The West’s Reality Crisis

Can It Survive? [The Daily Reckoning] October 28, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The West’s Reality Crisis Saratoga Springs, New York Editor’s note: Today our resident bad boy James Howard Kunstler argues that the West harbors luxury beliefs that it can no longer afford. It faces a reality crisis. Can it solve it? [James Howard Kunstler] JAMES HOWARD KUNSTLER Dear Reader, Of course, you realize that if this tragic business in the Middle East gets out of hand millions of people might die, maybe even you and me. Any way you cut it, looks like Islam wants to rumble. Basic problem: The little slab of land on the Mediterranean at issue is in the possession of one group of people and another group of people wants to drive them out. There is no “two state solution” because there is only one place in that place. The world has already forgotten the butchery of Oct. 7. Islam won’t even go so far as to acknowledge that something happened there, or that it matters. This is a quandary for Western Civ which operates lately on the ethos that anything goes and nothing matters. Face it: That’s a luxury belief. A society in collapse learns painfully that the first thing to go is luxury, Louis Vuitton bags and foolish Woke thinking. Western Civ may not be able to pretend any longer that nothing matters. The reason Israel is where it is is because Western Civ treated the Jews abominably in the 1930s and ’40s. The result, establishing a state of Israel in its historic location, was a power move, of course, by the powers who won the Second World War, but it had the imprimatur of a sacred duty. We’ve forgotten the impact, even to regular grunt U.S. soldiers who liberated the extermination camps of Europe, of the unspeakable barbarism they encountered. It maimed the psyche of Western Civ to discover what savagery its best educated member nation turned out to be capable of. Is there any question that Germany lost its mind in those years? Western Civ Has Lost Its Mind Western Civ has been busy losing its mind for about seven years now. It’s so tormented that it has been flirting with suicide, for instance, allowing its borders to be overwhelmed with swarms of declared antagonists to Western culture. The European Union guilt-tripped themselves into letting that happen. The process in the USA appears more sinister and calculated, a sheer political ploy. In any case, nobody is lifting a finger to stop it. Let’s talk reality for a minute. Reality is telling us that Israel refuses to be massacred out of existence. Israel will defend itself with us or without us. It’s possible they’ll manage it intelligently. You might ask: Will we defend ourselves against the same antagonist that wants to wipe all of Western Civ off the face of the Earth, us included? [James Altucher: THIS is my top AI investment pick]( I’ve been called a “genius investor” by my fans… And an “eccentric millionaire” by some others. I think it’s because I make big predictions that tend to come true. Today, I’m making my boldest prediction ever. Revealing the AI stocks I believe… Could turn as little as $10,000… Into $1 MILLION over the next few years. To show you I’m serious about helping you get in on this opportunity, I’m giving away one of my top 5 AI 2.0 stock picks – free… [See My Top 5 Pick Here Now]( Notice that your own will to survive is being subverted by useful idiots while warrior cadres of mysterious origin pour across the Mexican border. Everyone knows it’s a clear and present danger and who will move to stop the invasion? Do we have to wait for a catastrophe? Israel is a full-fledged member of that lunatic asylum. Israel is engaged in as much of a civil war between Left and Right as its godfathers in Europe and North America are enduring. On top of that, Israel decided to become the poster child for COVID-19 vaccination “uptake.” It seemed like a valiant stand in the first flush of the COVID “crisis,” but now it looks more like they poisoned more than 90% of their population. You don’t hear much about it these days, but it’s lurking there, just like the massive vaccine damage that Europe and America have by stealth sustained lurks in the background of rising war fever and disintegrating economies. A Child in an Alligator Pit It looks like the Islamic nations that surround Israel like a child in an alligator pit have made the calculation that now is the time to gobble up the little interloper. Trouble is, that child is armed to the teeth. It also looks like the alligators don’t care. It happens that they have small alligator brains, not that good for gaming out clashes of civilizations. All they care about is chomp chomp and gulp gulp. One question they fail to ask: Would the Middle East actually be a better place without an Israel? I bet this hasn’t occurred to any of them. Once it’s gone, they’ll be chomping and gulping each other, I assure you. Our nation, under the leadership of “Joe Biden” (… iden… iden… iden… iden…), has deployed our mighty warships in the waters all around and amongst Israel’s adversaries. Hard to see how that couldn’t happen, our sacred duty and all. If called upon, they can probably do a lot of damage — though there is plenty of reason to believe that Iran has enough anti-ship cruise missiles to create a big problem for us. Heck, Iran has enough long-range conventional guided missiles to turn Haifa and Tel Aviv into ashtrays. But then, five minutes later, the same would be true for Teheran and Damascus, only they’d be radioactive. And who knows what those swarms of moiling migrants in the U.S. and Euroland might be inspired to do, when it comes to that? [Urgent: Currency Wars Alert]( [Click here for more...]( “Worst case scenario is almost inevitable” -Former Pentagon Insider Jim Rickards In my 2011 book, I warned that the U.S. was engaged in a currency war. And that these wars: “Degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation and actual violence as the scramble for resources leads to invasion and war.” Now with Putin invading Ukraine…Rising tensions with China… Inflation, recession, and supply chain issues all hitting the U.S. economy at the same time. It seems as if some of my worst fears have finally come true. [That’s why I’ve recorded an urgent video message.]( To update you on exactly what you need to be doing to protect yourself. Because if history is any indicator, this will not end well. [Watch My Video Here]( Jihad Is Coming Jihad is in the offing. Too many are itching to set it off. Now they’re just waiting for an excuse, a reason to ignite the fuses. The obvious excuse would be an Israeli military incursion into Gaza. That would git’er done, I’m sure. The Israelis must realize this. Despite prior expectations, though, and even given the thirst for vengeance, they might realize it’s unnecessary. They’ve done enough bombing in Gaza. They could neutralize the command network of Hamas pretty much the same way they got the Black September ringleaders of the Munich Olympics massacre, 1972 — a methodical hunt over years, decades. They don’t have to shout from the rooftops, either. Everyone will know. There is the fate of the Gaza hostages to consider. It doesn’t look good. Given enough time, of course, they can be shuttled around geographically here, there and everywhere and concealed for years. They have value. World opinion will turn on the hostage-takers, though you might argue that no longer matters. I rather expect that rescue operations are well-planned and some may be carried out. But overall, many of these poor pawns are apt to be lost. Tragic is tragic. A Society Under Deadly Stress Let’s not forget about Ukraine. Reality is telling us that the war project in Ukraine started by the neocon pseudopod of our Deep State blob is not working out. The fiasco could not be more rank. Instead of weakening Russia, it crippled the USA. V. Putin is not the enemy of Western Civ, he’s one of its last remaining defenders. Was it not in everyone’s interest that for 75 years Ukraine existed as an inert borderland, making trouble for nobody, itself especially? Could we not respect that reality and leave it alone? If we manage to avoid World War Three, America has its own grave problem to consider, which is comprehensive collapse — of economic activity, the financial scaffold for it and of civil order in a society under deadly stress. Most of this damage has been induced by our own political leaders. Now that the House of Representatives has been put in order, maybe we can begin fixing some of these problems. Hey, a guy can dream. Right? Regards, James Howard Kunstler for The Daily Reckoning [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) Editor’s note: While the world is distracted by Israel and Hamas… Ukraine and Russia… and China and Taiwan… Jim Rickards is warning that there’s another [“war”]( just around the corner that NOBODY is talking about. Except Jim, that is. [And as Jim explains here, this war directly affects YOU.]( As you’ll see, it even has biblical connotations. This crisis will have rippling consequences Jim fears will cause financial tragedy for millions of unprepared American citizens. That’s why this Sunday (tomorrow) at exactly 6:30 p.m. ET Jim’s hosting an [emergency war strategy session.]( One where Jim plans on revealing the real reason for the geopolitical chaos abroad. He’s even set up a private forum to help fill you in on the details. [Click Here to Log in to Jim’s War Forum and Register for His Event This Sunday]( Password: Patriot1* Clicking any of the links above automatically registers you for Jim Rickards’ War Forum, but does not obligate you in any way to attend the event. By reserving your spot, you will receive event updates. We will not share your email address with anyone. And you can opt out at any time. [Privacy Policy.]( Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) [James Howard Kunstler] [James Howard Kunstler]( is perhaps best known for his 2005 book [The Long Emergency]( which predicted the financial meltdown and the implications of the peak oil problem. His 1993 book, [The Geography of Nowhere]( about the fiasco of suburbia, is a campus cult classic among the architecture and urban planning students. 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