“Don’t think you can escape the Fourth Turning the way you might
today distance yourself from news, national politics, or even taxes you don’t
feel like paying. History warns that a Crisis will reshape the basic social and
economic environment that you now take for granted. The Fourth Turning
necessitates the death and rebirth of the social order. It is the ultimate rite
of passage for an entire people, requiring a luminal state of sheer chaos whose
nature and duration no one can predict in advance.” – Strauss & Howe –The
Fourth Turning
In Part One of this article I laid
out the reasons for Gray Champions arising to meet challenges during crisis
periods in history. We are ten years into this Crisis and I have been pondering
where we go from here. The plot line of the Game of Thrones has opened my eyes
to the fact there isn’t just one Gray Champion during a Fourth Turning. During
the Civil War, Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee were Transcendental prophet
generation representatives of the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln and William
Tecumseh Sherman were Gray Champions of the Union.
These were men
who would do anything to further their cause, from ordering thousands of men to
their deaths on Cemetery Ridge, to burning down cities, to suspending the writ
of Habeas Corpus, and seceding from the Union. They were destined to brandish
their terrible swift swords in achieving total indisputable victory. But, we
know only one side could win.
During the World
War II/Great Depression crisis FDR is known as the Gray Champion who took
drastic measures on the economic front with his New Deal and sent 16 million
young men into battle on a scale never seen in history. Douglass MacArthur
commanded many of those men in battles to the death across the Pacific. What is
less discussed is the fact Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin were also
members of the Missionary prophet generation and were the Gray Champions of
their nations.
Churchill defied
all odds in holding out during the darkest hours and showed no mercy in bombing
Germany into submission when he gained the upper hand. Stalin, a man who had
slaughtered millions during his purges, was willing to sacrifice millions more
to halt Hitler from conquering his country. The alliance of these three Gray
Champions virtually assured victory for the Allies in World War II. An epic crisis
required unyielding men to face the challenges without blinking – resulting in
the deaths of 65 million people.
Gray Champions
are not necessarily good, admirable, or moral. Most have narcissistic
tendencies and have at least as many enemies as allies. All of the men I’ve
named were deeply flawed and in some cases malevolent. What they all had in
common was tremendous confidence in their own abilities and an unbreakable
determination to achieve the outcomes they desired. Winning was all that mattered
to these men.
Americans,
blinded by their normalcy bias, never see a Fourth Turning until it arrives
with fire and fury. When it arrives, many want to turn back time to the
glorious days of spring or summer, but it is not to be. Winter is upon us and
even though we wish a Gray Champion wasn’t needed, come he must and come he
will. And they won’t be asking for the opinions of the sheep before taking
control.
“A lion does
not concern himself with the opinion of sheep.” – Tywin – Game of Thrones
During the last
Fourth Turning, the three Gray Champion leaders (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) were
all on the same side. They were strong willed and had violent disagreement at
times, but they all had the same immediate goal – defeating the Axis Powers. I
had been focusing on Trump as the sole Gray Champion, but hadn’t considered
other Gray Champion leaders who may have a major impact during this Fourth
Turning.
Two powerful
dictators – Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – are also Prophet Generation leaders
who are ruthless, unyielding, shrewd, and most important, strident
nationalists. These men rule their countries with an iron fist and do not blink
when faced with challenges from other nations. They are powerful men with large
egos who cast large shadows on the world stage. Opponents are terminated with
extreme prejudice in Russia and China. They do not operate under the same moral
standards as non-authoritarian nations. The legacies of Stalin and Mao run deep
in their countries.
“Power resides
where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall. And a very
small man can cast a very large shadow.” – Lord Varys – Game of Thrones
This alignment
of Gray Champion leaders is significantly dissimilar to the World War II
alliance. Trump is the more powerful rival of the other two, but is hog tied by
domestic opposition on many fronts. All three of these leaders are facing
financial, demographic, domestic, and military challenges, creating tensions
within their countries and internationally. Putin and Jinping have been pushed
towards greater cooperation as Trump and the American Empire have used their
economic and military power to intimidate and provoke both of these nuclear
powers.
There is already
an undeclared currency, resource and financial war being waged between Russia,
China and the U.S. Proxy conflicts in the Middle East and relentless tensions
on the Korea Peninsula have heated up in the last year. The current Wag the Dog
scenario playing out in Syria has further alienated the voices of reason within
the U.S., Russia and China. The threat of a real shooting war between these
nuclear powers is the highest in decades. These three Gray Champions are vying
for dominance on the world stage. There will be winners and losers.
“When you play
the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”– Cersei – Game of
Thrones
The American
Empire has dominated the world stage since the end of World War II. There were
no economic or military rivals over many decades, except for the corrupt and
ultimately bankrupt Soviet Union. Its demise left the U.S. as the only major
power standing. But arrogance, hubris, debasement of its currency, military
overreach, and endemic corruption have, like an unrelenting disease, weakened
the empire and made it susceptible to new rivals.
The global chaos
and disorder being created around the globe by the teetering American Empire,
flailing about in its extended death throes, is accelerating rapidly and
setting the stage for the inevitable bloody Fourth Turning conflict. There will
be no compromise or diplomatic resolution of this war for control of the 21st
century. We are witnessing a modern day version of the Game of Thrones. There
are many “kings” vying for the throne as leader of the world, but only one can
win. Intrigue, broken alliances, back stabbing, military conquest, secret
deals, and eventually bloody struggles will decide the victor. There will be no
happy endings.
“If you
think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.”– Ramsay – Game of Thrones
Further
complicating this Fourth Turning for our Gray Champion Trump are a couple other
Gray Champions opposing him on the domestic front. Hillary Clinton and Robert
Mueller are also prophet generation figures who continue to dog Trump, making
his everyday existence a non-stop twitter battle for his presidency. Despite
losing the election, and going away like most losers, Clinton is on a perpetual
speaking tour raking in millions while trashing Trump on a daily basis.
Mueller appears
to be the tool by which the Deep State insiders are attempting a coup to bring
down Trump by any means necessary. There is a daily litany of indictments, FBI
raids, leaked documents, bimbo eruptions, tell all books, exclusive interviews
by the propaganda media of traitorous scum like Clapper, Brennan and Comey, and
the accusations and counter accusations between Trump and his foes. Trump is
learning a hard lesson from the Game of Thrones.
“I swear to
you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one.” – King Robert Baratheon – George R.R.
Martin, Game of Thrones
The current
configuration of foreign and domestic Gray Champions does not bode well for the
second half of this Fourth Turning. But it does support the dynamics driving
this Fourth Turning – debt, civic decay, and global disorder. The reason the
American Empire is in terminal decline is the unpayable trillions in debt and
unfunded promises made by corrupt politicians destined to bankrupt the country.
That which is unsustainable will not be sustained.
This
unsustainable fiscal condition is driving the irrational desperate actions of
the Wall Street controlled Federal Reserve, the production of fake economic
data to keep the ignorant masses sedated, and the rigging of markets to boost
the wealth of the billionaire class while throwing the average family under the
bus. There is nothing normal about the frantic flailing attempts to keep this
empire of debt from collapsing. All actions by politicians, government
apparatchiks, the military industrial complex and central bankers must be
viewed through this lens of reality.
The Deep State
invisible government is apoplectic at their imminent demise and is using every
tool in their deceptive repertoire to maintain their power, control and wealth.
Utilization of surveillance state assets, false flags, fake news propaganda,
blackmail, bought off “experts”, rigged financial markets, creating foreign
enemy bogeymen and banking cabal machinations have pushed the world towards
global conflict. And that is what they want. War is good business and further
enriches the Deep State. We are just cannon fodder to them.
The seething
hatred permeating American society with left wing social justice warrior
nutjobs on one side and bloodthirsty warmongering neocon Nazis on the other,
leaves no room for compromise or common ground. The vast majority of the
American populace is either blissfully ignorant or delusional when it comes to
the hard truths facing the nation. The Deep State funds the ongoing civic decay
in order to keep the public distracted by inconsequential social issues.
Fantasizing about a savior coming to the rescue and singlehandedly solving our
problems is wishful thinking. Denial is not a plan. It is time to face the hard
truths.
“Most men
would rather deny a hard truth than face it.” – Tyrion Lannister – George R.R. Martin,
Game of Thrones
In Part Three I
will attempt to make some sense of the seemingly indecipherable events
happening on a daily basis and try to peer through the fog to get a glimpse of
the future. Will it be a boot stamping on our faces forever or a new Spring
dawning across our land.
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2018/04/17/winter-is-coming-part-two/
