The Barrow

Recently, of all things, a video by TJ Kirk provoked some interesting thoughts in me. He lamented that the zeitgeist of the late 20th and early 21st centuries of breaking down and deconstruction of every commonly-accepted idea, social norm and institution simply for deconstruction's sake has left us in an emptier world, devoid of much meaning or direction, and that the deconstruction of these things has not brought satisfaction or happiness to those who advocated for deconstruction (this includes myself.)

This brings a few ideas to the forefront of my mind. Firstly, that corrosive, entropic and deconstructivist attitudes are, on their own, unsustainable. These are not good end goals. Corrosive material can be used for the sake of construction, in an alchemical sense, but are not ideals in and of themselves. A medical example of this would be how lactic acid destroys muscle tissue so that the body may build it back stronger. A good social example is how progressive discourse is constantly in need of more and deeper things to rail against. This started with very real problems in society, and has now devolved into such nonsense as can be seen in any comments section full of postmodernists attacking anything that is beautiful, strong, transcendent or good, advocating instead for entirely hedonistic and self-destructive lifestyles.

Secondly, it shows that we are about to experience a re-galvanization or rebuilding of society along different lines, which will likely be a painful, tumultuous time filled with much death and suffering. As whatever new society is born, the subversive elements of the old society which served to break it down will likely be purged from it or otherwise repurposed. This will not be good for many of us, including myself, but it seems inevitable.

Thirdly, it brings me to something I've been thinking for quite some time: the existence, on its own, of counterculture is evidence of a very sick social organism. This has been true of our society for centuries, really. In healthy, traditional societies, there is no counterculture. There is only one cohesive culture. Members of a healthy society are able to relate to each other naturally and by default.

Those of us inside European culture must look millenia into the past for truly healthy societies. We should look to these distant ancestors to see what this may look like.

Happy 2026.