We Need A Genghis
As a famous US president known for his internet quotes said, “Sometimes it takes a Genghis.”
No he wasn't advocating for wholesale massacres of entire cities and tribes, but he does have a very valid point. We in the West have been withered in a spellbinding decadence of the Pax Americana - the average middle class individual in the West doesn't have to think about things that have defined the human experience for the past (few thousand?) years.
You have drinking water at the twist of a faucet. You can order food on a device that connects you to billions of people across the world, and it'll be delivered to your doorstep. Chances are you're in air conditioned or heated living or workspace. You can travel in a car and go almost anywhere in the United States within days or hours. Literally a machine washes your clothes for you, an arduous task for homemakers ever since clothes were invented. We even have wiretaps we buy so we can yell, “Hey Siri read me Genghis Khan's substack!” Okay I'll admit. I have a secret to tell you. I am not actually sure if these smart dot things can do that, but I'm sure it's coming.
Being an avid student of history my whole life, this whole crazy world we live in has slowly made more sense with the splendid context of the human experience. Splendid, for warlords and kings and dictator's such as our Khan of Khans.
You see, your average human in centuries past has had to struggle with the fact their quiet villages and farms could be raided by some enemy tribe at any moment. Your entire world would end before your eyes. Pillaging, rape, fire and violence would end your life, if you weren't sold into slavery.
I've lied to you again, people still actually live like this in the real world. Yes, in our “enlightened age.” Yes in 2022. And yes, it will continue to happen as it's been happening ever since Gronk got together with Scratchy and Bobo in 20,000 BC to destroy their annoying fellow cave neighbors who had all the good hooch.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a stark reminder that we still live in the world of Gronk. As many things have changed with human civilization, just as many things have stayed the same.
Being desensitized to that kind of madness has been so sweet for so many Americans for such a long time. Literally one of our nations biggest problems is we eat too much, on a planet where for most of human history being “healthy” just meant you had enough to eat.
This kind of decadence can only be sustained by a few things, plentiful energy and unquestionable military dominance. While we were enjoying our lives, working hard to support our families and taking Aidan, Brayden and Jayden (shout-out to Jesse Kelly for these fictional examples of kids) to soccer practice, the Regime was busy hollowing out our economy to profit from cheap slave labor in China. We lost our ability to produce and export things, while the rest of the world caught up with our standard of living and military might….
That topic in particular can be meat for a future post so I'll get to the point.
Why am I memeing a thirteenth century warlord? It's not just because he is objectively the greatest rags to riches story in human history. To me, he is a reminder to “civilized” people who enjoy the safety and tranquility behind the city walls, people just like us.
Genghis and his ilk decimated cities that had stood for hundreds of years, beacons of science, learning, riches and trade. Within days of losing in battle against the Khan's glorious tumans, that beautiful center of progress was nothing but rubble in a pool of blood and decapitated heads. That's the cost of losing. That's what happens when your beloved nation loses.
Personally I want to keep enjoying this thing we call middle class America. I'd rather not be in a CCP concentration camp for pissing on a picture of Xi Xinping a few years from now.
We cannot forget, there's a whole world out there and we need to compete. We need to survive. When “Genghis Khan” comes for us we better be able to kill him and his horde to protect our way of life. The consequences of losing haven't really changed just because we have fancy phones and internet nowadays.
Genghis Khan is a reminder. We cannot forget,
“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm”
George Orwell
Hence, we need our own “Genghis” (or Genghai for plural). We must wake up and be strong or else we will inevitably suffer the fate of countless millions in history and our world today. It takes a Genghis to beat a Genghis, hence, sometimes it takes a Genghis.