Granite monoliths inscribed with cryptic messages were blown up in rural Georgia early Wednesday, leaving behind a legacy of mystery that stretches from their origin to their destruction.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said “unknown individuals” detonated an explosive device around 4 a.m., destroying a large portion of the Georgia Guidestones. The structure, which has been dubbed “America’s Stonehenge,” originally consisted of four 19-foot granite slabs, a center stone and a smaller block capping the top. Video footage released by law enforcement shows a car leaving the scene shortly after the blast, although the GBI did not specify whether the driver was connected to the incident. Later in the day, authorities demolished the whole monument, citing safety reasons.
The enigma of the Guidestones, located in Elberton, a city roughly 110 miles east of Atlanta that calls itself “the Granite Capital of the World,” can be traced to the late 1970s. Around that time, a man identified as R.C. Christian commissioned the project on behalf of a group of out-of-state Americans who wanted to remain anonymous, according to the Elberton Granite Association, a trade group. People who knew Christian’s real identity took an oath of secrecy that has not been broken. [WaPo]
Simple-minded vandalism? Maybe not.
The Guidestones also got a mention in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary this year. Educator Kandiss Taylor, who finished a distant third to the victorious incumbent, Brian Kemp, pledged to dismantle the monument and fight the “Luciferian Cabal” that she suggested was behind it. On Wednesday, she called the Guidestones “satanic,” applauded the destruction and alluded that the incident might be an act of God.
What’s so threatening?
The Guidestones’ funders wanted to make “a moralistic appeal” to humanity, according to the trade group, and etched 10 guiding principles onto the stones. The multilingual manual for humanity has been a popular spot for visitors over the past four decades.
The instructions, repeated in eight languages on the four upright slabs, are largely uncontroversial. They urge humanity to protect nature and care for fellow citizens. But two entries raised eyebrows: They called for the world’s population to be capped at 500 million and encouraged reproduction to improve “fitness and diversity.” (There were some 4 billion humans alive in the late 1970s.)
It’s not hard to read the Guidestones‘ messages as a group’s contribution to the public discussion inherent in being a liberal democracy: how to run the damn thing. Stipulating that the vandal was inspired by Taylor, as well as right-wing pundits who’ve expressed their hostility in the usual hyperbolic manner of blaming it on various negative Divinities, then the destruction can easily been seen as a deeply embarrassing response to the assertions carried on the stones.
The fact that the stones were destroyed can also be read in a couple of ways:
- The far-right is terrified of actually engaging in honest debate. Their vast incompetence extends to responsible debate, where they fear being shown as intellectually and morally weak. Rather than attempt to intellectually refute, or even constructively engage with, a rather anodyne message, outside of the possible reference to eugenics, they blew it up.
- As an add-on for #1, their use of hyperbolic messaging is meant to keep the base stirred up and not thinking. It reinforces the notion that there’s a war on for the United States, rather than merely the usual political tussle, and that triggers the flight-or-fight response, once again precluding rational thought. And, in a sense, it’s not the usual political tussle, because the far-right that has taken possession of the Republican Party is becoming less and less capable of functioning effectively as a governing Party in a liberal democracy. They’re transitioning to a party of self-righteous, delusional, fourth-rate thugs.
- The Guidestones can be seen as representing, in a shallow manner, an alternate morality system. Mostly unremarkable, it remains a threat to the religious moral system of those who blew it up, or approved of blowing it up. Competition terrifies the incompetent, which they hide behind proclamations of doom and damnation.
There are others interpretations as well, which are not coming to mind, and may be a bit tiresome. But the one positive feature of this incident is that they are not of overwhelming value; they were created in Elberton, and can no doubt be reproduced and installed, if they or someone else wishes.
This is not some irreparable loss. It’s simply a measure of the depravity of those who advocated for it and performed the action, and it’s been put on public display for those who can see.
One must keep in mind that 50% of Americans have an IQ of less than 100 (100 is the mean) and 1 standard deviation (66% of the population falls in this group) is 85 to 115. It is probably safe to assume that the majority “far-right” are in the 85 to100 range and represent conservative Christians.