210 Comments
Nov 24, 2022Liked by Chris Best

“Pockets of exhausted people seeking refuge.” Yes, that just about describes most people I know trying to find meaning in this chaos. If we all keep writing and stay on the path, we can break out of the existential crisis. Powerful words, thanks for sharing Chris!

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I love this, thank you for the positivity! Your closing line really resonated:

“Those people seeking peace one by one—the truth seekers, the misfits, the poets, the builders, the outsiders—are the ones who will write the future.”

I’m happy to be one of them 😊Together, we can shift the tides!

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Yes, I get that vibe too, even here in the UK, where things are fairly obviously falling apart. And I think you are right - Substack helps.

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[1] And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. [2] And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: [3] Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [4] Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. [5] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. [6] Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. [7] Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. [8] Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. [10] Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:1-10

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Beautiful article, Chris. Yes, indeed, good times are coming and it specifically the one by one model because then it is certified to come from an internal choice for good, rather than following the crowd. Each one of us needs to be able to make the shift when we imagine we are the only one doing it. That is the sign of truth. It does not need a consensus nor peer approval. This is what is so fun about Substack, being able to speak clearly and let people make their own choices. It gives me an opportunity to bring the message of highlighting the Divine Image in every man, woman and child and to also expose those who would try to scare us into choosing fear, and its attendant complicated false solutions, over hope and its obvious simplicity. May G-d Al-mighty bless you!

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Spontaneously becoming a semi-well known writer here (I had no past experience blogging nor did I plan to, all of this just kind of happened), has given me a great front row seat to all of this.

My personal belief has been that humans are inherently good and yearn for things that are real deep and authentic but society constantly pits them against each other to be in a divided state where they are at each others throats and consumed by superficial attention grabbing gimmicks marketers push down their throats.

I avoided blogging entirely because I didn't want to be involved in all of that (rather just read a book), and one of the things I really appreciate about substack's structure is that it incentives deep thought out nuances which is what I intrinsicly enjoy writing and there is a huge unmet demand for.

Two of the key focuses in my writing have been to encourage everyone to come together (as we have much more in common than where we differ, and together we can accomplish much more than we can as fragmented groups) and that we are in an era when the traditional form of divisive propaganda no longer works.

For anyone that's interested, this is one of the best articles I've come across (it inspired my most recent post). It explains why a shift in the propaganda based governance the country uses has to shift now, and much of it aligns with substacks's core values: https://consilienceproject.org/the_end_of_propaganda/

Thank you for all that you do! I never imagined that I would be a blogger, but this platform works for me (also in case it's relevant, Glenn Greenwald's endorsement of your model after the Intercept failed to meet its original goals was the first thing that brought me to this site).

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Thank you. Substack is a refuge, a place for nuance and openness.

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Chris, this is BEAUTIFULLY expressed on many levels. Blessed are the peacemakers. Thanks so much 🙏

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From your keyboard to God's ears!

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All wars are manufactured. Keep free speech and civilized discourse alive! Substack can help achieve peace in our time. https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/how-to-wage-war

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Nov 24, 2022·edited Nov 24, 2022Liked by Chris Best

Cheers, Chris — I hope you're right. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thank you for this beautiful and inspiring message, Chris. I feel it, too.

Totalitarian regimes always contain the seeds of their own destruction, and no matter how many tentacles they use to censor, oppress, suffocate, menticide, propagandize, coerce, and psychologically traumatize people into submission, the lies *always* eventually collapse and humanity ultimately prevails. CJ Hopkins and I discussed this in our Dissident Dialogue (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/dissident-dialogues-cj-hopkins). To quote CJ:

“Basically, my approach to life is affirmative, and I have some kind of weird faith in life, in people, in all forms of life. And I don’t think it [global totalitarianism] succeeds. It is something that has to implode.… I don’t think it’s a matter of stopping it. I don’t know if we can stop it, but … just like any other form that comes into being, the seeds of the death of that form are built into it, and as that form achieves its ultimate expression, the seeds of its death are also developing already inside of it and are at work, taking it apart, blowing it apart and ultimately destroying it and making way for whatever other forms are going to evolve. That’s the crazy faith that I have. I don’t think we can stop or push back on GloboCap … but I think many of us are feeding these seeds that eventually lead to what comes next.”

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I so hope this prediction is true, and, whichever way it goes, admire the making of it.

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There was a Christmas advert here in the U.K. for Sainsbury’s about seven years ago that recreated the Christmas truce. It was very touching!

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I hope you are correct that things will get better, and all the bickering stops. There is just to much bickering between people now, then before. Years ago, people could say what they felt and someone would just say "I disagree", now it's worse. However, I always hold out hope that things will always get better. I believe our Lord has a purpose for all that's happened. I also believe we'll see his reasoning soon. I truly do hope it's good.

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Thank you for this precious and timely post!

How about feeding that mighty weed of 'hope' the potent fertilizer of our Human Certainty? And watch as the obstinate weed grows into an unprecedented kind of tree, our gift to a no less exhausted Earth that needs our unshakable faith in a new shared (co-created, as the buzzword goes) story of restored beauty and abundance in peace indeed, cooperation, co-ingenuity... life, at last.

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