Crossing a line

Mr. Johnson is not exactly Dan Brown's greatest fan. Nor am I. To make money spreading falsehood and promoting bigotry, if not outright hate, is a sad pathetic existence. But I'll publicly declare that I don't believe even Mr. Brown capable of this. Click here for background. I'm interested in your thoughts.

Who is this guy, and why haven't you heard of him?

His name was Alexander Solzhenitsyn, one of the most important minds of the 20th century. Yet, upon his death on August 3rd, hardly any attention was given to him in the mass media. Why was he important? The first essay I link, here, will give you a good idea. What is he forgotten? Aside from the general lack of history that we sandflies have I also think he doesn't jive well with liberal smugness. For more on that, read his 1978 address at Harvard. It's pretty cool, and well before any of the problems we're experiencing today with Islam and the like.

Have a gander and tell me what you think. I think the man was brilliant, a prophet.

I'll be away the next two weeks, visiting family on Vancouver Island. I MIGHT get a chance to toss a post up while I'm there, and I'll certainly be reading the com-boxes. Until I'm back, however, farewell.

A Post for an Anonymous "Someone"

Sorry it's taken so long to mention good books to read to help explore the Church and all that. You could do far worse than start with C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. Good reading, well-considered, and easy to get hold of.

And yeah, I'll mention more books as we go. Feel free to ask questions. And yeah, others might benefit from the books I drop here. So go forth and read! Oh, and trying to get to Mass wouldn't hurt. :) I'll dig up some info on the liturgy though, since I know not everyone is familiar with it.

Ok, book #2 already (since I'm thinking about it.) Scott Hahn, A Father Who Keeps His Promises will more or less show you how the Christian story unfolds (you'll like this one... it's epic.) I'll post over the next few weeks about it, thoughts on the Catholic world-view, how Christ is necessary to the world-view we all think of as Modern and Western.

Lame Headline

IOC "surprised" by Games web censorship

Really? How could this possibly be a surprise?

It's that time again...

"It's Clobberin' time!"

The quote is, of course, attributed to the Thing. And while the line from Marvel comics isn't scintillating, at least his prose doesn't fall into some of the pitfalls of other, more prominent American writers.


Speaking of which:



Here is one of the best threads I've ever seen covering various errors in Dan Brown's works. No, wait! It's just the errors he made in his new-to-be-made-in-a-movie-starring-Tom-Hanks-and -Tom's-Bad-Haircut! Angels and Demons!

Seriously. And don't stop at the blogger's words; read some of the additions by his commenters. Hilarious. I'm actually glad that Rob Howard is making a second one. It gives me an excuse to continue with the ranting!

Enjoy.

This Week in the News!

So a lot of my students have heard me talk about torture, particularly how the soul of America is fighting through this issue right now. Well, here's an interesting story on how fiction helped certain people sneak torture in through the back door of America.

Wow.

Is it possible that this level of stupidity can really affect policy?

Banners, Crusades, and the Real Point

So, Mr. Corrigan and I have been chatting a bit, and it's interesting how some points slip by when one's head is full of glorious visions, the blood flowing at the thought of storming the gates of ancient cities. So, a word on living metaphors:

I, in certain moments, speak a certain way. And sometimes I think I'm successful in rousing certain emotions in certain people. Now, this is all well and good, and it is my position that the blood gets roused by certain visions because of the virtue of the vision (and not so much my merit... this is in fact important, as I'll get to later.)

Mr. Corrigan recently posted about the Governor General's Award, and how a very virtuous society gave theirs back. So, let's talk about that.

So far I've heard some fairly ringing words about marching forth with Johnson to some wondrous conquest. Thank-you, the sentiment is lovely. But, people, have you taken a look ahead to see where I'm going? Follow me, fine, but you do so at your peril because in me you'll find a rather fallible fellow, a very fallible fellow. Further, if you base anything on a single personality then your attachment lasts only so long. Shoot higher, folks. Do you dare follow the Christ, for example? Because all of the glory of the history I talk up is a reflection of Him. All the Crusades were waged by men who bowed at His feet. And that bowing doesn't mesh too well with the modern mind. There is in that bowing a rather profound letting go of a lot of things.

We wonder at the example of St. Thomas More, executed at the word of Henry VIII for being true to the Church. But are you prepared for the derision he faced? A recent comment caught my eye, in which a young man I respected said he was prepared to be accused of arrogance. That's fine, and many who read this would say similar things. But are you prepared to suffer arrogance? Because that's what the world has for you if you take up the banner of Christ.

Consider: The return of the Governor General's Award Mr. Corrigan cited. That's something that makes my blood sing; it's so noble, so right. But the vast majority of comments I've found mock it. Many are even openly angry, claiming that these Catholics are trying to impose their morality on Morgentaler. Go ahead, dig around and see some of the poisonous things people have said. And yes, you might say that this happens because people don't have a clue it's also true that they are in the majority. And when the majority think you're nuts, well- good luck.

So, Mr. Johnson and the walls of Constantinople. Let's turn that into metaphor, shall we? When I talk about Constantinople what I'm really talking about is taking something back that used to be ours. The same is true of Western civilization. The walls of the West have been taken, the barbarians are within the gates and they are us. So how do we take this proud citadel back? How do we rally beneath the flag of the Church and take back what was lost?

The answer is by being it, living it. You want to be something other than what our industrial-political-consumerist society wants you to be? Try going to Church. You want to fight back against the dying of the West? Consider the priesthood.

I find it fascinating that in this age of "individualism" that everyone is the same, and that our tolerance for people who genuinely think differently is so poor. And yet adolescents ache to be different, yet don't really DO anything different. So? Do it. Do something radical and different and break from the way the West lives. Pray. Read. Think about what the world could be like if there were more breathing, believing, loving Christians.

And as for Chesterton, because Mr. Corrigan and I will refer to him often, remember that none of his opponents found him arrogant. On the contrary, they found him to be one of the humblest men they had met and even his most strident political and philosophical opponents loved him for his brilliance, his warmth, and especially his humour. This is a fight you will win through only the most difficult way, a revolution and reconstruction of the self in the name of God. It is glorious precisely because it is so low and humble, I should say humbling.

Clear?

Okay, okay

I know, I haven't posted in a long time. I'll throw a few things up for you over the weekend. Until then, please enjoy this. Apparently it's only up and free for the next few days! Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion AND Neil Patrick Harris in a free Evil-Scientist-Musical???

Love it.

desiderantes meliorem patriam … “they desire a better homeland…”

In looking over the blog, I've begun to wonder if we've come across as negative. One of my students wrote in on the com boxes that when I initially presented Chesterton to him, he was turned off, because he saw him as arrogant. Once he realized that Chesterton was anything but arrogant, he was open to what he had to say. My concern is that in trashing those things that rightly deserve to be trashed, Mr. Johnson and myself come off as arrogant as well. Arrogance, or even its appearance, can turn people off from the truth.

Like Chesterton, nothing could be further from the truth with us. I know just enough to know how little I know. More importantly, I know enough to know how much more I could be doing in the world. I'm aware enough to see that there are still giants out there, even in our age, strong, uncompromising, yet handling themselves and those around them with charity and grace.

Some of those giants make their living in downtown Edmonton, at a place called the Marian Centre. They live in the middle of the worst part of Edmonton, having taken promises of obedience, chastity and poverty that they take very seriously. They spend their days praying and helping the poor. They make meals for the poor daily, and live off the same things they give out donations. They are part of a larger group called the Madonna Apostolate. Most of them are not Priests or religious, but just regular folks who have chosen to live a different way.

They, like many of us, were shocked to hear that the famous abortionist Dr. Henry Morgantaler was recently given the Order of Canada for his work in spreading abortion clinics across the country. Unlike me, they did something about it.

Go here to read about it, make sure to scroll down to read their powerful letter to the Governor General.

What I'm not watching this summer....

Here's one for you. What's similar between these four world event:

a. In Darfur, tribes of mostly Christians are being tortured, killed, raped and exiled from their homes. There is no secret to this atrocity,; it is fairly outlined. Expert after expert declares that what is needed is "boots on the ground." In other words guys with guns to stop the insanity.

b. In Tibet, a formerly autonomous country, the people are under foreign control and not allowed the practice their own faith. What's worse, they are being forcibly moved to other regions while non-Tibetans are being settled in their area so that they will soon be a minority in their own country. Cultural genocide. Media are not allowed into the region the report to the world what happens there. Tibetans are fighting, almost exclusively through non-violent means, to gain their freedom.

c. In Zimbabwe, the "President" has just won an election. He did so by outlawing his opponent (who fled into hiding) and forcing the people to the polls at gunpoint. His aide has said that those in the West who oppose this can "go hang a thousand times." Many nations would like see free and fair elections, or at least a suspension of the arms trade to Zimbabwe; arms that are currently being employed against her own citizens.

d. Burma has been taken over by a small group of dictators (who renamed the country Myanmar, a name I don't use because it gives the dictators credence), who refused even food and medical supplies into the country for the citizens who lives were destroyed by natural disasters. The Buddhist monks who led protests against the government have been put behind bars, and it is illegal to disagree with the government. Many countries would like to see strict sanctions against this regime.

Guessed yet? Spoiler alert! Scroll down for the answer.







All three of these things are allowed to go on because of the influence of the Chinese government. Through its influence in regions and its veto at the United Nations security council, these activities are allowed to continue. Certainly there are other countries who block and stall action as well (i.e Russia), but they would likely fall to the wayside without the ringleader, China.

Yet this summer we are called to celebrate China in the Olympic Games. China will be the showcase of the world. Not for me. I believe that both spectators and athletes should boycott the Olympics.

But the Olympics are all about sport you say? A trans political gathering of goodwill, that has nothing to do with politics. Nonsense. If that was the case China would never have wanted the Olympics. The reason they are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Olympics is for the attention it will give their country, and the legitimacy it will give their dictatorial regime.

I'm a sports fan. I enjoy watching the Olympics, but some things are more important.

A Few Days Off

School is done, and I'm heading to the mountains to rest, play with my children, sip cider and puff on my new pipe. A very brief hiatus from blogging ensues; see you Tuesday.

Revolution, Heretics, and Crusade

Or:

Why it's Good that I Want to Storm Constantinople, but a Bad Idea nonetheless...

A recent post made me think of a few other posts, and a horde of comments I've heard over the year. As a highschool teacher in a Catholic school (up here in Canada they're publically funded- which is both good and bad) I've had the fortune of teaching Church history. And the interesting thing is that the majority of my classes, which are optional, are young men.

More interesting is how these normal young men react to words like "heretic" and "Crusade." I would hear the word "heretic" in the hallway (generally as a joke) but the question kept coming up in class as well. Is this person a heretic? This historical figure? This pop culture icon? The question as also come up in the com boxes.

This is something that these fellows gave me a lot of when we were studying the Crusades,a s well. I could see that surge in the blood, as if some of them wanted to come with me to storm the gates of Constantinople (and I'll admit that my blood surges at the image too.) They weren't simply interested in the notion that the Crusades were a necessary act of self-defence on behalf of the West, they were excited about it. And they wanted, on some level, to do something about it.

But where was all of that coming from? Admittedly some of it comes from being men, particularly young men, and relishing the notion of adventure. This isn't a bad thing. Some of it doubtless comes some disgust with how the world is and the fact that it was not always so. Some of it is probably a kind of vindication, that the West isn't necessarily the root of all sins as some of our own brethren would have us believe, leading us like lemmings to some kind of cultural suicide. But another part of it must be that yearning that we have for something beyond us which sometimes leads young men to join gangs but is really a yearning for God.

So, since several of those young gentlemen still read this board, let me remind you of a few things. Heresy still exist, and those who adhere to heresies are indeed heretics. But you need to somehow follow the Christian message before you can try to warp the Christian message, so only those people can be heretics. And it's a tragic diagnosis, not a warcry. (Though you all have the cuteness of puppies at play when you say it.)

Nor can we retake Constantinople, or at least it seems very unlikely at this point. And if Islam ever does fall it will not be to swords, but to Truth. So your war, if you wish to take up the banners of the ancient Crusaders, must be one of Truth and not bloodshed.

This would be the same for any Chestertonian revolution. But the good news is that Chesterton would have been happy to bandy words with you over a good beer at a small pub that felt like home. A Chestertonian revolution would be so very fun. We would roar and wave our walking sticks about, grinning and fighting the world because we love it and hate it at once.