactly how many impressions any tweet has received.
Then consider that his tweet demanding that Congress not pass the Omnibus bill was retweeted a few hundred thousand times. Then look at how many impressions the tweet got: last I checked it was 35 MILLION. Imagine that. The collective mind is definitely paying attention.
Technology is something [they] believed they could use to enslave us, but the information age has given us a lot of power to fight back and turn the tide.
As an executive in sales of high technology companies, I had a saying derived from my father. “Being wrapped up in your self, is a pretty small package.”
Also from my father, when discussing the ills of society, he would tell me this.
“There are more people of good will in the world than Evil 👿!”
Having traveled the world In business, I have witnessed both. Fortunately, in my life, I can say my father was correct!
If you want to read my father’s thoughts, I would be happy to share his thoughts from 1982. Your Email please 🙏 ❤️
Oh my goodness....this piece is the gift we truly need especially for this Christmas season...
"The battle IS the victory. The fight IS the freedom. The truth IS the cure"
You just brought *tears* to my eyes with the above quote from you BB....thank you from the bottom of my heart! Sometimes we get lost in the story of the system of systems and forget there is always a moral to the story, and having human emotions reacting to the moral is a good thing....Merry Christmas our very wise and poetic friend....
Nice synopsis, BB. A Christmas Classic for all time, I believe, b/c it’s a glimpse of the human condition. Without GOD, man cannot. Man left unto himself, self-destructs. The central point, I would say in part anyway, is that: “...it is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18). The end of the film drives home the reality that we need one another. Power resides in unity. Unity is attainable only b/c the Creator of the universe is an eternal, triune Godhead. Helping your neighbor reinforces trust. Sound relationships necessitates selflessness, truth, trust, loyalty, & kindness. Families built on faith in the gospel builds strong communities. Socialism, communism, Marxist ideologies believe that man is the measure of all things. These are deadly worldviews which postulate that man can rehabilitate society & create a utopia. They have failed throughout history, & they always will. There will never be a world where there is no God Almighty, the great I Am, the LORD of Hosts, HE Who was, Who is, & Who is to come. His Name is Jesus. Merry Christmas! ✨🎄
Now you realise BB I have to download this and watch it for the 5 th time 🤦♀️ but through very different eyes and understanding particularly for a non American. Another great piece of writing. Hope you enjoyed your road trip and you and yours enjoy a very Merry Christmas 🎄 May 2023 see real, positive and lasting change for the good people of the United States. And please BB be nice to Jon next year - I think you hurt his feelings. 😎😎
MERRY CHRISTMAS! There was one part I disagreed with slightly, "We cannot control the turnings of the world on a Macro level, even if we can and should attempt to influence its turning so that it might turn back in our favor, and in the favor of all sovereigns." I agree that we can't control them, but what I'm doing gives us no need for a nanny government or anyone looking over our shoulders. What you said was very inspiring. To me it came down to These couple of lines, Stand for something that you really believe in. Even if you have to do the standing alone!
Merry Christmas, Burning Bright…Blessings to you and your family 🎄❤️
Love your thoughts on this classic movie. I watch it every year, like many others here.
Another part/message that I love about this movie is when George gets to see what life in Bedford Falls would have been like without him. Being of good character may seem a small gift (compared to material wealth) but never underestimate the power of a life grounded in spiritual values and virtues to uplift our fellow human beings…even small every day gifts of kindness can reverberate in ways we may never know.
This piece reminds me of Paul's letter to the Romans:
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
28 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.
31 What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; 34 who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For thy sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans, chapter 8 (RSV)
Much appreciated, Bill. Lots of folks around these parts bring up the letters of Paul.
No author in the history of the world has had such an enduring and powerful legacy. His writings are so masterful that they are still relevant today, some might say even more relevant than at the time he wrote them.
I suspect that for each work we still have of his, there are dozens and perhaps hundreds that were lost. I wonder what the world today might look like, had they not been lost.
I also wonder how permanent today's archives will be -- stored mostly as ephemeral electron charges, or magnetic dipoles, in micro-miniature gadgets with lifetimes measured at best in decades. A far cry from stone tablets, or even papyrus scrolls. They say that 'the cloud is forever' but then, they said that about the great library at Alexandria. No archive is more permanent than the patron who supports it, and few such organizations last very long.
In that light we do have to give credit to the Roman Catholic Church (disclosure: I'm Christian but not Catholic) which is the world's longest-lasting organization, 2000 years and running. The Church is I think largely responsible for the preservation of the early religious writings in a time when most of the world was allied against it. While it seems that the Catholic Church today has in many ways strayed from the path of righteousness, I have hope and faith that it will be restored to its principles. Men like Archbishop Vigano give me that hope.
Something I need to devote the time to diving into. Thank you!
🌿🕊️✝️ ✨🤍🙏🏻🤍✨✝️🕊️🌿
I love Saint Paul!
He ended up in Rome for a reason which, I believe, the full reason is hidden by time from us, but I’m going to explore it sometime, I hope, soon!
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
🌿🕊️✝️ ✨🤍🙏🏻🤍✨✝️🕊️🌿
Great article! I have always taken away from it, that no matter your station in life, or your struggles and hardships, what YOU do and what YOU are grateful for will determine if "It's a Wonderful Life".
The war we find ourselves in now is not a war for the gain of, possession of, or control of a land and its resources; it is a war to gain control over your self-will and spirituality. What has transpired since the covid break-out in 2020 is the enemy repeatably demonstrating the power of "The Narrative" to us. And that no matter what you, or we collectively, believe or want - they are going to do what they want anyway and we just have learn to accept it. As you have pointed out, if we do not take charge of our own mind, convictions and actions, the substance of what we are will slowly fade away until we don't even know what is worth fighting for anymore.
For me, all of 2020 and 2021 was filled with hate and contempt about what was taken from us, and how we let it happen. And it seemed there was NO ONE in the right position or of a righteous mind-set to expose all the corruption and to help get Trump back to put us back on an even keel.
2022 I have been focused on "letting go of Trump". A realization that he pointed us in the right direct direction and now we have to take from here. The mid-terms were just another reminder as how the enemy operates with impunity, which made it clear that Trump sacrificed his Presidency to put us in a George Bailey "Alternate life" - which will hopefully instill the epiphany in all of us that we need.
Isaiah 9:2
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Merry Christmas
I think this is a healthy mindset to take on. Thanks a lot!
"The collectivist hides the cowardly self in the seeming strength of the crowd.
The sovereign wields the crowd by displaying the courage of the unabashed and unwavering self.
One man stands against the system, and in so doing, wins even if he loses, because another has seen him stand. And on and on."
Reminds me of Solzhenitsyn's Live Not by Lies.
https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/live-not-by-lies
or if you prefer to listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEXFyuz0qoc&ab_channel=NathanielLindstrom
Much appreciated.
Exactly! He exposed all evils of government by and for man.
Brilliantly written! I always thought this movie was a little out there and now it all seems much clearer- and I thought everyone watched it to hear every time the bell rings an Angel gets its wings. Thank you and Merry Christmas Burning Bright!
Thanks Ellen!
Fantastic.
The arc of earthly humanity’s journey through the ages is one of fitfully but steadily increasing personal freedom and autonomy.
The inconvenient truth of this arc of progress is that it is inexorably tied, as far as I understand it, with the arc of western civilization.
The plight of humanity, before about 600 BC when western civilization was born in Ancient Greece, was of enslavement of the many by the few.
I don’t think it’s enough just to say that personal freedom was principally enabled by technological progress.
The older Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Chinese civilizations, among others, witnessed impressive technological advances to be sure, yet personal human freedom didn’t keep pace with technology because, for the most part, enslavement by the few, of the many, continued to be the norm.
There was something about how western civilization treated the individual human mind, and individual human achievement, which prior civilizations couldn’t or wouldn’t do.
It is for that reason, it seems to me, that the western invention of the printing press (for there is evidence that printing technology had been invented earlier, outside the west) is what is credited for transforming humanity itself within the space of less than a century.
Societal power structures that had stood for centuries were upended within a few short years. (Remember this dramatic outcome as I develop my thesis below).
The European Renaissance, and the cultural, intellectual, social, scientific and humanitarian riches it unleashed on the world, was a direct outcome of mass production of the printed word
The link between the origins and development of western civilization and the creation of the United States of America, I will posit, is direct and causal. Our founding fathers, for the most part, were in many ways classical scholars themselves and understood the underpinnings of western civilization perfectly.
In the same way that the 15th century printing press transformed humankind permanently 500 years earlier, the 20th century invention of the internet and cyberspace in the United States is and will increasingly have similar consequences for the future of humanity.
Which brings me to the incredibly powerful message of It’s A Wonderful Life.
Part of the lesson of the story is that the work of bringing societal enlightenment through self-knowledge and strength must be done by every human, individually and for themselves. Wisdom cannot be legislated.
Which is why that lesson has continued to be spread imperfectly (if at all) to succeeding generations.
While the message was pure gold, its value was incapable of achieving full potential because it arrived at the very same time that the intellectual and educational backbone of America began its decades’ long corruption and contamination with the fatal poison of collectivist idealism and communist thought.
Now fast-forward 50 years to the internet age, which has provided pretty much every human being on earth the potential to access the combined sum total of all human knowledge created since the beginning of humanity itself.
As Americans relearn the same lessons we have repeatedly learned (and then systematically UNLEARNED) since the creation of the Union, it is today’s technology which I believe will potentially change the outcome of the wisdom of works like It’s A Wonderful Life from failure to success. Why?
Simple. Just take for example what Elon Musk did with Twitter this week. He just flipped a switch and now anyone can see exactly how many impressions any tweet has received.
Then consider that his tweet demanding that Congress not pass the Omnibus bill was retweeted a few hundred thousand times. Then look at how many impressions the tweet got: last I checked it was 35 MILLION. Imagine that. The collective mind is definitely paying attention.
That’s why this time will be different.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Very well said, Pluribus.
Technology is something [they] believed they could use to enslave us, but the information age has given us a lot of power to fight back and turn the tide.
Merry Christmas, Pluribus!
Great comment you wrote. I always benefit from your perspective and thoughts. ❤️🎄
Thank you Featherjourney and Merry Christmas and God Bless you too!
I meant “likes” and “views”. Elon keeps changing the labels!!
Great work!
As an executive in sales of high technology companies, I had a saying derived from my father. “Being wrapped up in your self, is a pretty small package.”
Also from my father, when discussing the ills of society, he would tell me this.
“There are more people of good will in the world than Evil 👿!”
Having traveled the world In business, I have witnessed both. Fortunately, in my life, I can say my father was correct!
If you want to read my father’s thoughts, I would be happy to share his thoughts from 1982. Your Email please 🙏 ❤️
Sounds like he was a wise man.
Oh my goodness....this piece is the gift we truly need especially for this Christmas season...
"The battle IS the victory. The fight IS the freedom. The truth IS the cure"
You just brought *tears* to my eyes with the above quote from you BB....thank you from the bottom of my heart! Sometimes we get lost in the story of the system of systems and forget there is always a moral to the story, and having human emotions reacting to the moral is a good thing....Merry Christmas our very wise and poetic friend....
Much appreciated!
Phenomenal job! A perfect Christmas/ Holiday gift.
Thank you!
Nice synopsis, BB. A Christmas Classic for all time, I believe, b/c it’s a glimpse of the human condition. Without GOD, man cannot. Man left unto himself, self-destructs. The central point, I would say in part anyway, is that: “...it is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18). The end of the film drives home the reality that we need one another. Power resides in unity. Unity is attainable only b/c the Creator of the universe is an eternal, triune Godhead. Helping your neighbor reinforces trust. Sound relationships necessitates selflessness, truth, trust, loyalty, & kindness. Families built on faith in the gospel builds strong communities. Socialism, communism, Marxist ideologies believe that man is the measure of all things. These are deadly worldviews which postulate that man can rehabilitate society & create a utopia. They have failed throughout history, & they always will. There will never be a world where there is no God Almighty, the great I Am, the LORD of Hosts, HE Who was, Who is, & Who is to come. His Name is Jesus. Merry Christmas! ✨🎄
Well said, Lorrie. Merry Christmas to you.
Very well said, Lorrie! I agree completely. Merry Christmas, as we celebrate the incarnation of the Word made flesh - Jesus.
Amen
Now you realise BB I have to download this and watch it for the 5 th time 🤦♀️ but through very different eyes and understanding particularly for a non American. Another great piece of writing. Hope you enjoyed your road trip and you and yours enjoy a very Merry Christmas 🎄 May 2023 see real, positive and lasting change for the good people of the United States. And please BB be nice to Jon next year - I think you hurt his feelings. 😎😎
Hope you watched it over the break!
👍
VERY well said, Mr. BB Tiger.
Thanks Patricia!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! There was one part I disagreed with slightly, "We cannot control the turnings of the world on a Macro level, even if we can and should attempt to influence its turning so that it might turn back in our favor, and in the favor of all sovereigns." I agree that we can't control them, but what I'm doing gives us no need for a nanny government or anyone looking over our shoulders. What you said was very inspiring. To me it came down to These couple of lines, Stand for something that you really believe in. Even if you have to do the standing alone!
Much appreciated, Rob.
Merry 🤞Christmas ..... Tigger 💛 & Canuck Family. #WEthePEOPLE interACTION > 2023 <
5 Docs ......FABULOUS ..... SOLUTIONS 2023 🙌..... SUGGESTION ONLY ? [[ I AM = #SlavesNoMore ]]
Carrie Madej [+] --> MASTER CLASS - Series on / with Badlands Media
Conundrum. @Kashmire0032 40m Gab
@BusyDrT - Merry 🤞 Christmas - 💛
@Necromonger1 #WWG1WGA WW 💛 #NOFear #Faith #Courage #BeBest
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The Dec 22, 2022 episode of 'Critically Thinking With the 5 Docs' is ready for viewing on both Clouthub & Rumble!
CLOUTHUB https://clouthub.com/c/CriticallyThinking
RUMBLE
https://rumble.com/v224cmm-critically-thinking-with-dr.-t-and-dr.-p-episode-125-5-docs-dec-22-2022.html #The5Docs #5Docs #TheTenpennyFiles #CriticallyThinkingWithThe5Docs
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for posting these links! 💖✨
Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁
Great writing, bright, inspiring, yet subtle.
I love that movie.
Since I always believed
in angels, it resonated. Someday
we’ll figure out earth 🌎 is God’s problem-reaction-solution classroom
--when that idea begins to dawn
in hearts
en masse, it’s a start. :-)
You mention billionaires ... IMO
“the titanic” was allowed to sink
with the good ones
for a reason... energy-exchange...
and they are back
in boomerang 🪃 fashion: yeehaw 🤠
Again! Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year! 🎈
🪃🌿🕊️✨🙏🏻✨🕊️🌿🪃
I like this thought. We're here going through God's own Hegelian Dialectic.
Thank-you
Thanks for reading, Suzanne!
Merry Christmas, Burning Bright…Blessings to you and your family 🎄❤️
Love your thoughts on this classic movie. I watch it every year, like many others here.
Another part/message that I love about this movie is when George gets to see what life in Bedford Falls would have been like without him. Being of good character may seem a small gift (compared to material wealth) but never underestimate the power of a life grounded in spiritual values and virtues to uplift our fellow human beings…even small every day gifts of kindness can reverberate in ways we may never know.
Perfect post for the season, BB ❤️
Much appreciated, Feather! We all have more power than we believe.