The Monopoly on Normal

The state is defined by some as being the entity that has a monopoly on violence. 

But there’s more to a society than just who has the guns. There are other forms of control. 

I’m more interested in the entity that has a monopoly on normal.

And that entity is not necessarily just “The State.”

What is acceptable?

What can you do?

What can you think?

Who is it that you can criticize? And who is it that you can’t?

And who makes these rules?

There’s this tendency, which I find laughable, of constantly deriding the 1950s as an era of overwhelming, stifling conformity, a boogeyman to be invoked every time we beat our chests and crow about “how far we’ve come.”

Cracks me up that the 50s are constantly decried as an era of stifling, homogenous conformity. What the hell do you think we have now?!

— Alex (@DaytimeRenegade) May 24, 2017

And while certain things are better–many, in fact–in other ways thigs today are just as stifling. 

Every era has its problems. And every era has standards that you will be nudged to comply with–at first gently, and then with increasingly greater force. Until, eventually, the guys with the guns, threatened or actual, will come pay you a visit. 

Virtue for the Virtueless

Virtue signaling is self-love. It is narcissism. It is masturbation. 

Virtue signaling is virtue for people who hate virtue. 

It is the realm of the empty. When there is an empty space, the devil slips in. 

I am out of explanations for apologists to this latest round of jihad in London. 

It feels like I wrote about the Manchester bombing yesterday. Close enough. 

I am nearly as angry at the people who allowed these conditions as I am at the jihadists themselves. 

I am nearly as angry as the people who defend the jihadists as I am at the jihadists themselves. 

What compels someone to bend over backwards to defend an evil totalitarian ideology that has as its stated goal the death or conversion of every human being that does not ascribe to it?

Why the virtue signaling?

It’s self-love as a way to assuage self-hate. 

Anything that stands in the way of feeling good about oneself despite the gnawing void in the soil is treated as anathema. 

Even things like the truth. 

I’m out of any other explanations. The metaphysical it is. 

Maybe we’re getting near the end. Maybe humanity is just choosing sides now.  

What happens next? I don’t want to think about it. 

What a time to be alive. 

Follow me on Twitter @DaytimeRenegade and Gab.ai @DaytimeRenegade

And check out my Instagram here. 

Sartorial College

I used to think that fashion was stupid, dressing up was for stiffs, and that society had gotten to the point where what you do and who you are matter more than how you look.

And then I started working.

Suddenly, all of that boring, corny stuff my parents used to say made sense.

You see, humans are visual beings, and first impressions are powerful things. There is science behind all of this, but I’m both a lawyer and a man who knows my limitations, so I won’t go down that rabbit hole here. 

I have learned something else though: Second impressions matter too. And third. And fourth. And so on. 

How you present yourself carries over not only into your business and personal relationships, but also in how you carry yourself. 

Again, the explanatory  science is out there. You have the Internet. Search amongst yourselves. 

Me, I have trouble working if I’m not dressed up. I wear a suit and tie to work everyday, and have for the past eight years, even when the dress code at my workplace has been relaxed. 

People have interesting reactions when you still wear a suit and tie during "business casual summer."

— Alex (@DaytimeRenegade) May 31, 2017

What kills me about this more than anything are the comments I get:

• “Aren’t you hot in that?”
• “It’s Friday, you know.”
• “Alex always look sharp…like a movie star.” (Someone actually said this to me)

And my favorite:

• “You’re making the rest of us look bad!”

To which I say, you’re making me look good. Thanks!

Leave Sgt. Pepper Alone…For Civilization

With all the stupidity in America, you’d think there’d be no shortage of writing material. And you’d be right! While I never wanted this blog to be one of those things that just reacts to current events, some things are just too important not to be addressed. 

Things like The Beatles.

Check out this recent beauty from Salon:

Here, Amanda Marcotee uses the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album to blame men for…something. 

I mean, look at this: 

“…and that wasn’t a good thing.”

“…serious fare for serious guys.”

You can hear the condescension. And it’s insulting to men and women. 

First they came for video games, and I didn’t say anything. 

Then they came for comic books, and I didn’t say anything. 

But now they’ve come for The Beatles, and it’s on. 

It’s The Beatles. They were not only talented composers and brilliant performers, but they aimed for the cheap seats. Their intended audience was Earth. How can one be so deluded as to think there are no hardcore female Beatles fans, or rock fans in general?

Oh. The author is Amanda Marcotte. 

This is all so dumb. According to the zeitgeist (German for: “collective insanity”), men have had it too good for too long and now they’ve got to pay. 

Forget that nearly everyone likes The Beatles. 

Forget that rock and pop as we know it wouldn’t be what it is, for better or for worse, without The Beatles. 

Forget that The Beatles made music for men and women alike. 

Forget that there are hundred of artists pre- and post-Sgt. Pepper that appeal primarily to women. 

Forget that it’s The friggin’ Beatles we’re talking about here. 

America By Rote

Today is Memorial Day, where Americans honor our fallen soldiers with parades and cookouts and basically having parties, doing so just because it’s a thing we’re supposed to do. Which, writing it out, seems a little weird, but I never thought of that much until this year.

I know, I know: The fallen heroes would rather have us enjoy our freedoms instead of moping about like a bunch of sad-sacks who don’t have the common courtesy to at least enjoy what their lives had bought us.

But how many of us consciously honor the fallen as we make our celebratory hot dogs? I don’t know. And honestly, I don’t know if it matters anymore. To most people, Memorial Day is a Monday off from work when they can get drunk and go to the beach. I can’ t say that I’m going to any memorials or cookouts or parades (mainly because I’m living in a part of the country where I don’t know anybody).

If you are a military family though, or one who has served, this day is incredibly important to you and I’m not trying to denigrate what it was established for one bit. Remember and mourn for your fallen comrades and family members. They are certainly worth remembering.

It makes me think though: What have the lives of these fallen men and women bought us? Look around America these days. What do you see? I see many different Americas that really don’t like each other. I see an America tearing itself apart over some of the stupidest stuff on the face of the planet. I see an America that is under attack by a bloodthirsty enemy, and our institutions bend over backwards to defend that enemy. Is this their legacy?

One Year of Failure

Oh my goodness I’ve been writing on this stupid blog for over a year.

My first post was published on May 14, 2016. So I missed the official one-year anniversary. So I failed at commemorating the occasion. Big deal.

Here’s how I opened that post:

Hello. My name is Alex, and I’m a failure.

And that’s okay.

If you’ve never failed at anything, that probably means that you haven’t tried anything.

So you see? I’m merely living up to expectations.

All kidding aside, it’s always cool to look back and see that you’ve been doing something consistently over a long period. I’m going to claim victory on this one, since it’s the longest I’ve ever kept a blog.

And you know something? I’ve actually learned a few things during this time. Things I’m gonna go share because this is a blog and pompous, long-winded explanations are what people do:

I Have Seen The Future, And It Sucks

The world is changing before our eyes. We see it being remade in real-time, and in many ways, these changes are for the worse.

Do you feel sick? I do. Last night in Manchester, England, evil Islamic murders deliberately targeted young kids, primarily girls, at an Ariana Grande concert. At last count, 22 are dead and dozens injured. 

These attacks are happening with increased frequency and brazenness. Whether it’s guns, bombs, trucks, or knives, we are told that this is the price to pay for living in our brave new world. 

It’s nonsense, of course. All of it. Many of these deaths are preventable. But short-sighted bureaucrats who care only for their own power have foisted these conditions upon us. 

Reality must conform to their vision of the world. And when it doesn’t, they double-down on the magical thinking and more people are sacrificed so that they can feel good about themselves. 

I’m pretty steamed, but I’ve calmed down since last night. Here’s where I am:

• There will be no political solution. 
• Things will get worse before they get better, if they get better. 
• This will come to the U.S. if we don’t get serious about two things: Destroying ISIS and similar organizations wherever they pop up, and controlling our own borders and immigration policy. 

I don’t want to write about this. I really don’t. But jihad ruins everything.  

Want to know who else does? The elitist politicians and bureaucrats who insist on importing jihadists into our societies and telling us that it’s good for us. 

Instead, they have wrecked in only a generation or two societies and cultures that have taken centuries of blood and toil to build. 

To hell with all of them. 

I’m ready for our systems to be razed to the ground and be replaced with something that will at least act in service of the people who just want to mind their own business. 

Not with malice, but with the spirit of truth. 

But more than anything, I long for the day when calling something by its name isn’t seen as some dangerous, rebellious act. 

I yearn for the day when once again calling things what they are will no longer be considered an act of revolutionary courage.

— Alex (@DaytimeRenegade) May 21, 2017

And I’m praying that some kind of peace can descend upon the world instead of all this chaos. 

Improve yourself. 

Improve your community. 

Take care of your family. 

Seek truth. 

And be careful. 

Follow me on Twitter @DaytimeRenegade and Gab.ai @DaytimeRenegade

And check out my Instagram here.