Narrative Warfare: The End of An Era Comes Nigh

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.

This is the day, in 1941, that dragged the United States formally into World War 2. Moreso than many, I lost a relative--my maternal grandfather's younger brother--in action on the Oklahoma that day. It's been nearly 80 years; the generation that fought that war is all but gone, and the generation directly affected by it is starting to follow, meaning that cultural efforts to rehabilitate the losers (see below) and celebrate the victors (among other things) are also fading in relevance. The world they built after the war, and the norms they used state power to enforce, and the Narrative they told about it all, is going with them.

For those of us who knew that world, whichever side of it, we're finding out now what it took to build that world and why those who did it did so. It isn't pretty, and it's why I call their world one based on a Narrative. Because they left out the whole truth, which reveals things that parties benefiting from this realignment post-war don't want out, and it upends that Narrative in many ways- ways that mean the loss of the power based on that Narrative.

And there are uncomfortable truths coming out, especially to those so long covered by the Narrative that it is a true shock to them. The generations coming up now have no ties to that war, and therefore no reason to invest in the world and its Narrative that arose in its wake. They don't care, and they're increasingly resentful of service to something they see no truth in nor any benefit from maintaining; instead, they see nothing but reasons to abolish it because it is literally demanding their blood and treasure to serve it.

And that's how the ages of Man turn. It's why building anything on anything other than truth is building on sand. It's what Ozymandius--yes, the poem--means; you cannot build forever if your foundation is not truth, because those who come three or more generations after you cannot see--because it is not self-evident--the value in what you built so they tear it down and replace it with another. (This, by the way, explains why cults rely on indoctrination for multi-generational endurance- and why those who run them tend to be either those who cynically exploit it or are fanatical True Believers and rarely in between.)

And that's without willful deception. Deliberate fraud makes it even more pressing to swear only to the truth when building to last; it is far easier to defend what is truth than what is not when attacked by deception.

What's to come? Well, in addition to Boogaloo in various places, expect the cultures of the world to realign. Rehabilitation works will rise in number, frequency, and prominence making previously ones look quaint by comparison- even recent remakes. (e.g. below)

And there is no reason to not move on this now, and--as Sun Tzu would say--prepare the battlefield to guarantee success later. The time to restore what was stolen comes. Let us be ready. Deus Vult.