TRENDS

What do current trends tell us about the signs of the times?

As I have lain stricken by the “China virus”, much of my last few weeks have been spent reflecting on various trends, some of which are evident and some more obscured. Merriam-Webster defines - a trend as “a line of general direction or movement”. Another definition by Market Business News is, “A trend is a general direction into which something is changing, developing, or veering toward.”

I have been wondering: how do you detect a trend at an early stage and what societal factors produce the trends we see today? In this newsletter, I will consider just a few of the trends that I have been thinking about and their significance. It is by no means a complete list but just a few of the areas that I thought were significant and would be of interest to my readers.

I started to think about the importance of trends sometime in 2022 when I heard the former Blackrock financial analyst, Ed Dowd, speaking about the adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. He has spoken on many different platforms about his work and has published a highly readable book about the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination. His book “Cause Unknown: the Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 and 2022” is worthwhile purchasing as a reference source. Mr Dowd is a former financial analyst, and in his interviews, he has pointed out the importance of detecting trends early, when deciding upon investments. He has no expertise in health care but had seen a trend in increasing life insurance payouts for younger workers following the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines, and also noted an increase in disabilities in the younger working population.

I started thinking about a range of trends we can see in society and have been asking myself – what do these mean and where are we heading?

Trends in Education

For example, in education, as you trace back the influences that have produced a less-educated and more indoctrinated population, John Dewey, the progressive philosopher and educational theorist in the 1930s has been extremely influential in Western education. Christopher Dawson has written about Dewey :

“In his views our purpose for education is not the communication of knowledge but the sharing of social experience, so that the child shall become integrated into the democratic community. He believed that morals were essentially social and pragmatic and that any attempt to subordinate education to transcendent values or dogmas ought to be resisted.”

The outcome of this philosophy, which is now embedded in all Western education systems, is that parents have no rights in education but the state is supreme. This issue was critical in Virginia's November 2021 gubernatorial race, where Republican Glenn Youngkin beat Democrat Terry McCauliffe. A key issue that swung the state in favour of Youngkin was that in a TV debate, McCauliffe (who was governor at the time) said : “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Given that schools were teaching sexually explicit material to young children and a girl was assaulted by a transgender boy in a bathroom, parents finally said that that state had taken a step too far. Of course, such decisions are the end-result of Dewey’s philosophy, now accepted as religious dogma, that it is the state’s right to indoctrinate children to ensure that they are “good citizens”.

Education will continue to be a battleground, and many parents, at least in the US, have taken their children out of public schools and into home-schooling. It is easy to see a trend continuing towards home-schooling but there is likely to be a strong reaction by the state towards dissenters. Parents who home school their children will be seen to be potentially dangerous conspiracy theorists for failing to promote the state’s current doctrines.

Higher education (colleges and universities) is completely dominated by an extreme left-wing philosophy and journalism schools are under the control of the progressive Marxist agenda. Journalists hired from any of the prominent schools have been indoctrinated with extreme left progressive views and slot seamlessly into a media landscape that is almost free of any conservative viewpoint.

Trends in Media

One of the other trends that have been evident, particularly since President Trump’s election in 2016, is the suppression of conservative views in the mainstream media and by Big Tech. This week was yet another data point in suppressing conservative viewpoints with the sacking of Tucker Carlson, the Fox News conservative commentator. Interestingly, Tucker said this week that the biggest issue facing Americans today is the “lack of information”, because information has become centralized and controlled by a small number of companies. He said that most Americans don’t know the facts about the most important issues.

Tucker Carlson’s removal by Fox News has been the dominant story in all the US media this week. It is a significant event because Tucker was the last of the mavericks with an independent viewpoint on mainstream media and was prepared to cover controversial issues. He was one of the few commentators who dealt with adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccines, the transgender push, illegal immigration and the January 6^th narrative. He demonstrated that there had been suppression of much of the CCTV footage showing a different perspective inside the US Capitol to that being promoted by the Democrat-controlled January 6^th committee. It is worthwhile viewing Tucker’s 40 min presentation to the Heritage Foundation on the Friday evening after his last show on Fox News. At that stage, he didn’t realize that his show would be terminated on the following Monday.  He points out in his presentation to the 50^th anniversary of the Heritage Foundation, that the US is going in the wrong direction. He said in his talk that we are no longer dealing with differences in philosophical viewpoints between the right and the left. What we are currently seeing is essentially a battle between good and evil. In his speech, Tucker said:

“Good is characterized by order, calmness, tranquillity, peace, cleanliness; evil – violence, hate, disorder, division, disorganization and filth. So – if you are all in the latter basket of outcomes, you are advocating for evil. “ His thesis is that these are outcomes of a larger force acting upon us and while he didn’t say it specifically, he was referring to the forces of darkness. It is worthwhile listening to Tucker’s 30 minute speech below.

I have followed Tucker’s presentations over the last years, mainly by viewing YouTube. My shock wasn’t that his show was removed from Fox News but rather that Tucker had lasted so long. His analysis was at odds with most of the mainstream press and he could be relied upon to bring the truth to his viewers, at least as far as he understood it. He was the number one target of the political left and there were even calls by members of US Congress this last week for him to be censored and taken off the air – hang the First Amendment. Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth” is coming into being before our eyes. It is interesting that Orwell could see this trend developing 80 years ago.

As I write, no one seems to have heard directly from Tucker, apart from a short video he released yesterday where he says: “When honest people say what’s true…they become powerful” and that “True things prevail”. Tucker spoke about the big topics that don’t get any discussion: war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power and natural resources. He said that we don’t hear any debate about these things and that in essence, the US has become a one-party state. Tucker’s short video from Wednesday evening US time is worthwhile viewing below

One thing that has become clear in relation to Tucker’s removal, is that Rupert Murdoch himself seems to have taken the decision to end Tucker’s show. Despite previously being a strong supporter of Tucker, Rupert must have decided that Tucker had become a liability. At the heart of the issue is that no one person (apart from Rupert) is bigger than Fox itself.

Over the last few days, I have listened to a number of former Fox News employees speaking about Tucker’s departure. The general opinion is that the decision is bad for Fox, its share price and its ratings but good for Tucker, who will likely go on to have a successful independent show or podcast.

Likely reasons for Tucker’s sudden removal from the air are: Rupert decided that Tucker would contribute to further legal fallout related to additional lawsuits (following the Dominion almost $800m settlement), ongoing pressure from advertisers who did not support Tucker’s show, internal Murdoch family disputes about the direction of the company and the possible preparation of Fox News for future sale by the family, and BlackRock’s 15.1% share acquisition. BlackRock is now the second largest owner of shares in the Fox Corporation, after the Murdoch family (19% shareholding) and may have been influential in Tucker’s removal. Ultimately, it may be that Rupert believed Tucker had become “too big for his boots”. He hadn’t been in the Fox News studios for three years and was increasingly outspoken about “the truth” as he broadcast from his home in rural Maine.

The fallout from Carlson’s departure, on US politics may be very significant. He had just interviewed Donald Trump in relation to his bid for the US presidency. Given that the Murdoch family has indicated its opposition to Trump’s bid for a second term, changes at Fox News will have a big impact on the forthcoming US presidential election campaign. It is likely that Trump will have less opportunities on Fox News than in the last two campaigns. Fox made extraordinary profits from its support of Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and during the years of his presidency. when its ratings went through the roof.

Whatever the reason for Tucker Carlson’s removal, it is the end result of another trend that has been evident since the early part of this millennium. Media ownership has been concentrated in the hands of just half a dozen companies, most of whom have a similar view which invariably is left-leaning and “progressive”. Truth will become increasingly difficult to find and one can see that various algorithms will point us all to the same ideas, overseen by a virtual “Ministry of Truth”.

To understand the signs of the times, modern-day Sons of Issachar, increasingly need to search for opinions and information that are outside the una-party system. We need to realize that we are living at a time like that of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah where there are “those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). If Tucker Carlson is correct, the biggest issue we are facing is a “lack of information”. Therefore, we must take extraordinary measures to guard against deception and seek reliable information sources.

Trends in -isms and -phobias

When criticism of the hapless US Vice-President Kamala Harris is passed off as “racist”, it is clear that any independent analysis of a person's capability, who is just a heartbeat away from the US presidency, is impossible. This is a small symptom of a wider trend – criticism of any of the areas of modern culture or concern are labelled: racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, or simply conspiracy theories. These labels are sufficient to bring any debate to a halt.

No matter what society, even in Australia with a very small black population, every ill is ascribed to “racism”. I have been reading Heather MacDonald’s book “When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives.

The book is essential reading because she lays out what has happened as society has become increasingly fearful of appearing “racist”. She commences her book with this sentence:

“The year 2020 may go down as a pivotal moment in American history. Major institutions—from corporations and the media to higher education and professional sports—endorsed the view that the United States is defined by systemic racism.”

Ms MacDonald has given a number of interviews on conservative news sites and I recommend listening to her interview with Daniel Horowitz last week (search for “Conservative Review Unless We Fight Racial Supremacism…”)

Her book has a wide range of statistics but she points out that many of the differences in hiring decisions are not due to racism but differences in skills.

“The underrepresentation of blacks in many professions is the result of the unequal distribution of skills, not of bias. Sixty-six percent of black twelfth graders nationally were “below basic” in twelfth-grade math skills in 2019, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam.”

She writes that in admission to medical colleges only 6-8% of white or Asian students with low GPAs or MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scores gained entrance but that 56% of black students with similar scores were offered admission. Ms MacDonald cites similar data in science grants. Now charges of racism are permeating areas of art and culture, and of course law and order. Black on black crime is virtually ignored by the media. MacDonald writes that:

“Blacks make up less than 13 percent of the nation’s adult population, but they account for about one-third of the combined federal and state prison rolls; their per-capita rate of imprisonment is more than five times higher than the per-capita imprisonment rate of whites.”

Of course, there is only explanation allowed – racism.

The trend is clear as the media narrative has moved from equality to equity. Equal outcomes (not just equal opportunities) must be found at every level or it is evidence of some -ism.

MacDonald concludes that:

“Racial etiquette does not demand a denial of reality. It demands that every individual be treated fairly, with courtesy and respect. But the reality remains that a dysfunctional inner-city culture is hindering black progress. That culture belittles academic achievement as “acting white.” It is indifferent to life, as the dozens of drive-by shootings that occur daily in American cities attest to. It is cruel, as shown by the regular beatings and stomping of elderly Americans, many of them Asian.”

The trend is clear. The broadly projected narrative is that all the disparities, crime and violence are the result of racism or white privilege. Those in charge of the large US Democrat-controlled cities will ignore black on black violence and crime because it is “racist” to take action.

We see a similar situation in Alice Springs, a small city in the middle of Australia where there is a large Aboriginal youth population. There is extensive youth crime, alcoholism, drug use and violence. Applying the rule of law is thought to be “racist”.

So, even without too much examination of the tea leaves or sorting through animal entrails, it is easy to see that various evil forces are attempting to ignite a race war and remove any idea of basing decisions on merit. Martin Luther King Jnr would roll over in his grave.

In Australia, the socialist government is trying to impose a two-tier society with a coming national referendum that advocates regard as giving Aborigines “a voice”. “The Voice” referendum aims to change the Australian Constitution to permanently enshrine legal differences between Aboriginal Australians and others. A huge government-funded campaign is being mounted to force Australians to vote for this constitutional change. It will fundamentally alter Australian society. Once again, it reminds me that President Reagan was correct when he said: “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, I’m from the government and I’m here to help”.

Trends in Population Control and Transhumanism

The 19^th century philosopher and economist, Thomas Malthus,  was one of the early advocates of the idea that the growth of the human population would outstrip available resources. This thesis was then seized upon by eugenicists during the early 20^th century with the promotion of sterilization of the “less fit” together with advocacy of abortion. This happened, notably amongst black communities, by the notorious Margaret Sanger and her organization Planned Parenthood – see this link.

The idea of population control gained further traction in the 1970s with the publication of “Limits to Growth” by the Club of Rome . The book provided the foundations for the later climate change movement and the ideas resulted in a decline in reproduction rates in most Western countries. Of course, the predictions like all models, were incorrect, and according to these scientists, the earth shouldn’t be able to sustain the current population.

Climate change alarmists have been able to gain domination of the entire media and educational agenda, and the eugenicists are lurking with them in the shadows of science and media. The new narrative is about “improving the DNA” and eliminating diseases by DNA manipulation. Interestingly, apparently out of nowhere, there has arisen advocacy for transgenderism, genital mutilation and a range of LGBTQ+ issues. How is it that this issue of gender, which key leaders suddenly can’t define, has become the new battleground in Western society? Well – it is the inevitable outcome of the need to destroy the idea of gender and differences between men and women. Of course, its target is also the traditional family, which has been the foundation of society since the beginning of time.

The next step, according to Yuval Harari the so-called “prophet” of the World Economic Forum and its supporters, is creation of a “new man”, a fusion of man and machine. This transhumanist agenda and its advocates see a future where there is “eternal life”, at least in the digital biosphere. Huge sums of money are being invested by Big Tech and private wealthy individuals in merging mankind and digital technology. Elon Musk’s Neuralink - is just one of a number of research initiatives that seek to implant computer chips in the human brain.

The trend to me is clear. If there is rejection of the God of creation, then we rely on the intelligence of man to save the planet and produce a superhuman who will live forever. Trillions of dollars will be spent in the next few years in these areas and also artificial intelligence. You don’t need to be a prophet to predict that the outcomes are going to be bad for mankind.  The end result is likely to be genetically manipulated populations with implants, all controlled by an overlord group, if “we the people” allow this to happen.

Genetic manipulation of the food supply also is also coming and the mRNA vaccines provided the first step in the creation of tools that can be used to change population genetics. To the uninitiated, these ideas seem like science fiction but to the trend follower, the next steps are as clear as night following day. However, to succeed, these ideas require global government being implemented in the name of world peace and prosperity.

Trends in Globalism

If you trace the research back far enough, the globalists have gradually gained ascendancy over a period of several centuries. However, in the 20^th century, much of the apparatus has been put in place. The United Nations and its agencies have gained traction and authority over national governments. The recent push by the WHO in relation to global health regulations

100 Reasons

is just another sign of the global cabal gaining control over the critical area of global health.

The World Economic Forum and its global business partners are promoting a future where private ownership of resources will no longer be allowed. Food producing animals have been identified as the enemy of the planet as indeed are humans themselves. Energy is being used as a weapon against populations and on the near horizon is the introduction of programmable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). With CBDCs, expenditure can no longer be anonymous and control will be possible at the point of sale. It is a bleak future and most of us are willingly stumbling into such a future with little murmur or protest. The forced “vaccination” of almost the entire planet with a dangerous product has provided the mechanism for future strategies as new diseases and problems arise that need global lockdowns and forced “vaccinations”. Various trials are being done across the world to restrict vehicle access to cities as part of the creation of “15 minute cities” , where we will be herded like laboratory rodents and prevented from leaving. Of course, international travel will be made impossible, except for an elite few (my tip - if you want to go somewhere, do it soon).

Many people deny that these global ideas could be implemented fully, given the complexity of the requirements and need for control of populations. However, the net is tightening with companies' finances depending on meeting ESG scores (really a score of “wokeness”). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN (see here ) now flow down through every national government entity, including local councils. If you remember the messages from many Western leaders during the COVID-19 crisis, the phrase “build back better” was trotted out by all and indicated a central authority overseeing the “new world order” and sending out instructions to its minions.

What Do All These Trends Mean?

It seems that we are living in a period similar to that after the Great Flood when Nimrod was a mighty hunter (see Genesis 11). In the land of Shinar, the people of the earth with one language, gathered together to make themselves like God. The Bible tells us that they said:

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4).

God destroyed their plans by confusing their language and scattered people across the earth. The great tower was never completed. Undoubtedly, God will act again as He sees the rise of evil on the earth and the opposition to His ways and His law.

There have been many periods in history when men tried to set themselves up as gods and tyranny was widespread. However, the current period of history is unique in how the digital architecture can be used to implement global control. You don’t even have to have much imagination to see how a digital “mark” could be used so that without it, people could not buy or sell. Can we prevent this juggernaut from running over us? It is hard to see how because the power and money reside in the hands of the evil few. This is a time when as Jesus said to his disciples whom He sent out, we need to be “as wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). We need God’s wisdom to know how to live and prosper in the days ahead.

Many people are positive about “we the people” triumphing in the face of the evil agenda that is afoot today. There is a belief that people will rise up in the face of oppression and dictatorship. Certainly, this is the general theme of the rash of dystopian movies that have been distributed over the last ten years.

My view is more pessimistic. Hard times are ahead as we consider the trends that I have discussed in this article. We need to prepare for these and as “sons of Issachar” who understand the times and recognize the bigger picture, which surprisingly is one of hope but not false hope or Pollyana-ism. We are in a period where the satanic forces have gained control of most of the “seven mountains” of influence, written about by Dr Lance Wallnau. These “seven mountains” are: education, religion, government/military, family, business, arts/entertainment and media.  This is the reality. However, the story still has a long way to go.

God is sovereign and I leave my readers today with this section from the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah around 700BC. In the early chapter of Isaiah, he warns of a coming time of threats and conspiracy. He warns as follows:

“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:12-13).

This is the most important perspective for us in this day - to fear God and not man.

Isaiah warns of coming trouble and darkness in the world. Then he writes:

“Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed”.

What follows is one of the most remarkable passages in the Bible, pointing to the arrival of Jesus some 700 years later. Isaiah writes:

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

This same Jesus, born in a stable in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, has been raised from the dead and will return to put every enemy under His feet.

No matter what we see, God is in control and there is a plan to give us a hope and a future. Our job is to put our trust in Him.