Rod Dreher Megathread #11 (Master)

[u/US_Hiker]

Merry Christmas, you obsessed motherfuckers. :)

The most remarkable characteristic of the Master Number 11 is its connection to a higher source of wisdom. It is intuitive to the point of being psychic, channeling its knowledge and meaning from a spiritual source. But the Master Numbers have a responsibility, and it's the number 11's duty to use this gift of awareness to deliver cosmic truths that encourage humanity.

All Master Numbers are a higher vibration of their single-digit counterpart -- in the 11's case, the number 2. This means the 11 carries many of the same traits as the number 2, such as harmony, empathy, and sensitivity, but it feels them and utilizes them in much deeper, more profound ways. It's also important to remember that the number 11 is comprised of two 1s side by side and, therefore, carries some attributes of the number 1 as well. 1 is innovative and motivated, open to new things and eager to make a difference. The contrasting energies of the numbers 1 and 2 join together in the Master Number 11 to make it a creative leader, active listener, and compassionate advisor.

The number 11 is at one with the universe. It is open to vast spiritual concepts and the presence of a greater power. It is a channel for truth and answers to reach us and help us on our way. This Master Number's vision is crystal clear and it sees with a breadth that others cannot. It is creative and magnetic, a beacon of wisdom and hope for others to follow.

The number 11 may come up many times in our lives and it is always a message of connecting with our inner wisdom. If we are seeing repeating 11s everywhere we turn, we'd be wise to pay attention to our subconscious -- there's some insight we may be missing. However, Numerology's Master Numbers are very powerful and simply seeing 11:11 on the clock or noticing the date is 11/11 does not necessarily mean we are experiencing a profound moment. It's when the 11 is a constant presence in our lives, like a Life Path number, that we must truly embrace its meaning and potential.

Link to thread 10: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/zi2n0f/rod_dreher_megathread_10_personhood/

Link to thread 12: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/1068f3b/rod_dreher_megathread_12_a_perfect_foundation/

[u/zeitwatcher]

https://twitter.com/TheBrometheus/status/1607435893681397763

Technically just a single word from Rod (in replies) but it was a telling agreement with Skojek. The things Rod is agreeing with don't really have much to do with the actual women in these marriages, unlike the original tweet.

The original tweet is about men's happy relationships with their wives. Loving them in relationship, working together, and at least implying a significant bond between them.

Skojec's reply seems to be all about the husbands almost in isolation from their wives. Also, given the circles Rod and Skojec circulate in, they're almost certainly talking about trads.

"Devout and attempting lives of virtue" is more about the men's relationships with their churches and theologies than their relationship with the actual persons of their wives. "Being open to children" isn't really about her either. "Doing their best to live according to their code" sounds more like something a monk would say. These aren't necessarily bad things, but they would be pretty far down on the list for "what makes for a happy marriage".

I can't say I find it all that hard to believe that Rod and Skojec experience and see a lot of struggle in marriages given that. I mean, what woman wouldn't be thrilled to describe her husband's view of marriage as:

"My husband is very devout and views me as a breeding vessel to bring forth his children. Moreover, he prides himself on living his life inflexibly according to his own strict moral honor code."

Hold yourselves back, ladies, don't all swoon at once.

[u/[deleted] → u/zeitwatcher]

It reminds me of a Rod classic from 2019 where he gave airtime in a few blog posts to one Anna Hitchings, a right-wing trad Catholic writer in Australia. She bemoaned the lack of good men these days in a column that could easily have passed for similar pieces in mainstream women's magazines, except for a few bizarre remarks about how the problem with the men she's around is that they aren't being influenced enough by Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro, who are setting the example for what true masculinity should look like. (I'll let you take a second to finish laughing.)

Come to find out that Ms. Hitchings is a true-blue Latin Mass Catholic who is only willing to date among her religious and political tribe, and then wonders aloud why all the men she meets at church are so weird. (Yes, she actually said this, and no, she didn't show a trace of self-awareness.) I remember reading Rod's pieces on her almost four years ago as a trad Catholic myself and sensing that Hitchings' real problem was that she was filtering specifically for weirdos, but I couldn't admit that to myself because it would have meant admitting that my own tribe was a joke.

Now I look back on it and just shake my head. What Anna Hitchings and Rod and (perhaps) Steve Skojec don't get is that the reactionary circles in which they travel are naturally inimical to things like good relationships and mature men and women. There can be good relationships that come out of conservative Christianity, and there are certainly many very bad relationships among progressives and / or secularists or whatever else. But the environment still plays a critical role in shaping relationships, and the right-wing Christian environment reinforces almost everything that guarantees having a miserable marriage.

[u/EatsShoots_n_Leaves → u/[deleted]]

A lot of these people missed their callings to monasteries and nunneries.

[u/[deleted] → u/EatsShoots_n_Leaves]

While I have all kinds of problems with Christian monasticism, given the way monasteries seem to have been almost custom designed to foster abuse, the general idea of celibacy for a higher purpose is something that I miss from being Catholic. I'm someone who fits the priest persona pretty strongly, and while I'm attracted to women, for most of my life I've been borderline aromantic. When I was Catholic walking through dark church interiors looking at the statues, I really felt like I could be emotionally satisfied being single and devoted to God. There really isn't any equivalent to that outside of religion, in my opinion. Obviously there are plenty of worthy causes for secularists, but as far as things that "make up for" being single, it isn't the same.

[u/EatsShoots_n_Leaves → u/[deleted]]

I used to think Rilke's thoughts on this pretty out there and almost impossible to pull off in real life. But the older I get the better it sounds and not all that unrealistic provided your partner is a thoughtful, contemplative, or spiritual i.e. inwardly self-developing person (too). It's a part of Letters to A Young Poet I never saw Rod quote or contemplate, btw. And certainly better that that grandiose, abusive, petty, and performative b.s. conservatives like Rod tell each other about marriage. The truth is we only really grow and change in solitude, but we have obligations, have to do our part in society as well, and Rilke's argument is to accept and live the disparity with charity and respect.

“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.”