A Closer Look at the Fourth Turning

Time for a closer look at the 4^th phase – The Winter, or Crisis.

by Jacqueline Smith

 Our previous article (found here) explained a brief overview of a cycle in history known as a saeculum.  This 80 – 120 year period in history is made up of four (4) separate turnings.  Each of these turnings last on average 20 – 25 years.  We are now going to take a quick look at the types of people born in these turnings, and then take a closer look at just the Fourth Turning, since that is the one we are currently in.  We will also look ahead to a new founding.  What kind of founding?  That will be determined by the people of this great country during the next ten (10) or so years. 

Let’s begin with a look at archetypes.  During each phase an archetype of sorts is born.  In general, these types of people will be born, but remember there are always exceptions.

 

• 1^st Phase, or Founding  – Prophet  (they see what’s coming)
• 2^nd Phase or Awakening – Nomads (they don’t fit in, move a lot, change jobs)
• 3^rd Phase or Unraveling – Heroes (take the hard path, and fight the fight)
• 4^th Phase or Crisis – Artists (see the world as wonderful or horrible and express their views through a variety of mediums.)

 

Each archetype affects change in the next two phases following, when they are old enough to make a difference.  If you want to know which archetype you and your friends fit into, go to the previous article “The Fourth Turning – In a Nutshell” and find the year you were born.

Here is a breakdown of just one historical 4^th turning in American history.

 1770 – Boston Massacre – The Catalyst that pushes society into a 4^th Turning.

 1776 – Declaration of Independence – The alignment takes place.  In this case, the people aligned themselves with each other, and against the ruling power of England.

 1783-1787 – Revolutionary War – The Crisis shows itself.  There is death, sacrifice, and extreme hardship on those who fight for the cause.

 1787-1794 – The Constitutional Convention – The Resolution takes place.  A new founding is then created on self rule, in this case.

 Now, let’s look at today:

 2001 – September 11 terrorist attacks – The Catalyst.  This drove our country to changes in policy.  Our attack was suddenly different, so our defense was changed.  Therefore policy changed to enforce the new defense.  i.e. Patriot Act, Victory Act, etc.

 That’s what we know for sure about the 4^th Turning.  If the cycles hold, this may be what we can come to expect.  And we have questions for you to ponder, seriously.

 2008? – 2009? – The alignment. 

• Has it already occurred with our current election, or has the election created a need for a stronger alignment. 
• Are you going to be a part of it?  The people, who want freedom over oppression, democrat and republican alike, recently attended tea parties. 
• The people have begun to align themselves.  Where is your alignment? 
• Currently we are really only looking at two choices, freedom principles or socialistic principles.

 2012? – 2015? – The Crisis.

•  What event could come our way to really test our society?  Historically this time period in the crisis can be war, plague (or pandemic), famine, or economic depression.  It may even contain more than one. 
• Are you ready?  Do you know how to survive a 4^th Turning crisis?  This isn’t a doomsday approach.  This is reality if the cycles hold.  Something to think about.

 2028? – 2035? – The Resolution.

•  What will the resolution to our problems be?
• Have you studied enough to know what freedom really needs to look like? 
• Could you set up changes that will take us back down a path of freedom?  It took decades to get us on this path of socialism.  It may take just as long to undo many of those bad policies and thinking that got us here in the first place.  Maybe not. 
• Can you speak the language of the elite?  Can you enter the great debate on principles and theory, instead of embroiling yourself and others with issues? 
• Can you articulate your ideas so they are easily understood?

 It is important to understand that the people in the alignment will either be the people in the resolution or will dramatically influence it.  The people who signed the Declaration of Independence were also the people who put together the Constitution.

 You may have raised one of the HERO Generation of our day.  You may be one of the HERO generation.  Your grandchildren might be that generation.  But they are already here.  They are the children born between 1984 and 2001.  They will be the ones that will carry us through to the next phase.  It will require the Prophet generation, the Nomad generation and the Hero generation to pull this off.  The Hero generation must be shown why this battle for freedom really matters.  They must be educated in the principles of liberty. 

 We cannot look back in time and wish for the “old days”, we must look forward to a future of freedom.  Take the steps necessary to tip the scales back toward the side of freedom.  We have lost for many years.  But we can reverse the direction of this country.  If we are to survive the 4^th turning and come out with a founding that is of value, we must embrace it.  We must prepare for it.  We must be educated in freedom principles.

 Wouldn’t it be great to just take a pill and have this thing fixed?  Unfortunately, that is not possible.  The fix is in long-term thinking, education, reform, and de-centralization.  These things take time.  This isn’t scary, it’s exciting.  We can change the course of our country.

 Join us in the fight for freedom by dedicating yourself to move the cause of liberty forward.  Organize S.T.A.R. Forum groups in your own area.  The S.T.A.R. Forum is here to teach and assist you.  Email us, and we will send you updates automatically.  More information will continue to come forward.  We seek leaders in every city, who can influence others in liberty.  Freedom lovers everywhere…Unite. 

FREEDOM CAN WIN!

The Fourth Turning — In a Nutshell

Based on the book “The Fourth Turning” by Strauss & Howe

And speeches by Dr. Oliver DeMille

by Jacqueline Smith

 

Every 80 to 120 years (a saeculum) society goes through 4 phases.  Just like the weather. 

1)     We have a Spring, or founding period. 

2)     We have a Summer, or awakening period. 

3)     We have a Fall, or unraveling period.

There is always a catalyst to push you from a 3^rd turning to a 4^th.

4)     We have a Winter, or crisis period.

Now, you don’t have to take my word for it.  Just go back through history, say 300 generations, or the last 3,000 years and see for yourself.  It has not missed.  However, for the first time in history most of the world is on the same part of the cycle at the same time.

To give you a quick look at the cycle through the eyes of American history, let’s go through this saeculum four (4) times.

Spring	The Age of Kings.  The European Empire was expanding.	1704-1727
Summer	The Great Awakening.  Spritual rivival occurred and man began to disbelieve in the divine right of Kings.	1727-1745
Fall	French and Indian War, and English and French War, continued breakdown of society.	1746-1770
Catalyst	Boston Tea Party / Boston Masacre
Winter	U.S. Revolutionary War, Constitutional Convention	1770-1794
Spring	New Government formed based on self-rule.  Federalism	1794-1822
Summer	Transendental Awakening.  New churches formed, faith questioned.  Joseph Smith restores LDS church.	1822-1844
Fall	Dred Scott case occurs.  North & South friction continues	1844-1857
Catalyst	Election of Abraham Lincoln
Winter	Civil War.  One of the shortest cycles	1857-1865
Spring	Nationalism begins (not a great founding) Reconstruction	1865-1886
Summer	Progressivism begins.  Dewey & Marx read	1886-1908
Fall	WWI – The roaring 20’s, morality slides	1908-1929
Catalyst	Stock Market Crash in Oct 1929
Winter	Depression, bread lines.  WWII brings us out.	1929-1946
Spring	Global reconstruction (again, not a great founding)  GATT, NATO, U.N. Bretton Woods Meetings, IMF	1946-1964
Summer	From Hippies to Yuppies  We go from Leave it to Beaver, all the way to Friends on TV.	1964-1984
Fall	Post modernist thinking emerges.  Allegiance is to ME.  Curcumstantial Morality & Situational Ethics.	1984-2001
Catalyst	9/11
Winter	Economic Crisis —- and then????	2001-2028?

You will notice that most of the time in history these turnings last about 20 to 25 years.  So now you can see it, but what do you do?  It is easy to see that we are in it, the Winter of our Discontent, so to speak.  Do you know what to do in a Fourth Turning?  Do you know how to change your thinking and your life to be a positive catalyst for the change you want to see?  For 14 Points to Survive in a Fourth Turning click here.

 

 The 4^th Turning has many aspects to it as well, but we’ll save that for a future post.  Suffice it to say, the 4^th turning is when the greatest changes can happen.  But you must be educated in what freedom looks like.  You must have the tools (books) and know how to use them to create freedom around you. 

 

It will take courage.  It will take determination.  It will probably take a miracle or two.  Nevertheless, as in times past, Providence has been on the side of freedom.

 

For the next post on this subject click here and take a closer look at just the Winter or Crisis in this turning.  Ask questions and comment on this post.  We are all in this together.  FREEDOM CAN WIN!