3 Sunday Morning Thoughts – December 21 Edition

Written by Bryan Lutz, Editor at Dollarcollapse.com:

Every Sunday morning I sit down to write a few thoughts.

Sometimes these thoughts end up being about life, other times they are on gold, geopolitical issues affecting the markets, or the economy.

Here are three thoughts for this morning:

1. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Christmas is about God entering into human history for our redemption… And literally breaking the satanic roots of worldly doctrines… like communism.

After hearing the Christmas carollers in the streets last night, I was struck by that name, ‘Immanuel,’  which means God with us.

(As a disclaimer, you don’t have to be Christian to appreciate this. This is for everyone.)

It comes from this Old Testament verse:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

~ Isaiah 7:14

And it’s used in several almost immediately recognizable Christmas songs,‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’, ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing’, and ‘Once in Royal David’s City.’

The whole idea of the name ‘Immanuel’ implies presence, reconciliation, incarnation, and the redemption of human suffering.

Whether we like it or not, the Christmas spirit of giving comes from the implications of that name. Generosity included. It is a form of reconciliation. It is a way to care, and gives dignity to your fellow man. Voluntarily, of course. Along with that dignity and reconciliation comes a season of slowing down, the accumulation of presence, and the giving of one’s time (presence). But some people in history would have none of this…

I’m talking about Karl Marx, best known as the purveyor of the ‘Communist Manifesto,’ and the man who sparked revolutions “by any means necessary” around the world.

Before Marx wrote the ‘Communist Manifesto,’ he wrote a play at the age of 21 entitled, ‘Oulanem’. The name of the play, as well as the namesake of the main character is an anagram of Emmanuel.

Oulanem’s character contrasts Emmanuel. He is a figure symbolically alienated from God. Tormented by alienation. In love with a younger man, and bent on changing all of creation.

Blogger Emily Finley writes:

The Diabolical Imagination of Karl Marx: II

“In Oulanem, which is an anagram of “Emmanuel,” Marx tells the story of of two male lovers, one younger and one older, who are traveling in the Alps. 

The two men find no room at an inn and accept the invitation of an Italian, Pertini, to stay with him. 

Pertini realizes that Oulanem is an old enemy of his, and so he desires to corrupt his companion, Lucindo, in order to exact his revenge.

The tale is written with some skill and a degree of psychological insight. 

One biographer notes that “Marx evidently knew a good deal about corrupting boys, or else he had watched the process closely.””

One key line from the play is often cited:

“Everything that exists deserves to perish.”

That is because it is similar to Marx’s pen ultimate conclusion of the ‘Communist Manifesto’:

“The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. 

They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.

Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. 

The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. 

They have a world to win.”

Growing up in a Christian home, Marx’s father, Heinrich openly questioned where Karl’s disdain for the world of work came from. Was it Faustian, or from heavenly places?

I’m not a huge fan of Jordan Peterson, but here he discusses Oulanem and the satanic roots of Marx’s thought with Paul Kengor, author of The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism’s Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration.

May you have peace, reconciliation, and rest this Christmas.

2. More institutions are on the verge of breakdown this Fourth Turning. This time NGOs are about to get rooted up and torn apart.

A recent post from @MarioNawfal on Twitter writes:

“An essay citing Federal Reserve Financial Accounts says U.S. NGOs held $14.12 trillion in assets as of Q2 2025, which is bigger than the combined 2025 GDP of Japan, Germany, and India by roughly 5%…”

You may be thinking that charities involve social housing and soup kitchens, but the legal structure has broadened quite wide over the past several decades.

Charities and their tax exempt status now include universities, hospital systems, foundations, and advocacy groups.

Some of them hold Wall Street, or State pension-fund-size portfolios. Others began as start-ups, funded in small amounts by men like George Soros.

That is, until they apply for federal and state funding. Government funding allows them to scale up.

In turn, they lobby and protest the government that funded them, all while  proselytizing citizens.

While DOGE began exposing some of the corruption earlier this year by showing how much money the government and American’s politicians were laundering through United States of America International Development department (USAID), more work is yet to be done. This time, through the definition of NGOs (tax exempt charities) themselves.

I have high hopes for these institutions to get a tune up this Fourth Turning.

3. I don’t see why these new walk-in/walk-out convenience stores can’t be privatized. There’s no need for public, digital IDs to purchase from them.

Poland has the largest grab-and-go store network in Europe.

It’s like those Amazon test stores we keep hearing about. You walk in with your phone or ID card, grab some items, then you walk out.

No cashier.

No waiting.

Pure convenience.

One thing I’m confused about is the requirement for digital IDs.

Watch the full video here:

Poland is running ahead:

It has the largest grab-and-go autonomous stores network in Europe

It has a citizen app covering most public services and serving as digital ID, driving license, etc.

It has an app to manage all public car parking

And Germany still uses fax machines pic.twitter.com/ubqXn362YM

— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) December 18, 2025

These stores can be championed in the private sector without hesitation. However, one thing does make me hesitate.

I think some people will see these stores as opportunities for free food.

They run in behind the legit customer. A partner in crimes holds the door. Then they bolt with whatever they want.

I’m sure there are ways around this, and if profit is the main the indicator of a successful business then the private sector will find a way.