Welcome to Speculations on Politics and Political History
I’ve been thinking about doing this separate Substack publication for some time now, egged on by my discovery of old files I kept from the 1980s and early ‘90s chronicling the rise of the New Christian Right. Additionally, I have two original research papers from 1980 and 1981 specifically detailing how the foundation was laid in Oregon that I wrote as part of my work toward a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Oregon. I also have old political articles I wrote from the 1990s.
I had started to think that damn it, I’m at least as credible as some of these other pundits, especially given some trends I saw developing during that era which I as a political scientist, political activist, and science fiction writer saw as problematic.
Unfortunately, too damn many of those projections, including the foundational work behind my Netwalk Sequence series, have played out as pretty close to what is happening now. I had projected the ‘20s as a time of conflict. I didn’t forecast Trump but I forecast someone like him. If I could get my fingers on the paperwork I had around here which goes into details, I would write them.
And, honestly, much of the Netwalk Sequence political foundation is based on an assumption that things fall apart quite badly in the United States of the 2020s. My next post will be about writing the revolution, looking specifically at the Netwalk Sequence.
But. That’s not the only reason.
After the events of January 6th, 2021, writing this blog has become more imperative. I looked at those files and records from the ‘80s and ‘90s on the evening of January 4th and was chilled by some of the things I read.
January 6th did not happen in a vaccum. It is the result of over forty years of deliberate planning and organization, not just by acknowledged political leaders but by organizers determined to impose their authoritarian views on everyone else.
Some can legitimately argue that the roots go back much further than forty years and I won’t argue about that. I can only speak to what I know, what I saw, and what I’ve documented. Unfortunately some of my most solid foundational stuff from the 1970s is gone. I didn’t keep those records nor did I keep my observations. I wish I had, because this includes experiences while attending a Christian college from 1975-1977. Studying with a disciple of C. Peter Wagner (and I will discuss that, albeit without much more than what I can research, alas).
But my combination of exposure to the early days of evangelical political organization in the mid- ‘70s, obtaining a political science degree in 1981, and being a political activist and organizer through the ‘80s and ‘90s does give me a unique perspective.
This page is entirely separate from my other blogs and my other Substack page, which will focus primarily on writing. I don’t know if it will gain much prominence. But after the events of 1/6/21, I feel compelled now, more than ever, to share what I know.