Mike,
Welcome to ESMB…glad you are here with Us.
I met your father once when he was an FCCI and I was Flag Crew. I did not know him well but he did have a rep as someone that you didn’t patty cake around with or schmooze. I am sorry to hear he has passed on and for your loss.
I find your additions to the “Big Conversation” valuable and your demeanor invites thoughtful dialogue.
It is my view that the “faction/fragmentation” of the “Opposition”...that you say Da Monster is “happy” about...is due to the narcissistic greed blindness through which he, and El Ron, viewed the world is actually something he should be very worried about.
During the Reformation the Roman Catholic Church used every avenue possible to “fight” its perceived “enemies”. The Reformation movement went through faction/fragmentation and a plethora of Sects and Denominations developed, including the rise of “Secularism” and “godless” (small “g” intended) science which helped pave the way for the Renaissance.
During this period the Catholic Church sought to consolidate power and dominion over the flock by the establishment of the Roman Inquisition system. The Church “hit on” the wealthy to raise large amounts of cash and acquire/build property as part of this consolidation. As the Protestant movement and Secularism grew and bled the Church, the Church’s future became the Kings and Aristocracy that they were “in bed with” and the peoples of the New World that those Kings and Aristocracy had conquered. From that time forward fertility rates became the name of the game.
During this same period the faction/fragmentation of the Protestant movement, Secularism and Science, in a sense, “won the day” without ever being cohesive or, often times, “respectful” with each other.
The CofS—not from a lack of wanting or trying—has no “Kings” to give them "safe” harbor or mandate and conquer new members for it. The fertility rate of Scns is comparatively low has children and families get in the way of the faithful “Clearing the Planet” and moving up “The Bridge”. Moving into new countries and cultures is less remunerative and more difficult than extorting and conning the existing membership. Additionally, the faction/fragmentation process of the “enemies” of the Catholic Church took place over hundreds of years; in the “enemies” process of Scn it is happening in a time of open access and rapid transmitting of information across the world.
To me, a major strength of the CofS’s opposition is its diversity and de-centralization. Conversely, a major weakness of the CofS is its Monolithic Command and Control Structure and the inability to diverge from destructive practices.
My Best Wishes to you, Mike.
Face