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The Civil Rights Movement, Conservatives and Modern Conservatism
By Giles Babb
Revised October 1, 2005
I was born in 1960 and grew up and started to come of age at the same time that two monumental developments began to gather strength in the United States (ie, "CONUS’):
Many (I bet most) people have tended to see the advent of both Modern Conservatism and the Civil Rights Movement as diametrically opposed to one another, based on some of the currents suggested by Electoral Maps (primarily those of 1964 and 1968). On the other hand, given that the Modern Conservative Movement and the Civil Rights Movement did happen at nearly the same time, the advent of Modern Conservatism and the Civil Rights Movement should instead perhaps be viewed as different---but in many ways not at first appreciated similar----manifestations of the same "powerful and almost irresistible aspiration that people have for liberation" (cf Libertatis nuntius I, element 1) and hence as "principal signs of the times" requiring interpretation "in the light of the gospel" (cf Gaudium et Spes, element 4). It’s my firm belief, therefore, that the advent of Modern Conservatism and the Civil Rights Movement actually occurred at the same time for basically the same underlying reasons: The universal duty and hence the right of each and every person to develop fully with dignity as an individual in order to fully participate in the political, economic, social and spiritual life of their community, the nation and hence the world as a whole.
The key to the compatibility of both the Modern Conservative Movement and the Civil Rights Movement, I believe, lies in the strengths as well as the limitations and challenges of the following very closely related concepts:
The ensuing essay will also show that whenever CONUS and other places around the world fail to adhere to these principles, they come back to bite everyone in the ass as a result of the evil structures that were created as a result of those failures, and the causes and effects of those failures can only be healed (Revelation 22:2; Dives in Misericordia, elements 135-136) when people return (cf Luke 15:11-32) to a correct interpretation and application of those principles. Finally, this essay intends to show that the aims of the Civil Rights Movement in achieving further economic, social and political participation for African Americans are best met through some of the unifying principles espoused by Modern Conservaitves, namely, that of an ownership society in a culture of life and solidarity.
NOTE: As of the above-given date, this is the single-most largest article at Eingedi. Therefore, in order to facilitate navigation (hopefully), the internal links are provided for each of the sub-sections of this essay:
Federalism and the Principle of Subsidiarity in the Civil Rights Movement and the Modern Conservative Movement
Government Solutions are Always Limited Solutions: The Modern Conservative Movement
Development Challenges for a "Fourth-World" Nation: African-Americans After Slavery and Following the Civil Rights Movement
Moral and Spiritual Dimensions of Authentic Human Development
The Culture of Death: A Gingerbread House for African Americans and Society in General
Life Itself: The Ultimate Civil Right
Solidarity in a Culture of Life: The Only Safe Way to the Future
Federalism and the Principle of Subsidiarity in the Civil Rights Movement and the Modern Conservative Movement
Federalism
The newly-formed United States incorporated the Subsidiarity Principle into the Constitution in developing the concept of Federalism, particularly as this is spelled out in the 10th Amendment and expounded unofficially in Federalist No. 45. It is this concept of Federalism that has been central to the debate on the role and reach of government during both the Civil Rights Movement and the Modern Conservative Movement.
ClickHERE for the definition of Federalism
Subsidiarity
Although most likely not the first time in recorded history, given that the simple common sense of the Subsidiarity Principle is undoubtedly rooted in the Natural Law, perhaps one of the first Biblically recorded applications of the Principle of Subsidiarity occurred at the suggestion of Moses' father-in-law Jethro (cf
Segregation: "Subsidiarity" and "Federalism" Irresponsibly Exercised---The Civil Rights Movement Responds
....the skillful and constant practice of subsidiarity assures those in power against having the power taken away from them, which in reality is a power to serve others
Although the Magisterium of the Pastors of the Church has stated the above, Jesus essentially would say the same (cf Luke 12:42-48; Romans 13:1). In accordance with the principles of modern conservatism and the Principle of Subsidiarity, the lowest level of governance is the human person with a properly formed conscience, and the practice of Subsidiarity requires a high level of personal governance and hence a high level of self discipline. When personal and collective attitudes---as manifested by a lack of self-discipline---create evil structures (cf Isaiah 59:8; Reconciliatio et Paenitentia element 16) tolerated or even mandated at lower levels of governance, higher levels of governance do have the right and the duty to intervene (cf Luke 12:42-48; Rerum Novarum, element 52; Summa theologiae I-II q.93, a.3, obj.2).
In accordance with the principles of modern conservatives and the Principle of Subsidiarity, such higher-level intervention, however, should take place only when (for whatever reason) insufficient local capacity or local commitment exists. Such "local capacity," and "local commitment," however, exists "in spirit and in truth" (cf John 4:21-24) only when it is based on right standards of conduct, which in turn must be rooted in right reason (Summa theologiae I-II q.93, a.3, obj.2). In the South, a lack of "local capacity" and "local commitment"---and best described as outright recalcitrance---in implementing and enforcing the 14th and 15th Amendments led to new evil structures under Jim Crow, as those who, during the Civil War and its aftermath, had lost but regained anew their economic and political power began to deal shrewdly (cf Exodus Ch 1) with the prime and initial subjects of the 14th and 15th Amendments. As with any kind of recalcitrance, the authority ultimately responsible for compelling compliance (the Federal Government, in this case) had it well within its right to intervene, and the people, in mobilizing for various non-violent efforts of the Civil Rights movement, had it well within their right to demand it.
Although it’s true that fences make for good neighbors (cf Genesis 13:8-9), man nevertheless was destined by God to live in relationship with other people. Authentic human interactions were ordained by God as a means of authentic progress (cf Genesis 2:18; 1:28-31; Gaudium et Spes, elements 24-25). The kind of segregation that developed under Jim Crow was an affront to the dignity and vocation of mankind to live and interact in community with others. This stunting of authentic and freely exercised interactions between different peoples was a blasphemy of the very image and likeness of God which man in his infinitely and divinely created diversity must be an expression of (cf Libertatis conscientia, elements 32-33).
Prosperity and Freedom Come only Through True Justice and True Solidarity Wrought by the Civil Rights Movement
It has been said that ‘development is the new name for peace’ (cf Populorum Progressio, element 76). Authentic development, however, can only be sustained when it is equitable (cf Isaiah 32:17; World Hunger--A Challenge for All: Development in Solidarity, Pontifical Council "Cor Unum,"element 31). It should be no surprise whatever that the South as a whole---both for blacks and whites----generally continued in a state of stunted economic and social development, discontent, fear (Diuturnum, element 24) and state-sanctioned violence (cf Summa theologiae I-II q.93, a.3, obj.2) that truly changed only after the separate and unequal scourge of segregation was for all intents and purposes outlawed (cf Luke 12:42-48; Rerum Novarum, element 52) by Section 601 of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The transformation, wrought largely through the legislation obtained through the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement, of the closed, isolated society that the South and certain aspects of CONUS as a whole had been as a result of such racial segregation, has perhaps been a social and economic miracle that many people have largely taken for granted---at least when compared with what has happened to other closed societies and economies (cf Centesimus Annus, element 33) in that same period of time (1964-present). Continued segregation that had as its underlying intent the retardation of authentic human development (cf Centesimus Annus, element 38) was creating a severe economic and to a certain extent moral drag on the rest of CONUS and possibly the world, not to mention the South. Given that much of the segregation was, in a sense, rooted in a fear of competition (cf Exodus Ch 1), it could to a certain extent be construed as a monopoly of sorts, that was, like all monopolies eventually are, worthy of a higher level of government intervention in dismantling or rectifying (cf Luke 12:42-48; Rerum Novarum, element 52; Centesimus Annus, element 48).
The Ultimate "Lesson" of the past 50 Years
In some ways it was truly ironic that, just as walls that were constructed partially out of an improper interpretation of the "Principle of Subsidiarity" were coming down in CONUS, walls constructed out of an improper interpretation of that same Principle were going up elsewhere (Berlin, of course being the most blatant example---and a most bizarre one at that since it was constructed to keep people in, verses keeping others out). One thing that the perpetrators of the two evil structures refused to accept are the following points
It would take the better part of another 30 years, but the end result would be a further proof that any kind of evil structure (John 8:34, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia element 16) that fails to respect the dignity and freedom of each human person to authentically develop as an individual in community with other people for the greater glory of God is an affront to the very image of God in which they were created and destined (cf Libertatis conscientia, element 32-33). As in CONUS, such a fear-based (Diuturnum, element 24) monopolistic system of social, political and economic isolation was destined for collapse (cf Centesimus Annus, elements 33 and 48). In spite of a certain amount of apparent progress that proved superficial and ultimately illusory, it collapsed under the weight of its own foolishness and inefficiency. In addition to the well-documented instances of food shortages, the environment as a whole took a big hit (a June, 1991 issue of National Geographic, in an article titled East Europe’s Dark Dawn, provided some classic illustrations). Given the hyper-materialism of the system and the need/mandate to meet production quotas at all cost, there certainly was no room for any expenditures for environmental control technologies and the like, not to mention investing in newer and more efficient (less polluting and ultimately less costly) production processes and equipment. Furthermore, since the land subjected to environmental degradation was held in common (as was everything else), there was no incentive whatever to protect the investment by lobbying the government or exerting citizen action pressure on the industries or facilities involved. Other than through fear, which is always a poor way of obtaining virtuous behavior (cf Diuturnum, element 24), no one had or felt a personal stake in what they were doing (cf Summa theolgiae II-II, q.66, a.2).
Other disasters and mistakes associated with a mentality whereby "production" or "performance" goes on at any cost and regardless of whether things are truly ready perhaps were those involving the Chernobyl accident as well as those occurring in the Soviet space program. Examples include the Soyuz 1 crash, as well as the ignominious test failures of the N-1 (the Soviet version of the Saturn V). At the very least, the super-booster failure was a classic failure of bureaucracy, given that each of the 30 engines of the 1st stage were reportedly made by separately contracted "companies." Furthermore, the lack of true solidarity in the N-1 program---as illustrated by several apparent ego and personality clashes that could never be easily ameliorated in an amoral and soulless system that discouraged a True sense of Love for what was being done---has been perhaps one of the most under-reported examples of all that was so wrong with such a rigid economic and political system. The shoot-down of Flight 007 in 1983 may be another example, whereby in such a system no one has any incentive to think for themselves and re-evaluate the use of set procedures when circumstances suggest it may be best to do so.
Some of the most unregenerate bigots at times read into the Civil Rights movement some kind of Soviet/KGB/Commintern conspiracy to subvert the US Constitution, CONUS' sovereignty and hence its political and economic system of private property rights. Quite to the contrary, CONUS’ tearing down of the walls of segregation in many ways flew right in the face of what various Communist and other totalitarian and authoritarian systems throughout the world had done, were doing and in some cases would continue to do for a few more decades in impeding the free social, political and economic interactions of people. Perhaps one of the greatest ironies for the bigots who had failed to understand that any kind individualist ideology still requires true solidarity with and responsibility for others (cf Genesis 4:8-10), was for them to hear reports of people in Eastern Europe singing "We Shall Overcome" as the age of the Communist dictators and collectivistic systems that so many of them supposedly hated and feared suffered a major setback (cf Genesis 4:15; Revelation 13:3; 17:8) in 1989-91. Just as "Solidarity" in Eastern Europe successfully and for the most part peacefully dismantled an oppressive and evil structure, the solidarity (cf John 13:35; James 3:18) of the black churches and many religious leaders of all races in general successfully and for the most part peacefully dismantled an oppressive and evil structure during the civil Rights movement. In both cases, a high level of violence and bloodshed was averted. Although police brutality and violence did occur in CONUS (as they also did in Eastern Europe), I sometimes wonder how much worse (ie, violent and chaotic) things could have been if both the Civil Rights movement and the anti-collectivist movement had only been couched in light of the kind of classist and racist confrontation and conflict that the various atheistic and (de-facto) heretical liberationist (cf Libertatis nuntius) theologies, Liberal Capitalist theories (cf Ecclesia in America, element 56), ideologies of different kinds (cf Quadragesimo Anno; Divini Redemptoris; Mit Brennender Sorge) and movements have attempted at various times in the past 200 years. In both cases, a True understanding of what the Principle of Subsidiarity requires (cf John 13:35; Genesis 4:8-10; Catechism of the Catholic Church, elements 1883-1885), as well as the re-emerging (cf Ecclesiastes 1:9-10) Principle of Solidarity (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, elements 38-39), is perhaps the ultimate lesson of the past 40-50 years, and possibly the most valuable lesson in bringing the Modern Conservative Movement to maturity. In the end it is this kind of understanding that will eventually bring the Civil Rights movement to maturity as it begins to merge into the Modern Conservative movement in order to gain true and lasting economic and social development for the previously disenfranchised
Government Solutions are Always Limited Solutions:
The Modern Conservative Movement
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With freedom goes responsibility. Sir Winston Churchill once said you can have 10,000 regulations and still not have respect for the law. We might start with the 10 Commandments. If we lived by the Golden Rule, there would be no need for other laws.
Ronald Reagan in 1973
Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love….
….compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government
And some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor’s touch or a pastor’s prayer. Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity,
Effective civil government that respects the right to the free practice of religion acknowledges that the teaching of virtue best occurs via subsidiary functions such as the family and church, synagogue, and/or mosque (cf Immortale Dei, elements 11, 19-22; Dignitatis Humanae, elements 2-8; Familiaris Consortio, elements 36 and 45) where solidarity and true love exists (as opposed to an impersonal governmental department or bureaucrat). In the end, the only thing government can do is to punish and enforce via laws and regulations (cf Summa theolgiae I-II, q.96, a.2) when an individual, instead of through doing good out of free choice and with a properly formed conscience----and out of love to do good simply because it’s good (cf 1 John 4:18)-----instead chooses to do otherwise in a way that can endanger the common good. Power fills a vacuum. In such a vacuum of self-discipline and just and effective self-government (cf Judges 21:25), the opportunity for a strong, top-down model of governance (if not ultimately dictatorship), prone to abuse if not outright corruption, can result instead (cf 1 Samuel Ch 8). Partially for these and other more practical reasons of economics and logistics, any kind of government intervention from higher-up should, to the fullest extent possible, be as brief as possible in establishing new "structures of the common good" (cf World Hunger--A Challenge for All: Development in Solidarity, Pontifical Council "Cor Unum,"element 25; Centesimus Annus, element 48). Hence is the constant conundrum, perhaps, in determining when or if the time comes to end such "brief" periods of higher-up intervention. Current continuing examples, perhaps, include various provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, certain aspects of the New Deal and Great Society that may need either discontinuance, transformation, or divestiture to lower levels of governance (ie, State or local) or to intermediary associations such as public-private partnerships or so-called "faith-based initiatives" (all examples of which the Principle of Subsidiarity encompasses).
Maturity Through Experience (cf Hebrews 5:13-6:1; 12:4-12; Gaudium et Spes, element 23)
Granted, the advent of the modern conservative movement was, unfortunately, spurred somewhat by racist fears and hatreds (sadly, a look at the 1964 and 1968 Electoral Maps will pretty much bear this out) as well as fear of what was at that time seen as the encroachment of totalitarian, collectivistic systems as a result of the apparent successes (cf Divini Redemptoris, element 23) such systems had been having by the early 1960’s. A closer look, however, at what was going on will show some deeper undercurrents of the mind, heart, and spirit (Gaudium et Spes, element 4), and that the advent of the modern conservative movement---around the same time that the Civil Rights movement began to truly transform the economic and social fabric of CONUS---took place for other ultimately more significant and hence altruistic reasons beside racism, a fear of the Soviets, a desire to preserve the "military-industrial complex," or a desire to ensure that only those who "have" (ie, "The Rich" and "Big Business") continue to "get" (ie, "rich" and "richer," via tax cuts or tax loopholes).
Although many "modern" conservative thinkers and leaders such as Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley had by 1960 already conveyed what such a "conservative manifesto" should entail, perhaps the person who deserves the closest evaluation of the reasons why such a collective evolution in thought and ultimately policy that gradually began taking place in CONUS and much of the rest of the world is the person who carried the movement’s banner to the top of the hill in 1980: Ronald Reagan. Sure, some people might contend that Reagan lacked core values since he, a one-time New Deal Democrat, had by 1960 made what seemed to be a 180. On the other hand, it is worth considering whether his core values truly did change. No matter how much true wisdom and knowledge a person obtains in life, most peoples’ core values really don’t change that much in their lifetime. Assuming that Reagan’s core values never really changed, one can conjecture that he always had as one of his interests how to achieve---for both himself and his fellow man----authentic human development, which of course has economic, social, spiritual and moral components. The only way to reconcile his transformation with whatever unchanging constant core values he had is to conclude that he was constantly in search of "a more excellent way" (cf 1 Corinthians 12:31) in building (cf Psalm 127:1) his "shining city on a hill" (cf Matthew 5:14).
Individual and Collective Evolutions in Thought
Ronald Reagan certainly wasn’t the only one to have made this kind of evolution in thinking. Other people (I’m one of them, actually) also tested the spirits (cf 1 John 4:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22) in their search for that which is right and good in their desire to see good accomplished, and arrived at some of the same conclusions after a long journey----"to Hell and back"----through the "bewilderness" (cf Dark Night of the Soul, Book 1:Ch.9; Book 2:Chs. 5, 8, 9, 16, by St. John of the Cross). As with Reagan, their core values probably didn’t change, merely their understanding of the means of achieving the objectives manifested by those core values. Although the modern conservative movement arose partially out of a fear of and anger with the potential and in some cases true negative results of higher-level government authority, part of it arose out of a frustration with the ineffectuality of such government in providing for and preserving authentic human development, be it social, economic, moral or spiritual. Many came to progressively realize that in addition to the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse (cf Judges 21:25; 1 Samuel Ch 8) when government exceeds some optimal level of size and involvement, it can essentially wear both itself out and the people dependent upon it (cf Exodus 18:13-27). After nearly 80 years of seeing both the excesses, failures and outright dangers of both Liberal Capitalism and the "state capitalism" of Communism, Socialism and even the "social assistance state" in general, people throughout the world progressively came to desire "a more excellent way" in which to build and preserve that shining city that they desired for themselves, for their families and for others. The desires of those in the modern conservative movement, as were those of the Civil Rights Movement----both of whom desired a better environment in which to establish and preserve an authentic human development----were indeed manifestations of the same "powerful and almost irresistible aspiration that people have for liberation" (cf Libertatis nuntius I, element 1). A liberation, that is, whose time had come.
Perhaps the ultimate proof---both nationally and internationally---of the following quote is the contrast between what CONUS undertook in the 1980's, and what eventually happened to the Soviet Union and the entire Eastern Bloc of collectivist 'national security regimes' (Centesimus Annus, element 47):
It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits
Proof positive, perhaps, that the primary key to preserving freedom from---as well as ultimately winning for others their liberation from---the shackles and fear of such collectivistic "national security regimes" is to ensure that freedom in places already free is protected, and improved upon and peacefully renewed when necessary. Such were perhaps the ultimate good fruits to result, during these past 40-50 years, of both the Civil Rights movement and the modern conservative movement.
Development Challenges for a "Fourth-World" Nation:
African-Americans After Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement
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The above sub-heading pretty much speaks for itself. I really don’t think it takes much explanation w/r the situation facing African Americans in particular, but all of CONUS in general following the Civil War and thereafter the Jim Crow segregation that was eventually brought down by the Civil Rights Movement. It’s a price tag that the entire country and the world as a whole is still paying for the unsustainable (cf
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** Many of these countries gained their independence, interestingly, in the 1960’s, thus becoming still one more of the "signs" (cf Gaudium et Spes, element 4) of the "aspiration that people have for liberation" (cf Libertatis nuntius I, element 1), just as these aspirations were being manifested elsewhere in the world, CONUS included |
The Praxis of Confrontation: The Militant Collectivism of the Black Panthers
The solidarity exhibited in bringing about the monumental changes effected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act had many of the characteristics of that which helped bring down the various collectivist national security regimes of Eastern Europe 25 years later. Unfortunately, there were two (2) other movements or ideologies that had their advent in the middle of the 1960’s which had as their origin in, and to a large part the same fruits as, those attempted by those various Eastern Bloc countries on the one hand and various supposedly non-aligned developing nations on the other. One movement, of course, was the Black Panthers and similar groups that more or less wedded the Marxist-Leninist collectivist tactics, of class confrontation, to racial (you could almost say racist) themes that also employed confrontation and conflict as the means if not the ends. Although such movements at times included a form of community solidarity in various efforts at mobilizing people to seek ostensibly-positive change and action, the fruits (cf
The Black Nationalist Movement: An "Isolationist" Model of Development
The other movement has been a black separatist/nationalist movement or ideology, the most visible or well-known sub-groups of which were the movements under Malcolm X and thereafter Louis Farrakhan. This kind of ideology/theology, regardless of whether it was either part of an organized movement or simply an isolationist or insular individual or collective attitude, likewise has proven just as counter-productive as the closed societies created by segregation were. Once again, all one needs to do is to see the examples elsewhere in the world of what results (cf
Isolationism and Collectivism Merge: The Culture of Perpetual Victimhood E-merges
There has been the development in the past 20 years of an "ideology"/attitude that seems to be some cross between a desire for independence and isolation in bringing about social and economic development within the African-American community, but in league with other sectors of society who have become dependent on the "social assistance state" in supposedly bringing about such social and economic development. The result has been a mutation of sorts that advocates and agitates for a "culture" of Perpetual Victim-hood that demands amelioration at all cost to the rest of the economy and society, all the while it insinuates a most inexplicable mindset wherein to succeed through the "normal" means of a good education, hard work, and "following/obeying the rules/Law" is looked upon as a "white thang." This phenomena was described quite well in a December, 1989,
Work to do and Money to Make
During the most turbulent and violent period in the 1960's, Atlanta, in spite of being in the heart of the Deep South, was given the title by longtime Mayor Hartsfield as "the city too busy to hate." Although it no doubt also had its faults of segregation, discrimination and violence as elsewhere (keep in mind that Lester Maddox' Pickrick restaurant was located there), the tremendous business and economic development that occurred during that time was perhaps the best proof of any at that time that 'development is the new name for peace' (cf
Moral and Spiritual Dimensions of Authentic Human Development
return to topThe problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advance in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past 2,000 years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh
When man works, not only does he develop his faculties, but he fulfills himself. He learns, he develops his faculties, and he emerges from and transcends himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is more precious than any kind of wealth that can be amassed. It is what a man is, rather than what he has that counts. Technical progress is of less value than advances towards greater justice, wider brotherhood and a more humane social environment. Technical progress may supply the material of human advance but it is powerless to actualize it.
Gaudium et Spes
We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.... This kind of positive revolution of values is our best defense against communism
Man’s existence has been subject from the beginning to limitations established by God (cf Genesis 2:16-17), and hence such existence is subject, in the natural world, not only to biological laws, but also to moral ones, which he violates at not only his own risk but at the risk of others as well (Evangelium Vitae, element 42). In addition to the destruction of the natural environment, of more serious concern, perhaps, is the destruction of the human environment, particularly, of the moral conditions necessary in fostering an authentic "human ecology" (Centesimus Annus, element 38).
Formation of Consciences: An Essential Component of Authentic Human Development
Authentic human development "does not derive from money, material assistance, or technological means, but from the formation of consciences and the gradual maturing of ways of thinking and patterns of behavior" (Redemptoris Missio, element 58). Such consciences must be formed in a Truth which derives from the Eternal Law. Otherwise, the resultant personal, individual transgressions of the Law, in conjunction with, as a cause of, or as a consequence of other individual/personal transgressions of the Law, will continue to propagate various evil structures (Catechism of the Catholic Church, element 1869; Reconciliatio Paenitentia, element 16), and these "incarnated" structures will in turn more boldly widen the path (Matthew 7:13) to destruction for individuals. Our whole society, ultimately functioning in many cases under unjust laws----or at best the unjust interpretation, implementation, or enforcement of those laws----and untruthful operating principles in business and government, has throughout history suffered great harm. Ultimately, as lies and untruth have spread (cf Revelation 16:13-14) at times, a Famine for the hearing [and the correct interpretation (cf 2 Peter 1:20-21; 3:16; Acts 8:30-31) and application of those Truths has, not surprisingly, resulted in an actual famine of bread, wars, and at the very least continued environmental degradation [to name only a few evils (Revelation Ch. 6], because so much has been based on Untruth, which only leads to DEATH---both physical and, most importantly, spiritual.
The Law and the righteousness inherent in it is therefore essential to Life (cf Deuteronomy 30:15-30; Evangelium Vitae, elements 48-49) both in this age/life and in the age/life to come. The only recourse for long-term survival, therefore, is to live righteously, which----whether people like it or not---is to accept (cf Hebrews 10:38-39; 11:6) that all true (ie, "just") law comes from an ultimate, eternal and perfect source of law (cf Proverbs 8:15), and to furthermore accept that a failure to comply shall eventually---one way or another---result in "legal action" (cf Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 19:1-19) initiated by that Law Giver .
The Centrality of Family and Faith in Authentic Human Development
Authentic human development does have a moral and ultimately spiritual component (cf Habakkuk 2:4; Psalm 127:1; Centesimus Annus, elements 34-47)
. A major component in the development and maintenance of a society based on such an authentic human ecology is a stable family structure that provides for the initial instruction of the youngest members of that society (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, element 2221-2226; Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6). Unfortunately, the excesses, enticements (cf Ezekiel 16:34) and inducements (cf Revelation 13:4, 17) of both Liberal Capitalism as well as the various forms of "state capitalism"----neither of which had respect for the rights and duties of religion (ie, "faith") or the family in establishing a just and prosperous moral order (cf Immortale Dei, elements 37-38; Divini Redemptoris, elements 16 and 21)---have taken their toll on society as a whole over the past few centuries.
The Culture of Death:
A Gingerbread House for African Americans and Society in General
To educate without a value system based on truth is to abandon young people to moral confusion, personal insecurity and easy manipulation.
So Many Misconceptions
So Many Evil Deceptions
Abortion is the greatest deception that has plagued the black church since Lucifer himself
Not fully appreciated at times is the toll that the slave trade and its aftermath ultimately has had on the various families that were destroyed both in Africa as well as all places to which those slaves were taken. It only stands to reason that the long-lasting reverberations (cf
Matthew 7:17-20; Reconciliatio et Paenitentia element 16) of this is partially manifested in the high levels of out-of-wedlock births, AIDS, and "black on black" violence, partially as a result of the breakdown (cf Rerum Novarum, element 60; Divini Redemptoris, element 16) of a proper environment necessary for learning and establishing the proper moral conditions that are essential in accomplishing authentic human development (cf John 8:34, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia element 16; Centesimus Annus, element 38).Part of this breakdown is also a result of the disruption of family life that occurred following the end of Slavery, when the diaspora in search of better-paying opportunities in the industrial North frequently left single-parent households behind in the South. Later, the excesses of Liberal Capitalism---which in its amorality had no respect for the right and duty of parents to have sufficient time to be with their families and to provide moral and spiritual guidance---certainly didn’t help either. Thereafter, it certainly didn’t help that jobs previously available to those with limited or overly specialized skills began disappearing as various industries or business sectors either disappeared or changed sufficiently so that many African Americans (and also others) no longer had the kind of work and hence income to bring into the communities as they perhaps did at one point.
Finally, with a certain number of blacks making their way into the middle and upper-middle class and with the end, for the most part, of housing discrimination (partially as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other legislation) and their resultant diaspora to the suburbs and exurbs, many predominantly Black communities that actually did have a certain amount of community structure and solidarity started losing the very role models and leaders they otherwise would have had in teaching and encouraging through example others still looking to move up. Mix that with the social evils permeating society in general as the 20th Century progressed and moved toward a close (cf
Ecclesia in America, element 21), and you have a huge problem facing CONUS as a whole and the "Fourth World" nation in particular (cf Luke 5:33-39; 11:26). One that certainly would never be rectified through either an amoral and in some cases narcotic-like "social assistance state" or a culture of perpetual victimhood, given the numerous "structures of sin" (Reconciliatio et Paenitentia element 16) that had fully manifested themselves in many urban and in some cases even suburban and exurban communities by the beginning of the 1980’s (cf Ecclesia in America, element 21).Economic progress in an amoral environment is perhaps what happened to many blacks after ‘movin’ on up’ (cf theme song from
The Jeffersons):"Carter High, on the southwest corner of Dallas, is in the city's most prosperous minority neighborhood...
...The students of the black middle class had adopted the worst of the two worlds: the violence and contempt for authority of black street life and the shallow materialism of white suburbia...
Parents who were caught up in preserving their hard-won lifestyles were unaware of the more fundamental responsibilities....the result was children who had all the outer trappings of success but were deprived of the underpinnings of success: strong role models and the moral guidance necessary for keeping it all in perspective....their parents either didn't see what was happening or didn't want to see."
Interestingly, all of this may be a delayed-effect symptom (cf
Matthew 7:17-20) of some previous conditions (Reconciliatio et Paenitentia element 16). Dallas, by the time of the JFK assassination, had become perhaps the poster child for all that can be bad about the extreme individualism of so-called "liberal" capitalism (cf Quadragesimo anno, element 46, Sollicitudo rei Socialis, element 21; Ecclesia in America, element 56):"Dallas was not a caring city, but it was efficient...in the conscience of its citizens, the Kennedy assassination was a critical correction, one that had kept the new world they were building from becoming a brave new world of technological fascism."
Ironically, this was a city that had, according to the article, upwards of 800 churches of various denominations. Unfortunately, therein perhaps lay part of the problem, since many of those denominations (or at least some individual congregations, pastors or members) apparently had latched onto some flawed theologies or attitudes that could be construed as religious materialism---or make that materialistic religion. Either way, there was certainly plenty of idolatry, which can only be rooted out one person at a time, and which of course doesn’t usually happen overnight, and not necessarily in "only" the 25 years between the JFK assassination and the Dallas Carter fiasco. Meanwhile, a would-be assassin (John Hinkley), as well as the legal basis of the "culture of death" in CONUS (Roe v. Wade) would originate from that ‘brave new world.’ Somewhere therein may very well lie an object lesson of some kind….
Time will literally tell.
Culture and Government in their War Against Family and Faith
Authentic human development takes place one person, one child and one family at a time (
A complete disconnect (cf
Divini ilius magistri, element 77) furthermore now exists between "government" entities----such as public schools----and families in teaching virtue, with only one example being how the educational enforcement concept of "you get one at school, you’re getting a worse one when you get home" has apparently fallen out of favor, coupled with overzealous and over-reaching Child Protective Services and law enforcement agencies interfering with parents by getting all bent out of shape over every little routine (Psalm 51:7-8) instance of a bruised butt from a well-deserved and divinely-ordained visit with "Mr. Belt" (cf Proverbs 23:13-14; 20:30; Sirach 30:1-12; Hebrews 12:6), instead of spending their time and resources on the actual instances of abuse that occur where neither the lives nor the education in virtue of the "little ones" (cf Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 9:42) are valued or desired. Certainly, with the near-implosion, via fornication, adultery, divorce and addiction, of the family structure, it also doesn’t help when there is neither a father nor a mother, not to mention both, to provide this necessary enforcement as part of the education in virtue. Consequently, the police department (ie, prison system----government, in other words) and hence ultimately the fires of Hell (the ultimate prison) are necessary in "finishing" a job originally intended to be done by parents (cf Proverbs 23:13-14).Culture and Government in their War Against African-American Families and Faith
For too long the black family structure has been systematically divided,
especially here in America
We must start paying more attention to one another’s needs
We must start showing more respect for one another
I’m talking about a mind revolution---- a 360-degree mind evolution
Redefining our purpose, organizing, utilizing our resources to gain focus, so we can produce positive changes. This is serious
Although the four (4) vices of fornication, adultery, divorce and addiction are always freely chosen by the people committing them, evil structures driven by a love for money have helped facilitate those choices. This includes to a larger part the individualist ideology of Liberal Capitalism as well as those of the "state capitalism" of the various collectivist systems of the "social assistance state" ---all of which have contributed to social conditions that destroy much of both spiritual life, family life, and hence moral life (cf Divini Redemptoris, element 16; Exodus 5:1-5; Divini ilius magistri, element 73). This phenomenon certainly hasn’t helped the efforts to foster the continued development of whatever fragile family and other social structures that existed in African American communities following the abolition of slavery. The responses ----namely through the "state capitalism" of the social assistance state---to the various well-documented social pathologies that have developed in more recent decades are merely symptoms (cf Matthew 7:17-20 John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:22; Proverbs 26:11) rather than cures for an overall society (ie, all races, in other words) that respects neither human life nor the true (cf John 4:21-24) dignity of those that have that life.
Although it’s true that the development of any kind of "Fourth World" nation wasn’t going to take place overnight, development of the moral environment necessary in bringing about equitable and sustainable development has been severely retarded by the destruction of the sanctuaries of life, love and wisdom that God ordained families of all races to be (Evangelium Vitae, element 6)---and this to the peril of civilization itself (cf Familiaris Consortio, element 86). It should thus be no mystery why so much despair and unrest (cf Isaiah 32:17) remains as the Fourth-World "nation" that CONUS inherited in the middle of the 19th Century---as well as the individual souls within that "nation"---still struggles to "overcome" and, by latching onto what all too often become seductive (cf Ezekiel 16:34) but ultimately empty promises of certain bankrupt if not corrupt ideologies, has been its own worst enemy (cf John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:15-22; Jesus Walks by Kanye West) at times.
It’s critical, the situation is pitiful
Bear in mind, you gotta’ find somethin’ spiritual
We never gain, cause we blame it on the system
You oughta’ listen whether Muslim or Christian
or any other type religion or creed
Cause what we need is less greed
We can't continue to kill ourselves
We gotta build and expand our wealth
So one more time I'll design a rhyme divine
to educate and elevate your mind
Nowadays we gotta fight to live
Human means we got a right to live
without the homicide, without the genocide
Don't tell me let it slide, I'm feelin ghettofied
So be a soldier of truth
Protect the lives of our youth….
….But now I meditate, so I can get it straight
My thoughts penetrate, so I control my fate
So be advised by the wise and conscious one
We take the easy way out, too often son
We better get some kind of work ethic
Realize it and correct it…
….So get the money, but spend it wisely
......Realize that the key is for each,
to master his own destiny
Deal with reality….
When People are the "Problem"
The "maxim" issuing from "Uncle Joe" is actually the child of a failed earlier system: The extreme individualism of Liberal Capitalism that characterized the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the various abuses that occurred as a result of a refusal to recognize the social as well as the private aspect of economic activity and the property and capital used in and resulting from it (cf Quadragesimo Anno, element 46). This materialistic system essentially destroyed any sense of community solidarity that should otherwise exist between and among those performing the work and those directing it (cf Rerum Novarum, elements 6 and 28, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10), and it furthermore regarded the human beings performing such work as essentially disposable and replaceable commodities with a dignity little higher than the equipment, raw materials and animals used in that work (cf Rerum Novarum, element 59). Individualistic ideology and praxis ultimately created an evil philosophy and structure whereby only the "strongest" and "fittest" ---be they individuals or companies----deserved dignity and hence survival. As with any kind of amoral system left unchecked, dictatorship was inevitable (cf Judges 21:25; 1 Samuel, Ch 8). Initially, it was manifested by the various business monopolies (cf Quadragesimo Anno, elements 99-109) that stifled markets, distorted prices, and had a total disregard for working conditions. At the beginning of the 20th Century, however, dictatorship as we’ve come to know the term indeed came to many places with the advent of new amoral and ultimately immoral systems, namely, Fascism, Communism, and the various "milder" variants of state capitalism: Socialism and the excesses (cf Rerum Novarum, element 67) of the "social assistance state."
The state capitalism that has seen extensive use since the beginning of the 20th Century at its heart is also materialistic in nature, and is so prolific, pervasive and ultimately pernicious because it has ample opportunities to propagate itself as a result of the myriad of problems that result when amoral or outright immoral behaviors and structures are helped along by a disregard for the eternal moral law. Any of these systems will ultimately assign monetary/economic value to life, since people are regarded simply as material to be exploited as a way of raising, increasing, or preserving capital (be it via the profits of business or via the taxes of government). As long as your existence is economically justified by either the government, business or society at large----great. But once you’ve been deemed useless, or a problem whose solution involving your continued existence can no longer be economically justified by either government, business, or society at large----it’s good-bye. You’re a "problem" that requires the Stalinist "solution." Only the "fit" as defined by a criteria established via the law of force rather than force of law [since a "law" that permits such moral evil is no law (cf Summa theologiae I-II q.93, a.3, obj.2)] are allowed to exist. People in general are regarded simply as material that can be used when and if it’s profitable and convenient, and thereafter disposed of when and if it’s profitable and convenient (cf Evangelium Vitae, element 12).
A Brave New, Dangerous and Unjust World
In such an amoral and ultimately immoral "system" or "culture" (since the anarchy of amorality will always degenerate to the basest and immoral common denominator of violence and barbarism), where the individual and collective love of money can be taken to its basest of extremes in getting the basest of results (ie, the basest of "pleasures"), it should be no surprise that human decency and respect for the dignity of the human person will take a huge hit---especially for the most vulnerable of society. In this case, this means the unborn children as yet known only to God (cf Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-16), the sick and infirm, the mentally and emotionally handicapped, and the very old. In such a brave new, dangerous and unjust world the sick and infirm, the mentally and emotionally handicapped, and the very old are regarded as "unacceptable" economic burdens to society, and economic development in general (cf Evangelium Vitae, element 12). In such a brave new, dangerous and unjust world, the cheapest and most "humane" thing to do, therefore, is to solve the problem via euthanasia. In such a brave new, dangerous and unjust world, the problems of poverty and crime are best "solved" by preventing at all cost the birth of those children as yet known only to God---especially if they belong to the various Fourth World nations in places such as Africa or places to which immigrants and the descendants of slaves from those countries live (cf Evangelium Vitae, elements 4, 16, 18 and 91; Ethical and Pastoral Dimensions of Population Trends, by the Pontifical Council for the Family, elements 69-72; Exodus Ch 1).
You're lucky to live in this world
Even the starvin' boys and girls
Cause life is a gift in itself
And only certain people are blessed with good health
Life Itself: The Ultimate Civil Right
return to topIf you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life! All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person
…the inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority….Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard…every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death
In various States (aka nations) certain laws have authorized the direct suppression of innocents: the moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation must accord them, the State is denying the equality of all before the law. When the State does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a State based on law are undermined.
Donum Vitae,
"What you do to one of the least of my brethren, you do unto me"
Man does not live by bread alone. Man certainly doesn’t live by "ginger-bread" alone. In fact, he dies by it---especially when lured into houses constructed out of it.
It’s interesting to note the inherently racist and elitist roots of the "gingerbread house" known as the modern Birth Control and Eugenics movements, just as the anti-life movement as a whole has been historically and inherently racist (cf Evangelium Vitae, elements 4, 18 and 91; Exodus Ch 1). As with any kind of underlying evil intent and attitude, nothing good can come of this (cf Matthew 7:15-20). It’s truly scandalous that much of the Fourth World "nation" in CONUS, as well as many nations in Africa, have been enticed (cf Ezekiel 16:34), induced or coerced (cf Revelation 13:15-17) into supporting (ie, voting for people advocating) and being "supported" by economic development and assistance programs, systems and models that permit, facilitate or actually conduct war on life itself by attacking life at its very beginning. What’s interesting about all this is that so much of the programs are ones that help to propagate the "social assistance state" on the one hand, or to line the pockets of companies that stand to profit from the loose morals that invariably result (cf Humanae Vitae, element 17; Evangelium Vitae, element 13) on the other, all in the name of eliminating poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation. Subliminally Stalinistic, in other words: No people (at least the "wrong" kind), no problems---or, at the very least, the fewer of the "wrong" kind, the fewer problems.
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Dirty Racist Secrets of the Gingerbread (aka Abortion) House There was a sense that any employee who was not a white female was going to be carefully watched A female employee, in a deposition taken in a case involving allegations of racism at Planned Parenthood facility in Los Angeles Planned Parenthood's founder Margaret Sanger was racist. They want to control the number of minorities. Their mission is to make sure that only what they view as the proper people are allowed to be born. Star Parker, Executive Director for the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education Several years ago, when 17,000 aborted babies were found in a dumpster outside a pathology laboratory in Los Angeles, California, some 12-15,000 were observed to be black. Wake up America, and relive Dr. Martin Luther King's Dream! The way of abortion is the way back into bondage! Erma Clardy Craver, Social Worker and Civil Rights Leader It is also worth noting that those who took out of context and criticized the comments by Bill Bennett on his September 28, 2005 "Morning in America" radio show are actually the same morally reprehensible, hypocritical, liberal, pro-abortion racist bigots who have had no problem with the genocidal efforts directed toward the African-American community and the Third and Fourth World in general by Planned Parenthood and economic development programs conditoned on abortion and contraception. Some of the more vocal critics of Bill Bennett were basically those who never saw an abortion they didn't like. It's ironic that they've suddenly become pro-life, especially since their kind essentially also believe that death solves everything (ie, no man, no problem) since one of the arguments that they've made for the use of contraception with abortion as a "backup" measure as part of development assistance and population programs for Africa is that it can allegedly be a means of reducing poverty, crime and suffering---basically the same ridiculous and morally reprehensible stance that the Church and Bill Bennett have condemned. It's almost comical to see the most vehement pro-abortion politicians and political leaders suddenly sound as if they're pro-life in their reactionary ** response to what was a willful and knowing distortion of what Bill Bennett said. **I say reactionary since their view is essentially a very rigid stance of "abortion now, abortion tomorrow, abortion forever." Just like Joe Mcarthy, these reactionary liberal bigots and zealots basically have no sense of decency. |
One group, however, has been well aware of the mortal danger that such "gingerbread houses" pose for the future of Africa and for that matter the future of the descendants elsewhere in the world of those that were taken from the continent against their will in previous centuries. Evidently the Catholic Bishops in Africa----Francis Arinze and Anthony Okogie (Nigeria), Peter Turkson (Ghana) and Polycarp Pengo (Tanzania) to name only a handful----have seen firsthand what happens when people are lured into "gingerbread houses" (cf
John 8:34; Ezekiel 16:34), and have spoken the most forcefully against abortion, contraception, fornication, homosexual [aka, "gay" (cf Isaiah 5:20-21)] marriage, sodomy, adultery, divorce, immodesty in dress, and the like. Realizing that such evils exist only as part of evil structures brought about by behaviors and attitudes that come from poorly formed consciences, much emphasis has been placed on catechesis in general, but particularly education in chastity and modesty (Catechism of the Catholic Church, elements 2347; 2520-2527; Familiaris Consortio, elements 37 and 66) and that, without life----which is dependent upon legitimate laws----all of the development assistance and/or economic "progress" in general means nothing in the end (cf Evangelium Vitae, elements 48-49; Matthew 6:31-34) if at first a proper formation of consciences fails to occur (cf Redemptoris Missio, element 58). They have seen firsthand what the evils of "western" models of amoral and hence immoral economic development and activity have wrought both in the developed world and now in the developing world, and they have seen firsthand what happens in societies that respect neither modesty nor chastity, and hence despise the True charity and family, church and community solidarity that education in virtue requires. They realize perhaps better than many that any authentic human development that leads to peace requires a fidelity to the Truth and Sovereignty of the Natural, Eternal and Divine Moral Law that gives Life, preserves Life and protects Life because it loves Life, as only it can, because it’s Love, Justice and Mercy itself, and above all, that where there is no Life, neither is there Justice, and neither is there freedom (cf Evangelium Vitae, element 96).Without life, nothing else matters
Above all, the sooner all people liberate themselves from the "gingerbread houses" that are presented, no matter how subliminally and deceptively, as "offers" (cf Ezekiel 16:34; Revelation 13:16-17) that can’t be "easily" refused, whereby the culture of death---with its contributing or resultant vices---is somehow a mark of progress, liberation, justice (cf Isaiah 5:20-21; 24) and even a "civil right," and that life is not worth living or even being born (cf Evangelium Vitae, elements 58-59) if it fails to meet some subjective criteria of what is or isn’t "good," the better, otherwise the world as a whole will literally have Hell to pay for this (cf Luke 18:8; Hebrews 10:38-39 Ezekiel 16:35-41; Revelation Ch 18).
Solidarity in a Culture of Life:
The Only Safe Way to the Future (cf
Freedom to Give of Oneself Authentically and Fully
My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
In our own lives, let each of us ask—not just what will government do for me, but what can I do for myself?
In the challenges we face together, let each of us ask—not just how can government help, but how can I help?
At the time many pundits figured that Nixon was mocking his late, great predecessor and friendly opponent and sometime ally (it’s true). Any kind of jaded and shallow, and yes, biased analyst would easily be led to think so. A closer look, however, suggests that both were saying essentially the same thing. Both were calling people to personal growth, self-improvement and excellence in order ultimately to transcend themselves. Give an authentic gift of self, in other words, and develop fully as a person in the process. A process that requires courage, faith and ultimately love (cf Dives in Misericordia, element 79; John 12:24; 1 John 4:18)
Something we were withholding made us weak.
Until we found out it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender
Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it
Evil structures that discourage people from giving and accepting from---and seeing in---others an authentic gift that transcends self must be eliminated. Authentic human development for the Fourth-World "nation" and for that matter everyone else in CONUS and the rest of the world will not be accomplished through an impersonal and soulless "justice" or a false "mercy" brought about by impersonal, amoral government bureaucrats operating under subjective human standards. By forsaking the Truth that unites Mercy and Justice (cf Psalm 85:11; Summa theologiae, I, q. 21, a. 2, 4), people of all races have permitted evil structures and ultimately the consequences of both the extreme radical individualism of Liberal Capitalism as well its reactionary opposites---the collectivist ideologies of socialism, communism, and the excesses of the "social assistance state." There is only one remedy or preventive medicine for this: Faith in an objective Truth. We must therefore return to the Truth, and thereafter embrace it like an errant spouse who has returned home to stay (cf Jeremiah 31:22), if the problems we’re faced with personally and collectively are to be honestly faced with courage, hope and love.
The TRUTH That Unites
Get a chapter, and gain some knowledge
If not from the Bible or Koran, get a book from college
It's not about bein' black or white
It's about everybody bein' a right
Truth cannot impose itself on the mind of man except by virtue of its own truth, which wins over the mind with both gentleness and power
Such a Truth the unites Mercy and Justice is one which unites rather than divides, since it has a special, inviting sweetness to it that gives peace (cf, Dignitatis Humanae, element 1) because it gives Life (cf Ezekiel 47:1-12; Revelation 22:1-2). Such unity in diversity is possible because it is united organically in accordance with the Truth, and each of its members has mutual respect both for themselves and for each other and their right to live in the Truth that their very Life depends on (cf Summa theologiae, I, q. 21 a.1; a.2; a.4). Such respect in pure charity for the dignity of others presupposes respect for their bodily integrity, which of course respects modesty, decency and ultimately their own chastity and that of others. Consequently, in "spirit and in truth" ---not out of a fear of censorship (cf 1 John 4:18) or a taboo-like repression of what’s really contemplated in the dark recesses of the mind and heart (cf Matthew 5:28; 6:22-23; 15:19-20), there would be no "wardrobe malfunctions."
The ‘Problem’ We Had in Houston: Fort Sumter of the Culture War?
In 1996 Peter Kreeft published a book titled "Ecumenical Jihad." The basic thrust of the book is that there is a Natural, Moral, Eternal and Divine Law that can be apprehended by nearly anyone of goodwill regardless of a person’s religion (be it Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist or whatever), and that all such people of goodwill are capable of uniting in a common "culture war" in restoring Truth, Righteousness, Mercy and Justice to a world sorely in need of it in order to preserve Human Life. An ecumenical jihad, if you will. Thus the title of his book.
The "wardrobe malfunction" in Houston was indeed a wake-up call to many in CONUS that we do indeed have a problem and that our society as a whole has had an obvious and major malfunction requiring True and United correction. Many cynics, however, read into the reaction to what took place as simply the insular, prudish, backwards-thinking "Religious Right" (presumably all white and hence bigoted) going at it again. Implicit in that assumption, therefore, was a racist assumption that somehow African Americans and other races (ie, "minorities") somehow approved of what they saw. The reaction to it, however, could only have occurred to the extent that it did if in fact the reaction was universal and hence one that transcended ideological, philosophical, economic and demographic (ie "racial") lines. Some people contended that the reaction came from those who simply were from an "older" generation that had never watched MTV. That, my friends, was the ultimate mistake in such flawed understanding. Most of the parents with kids that were annoyed by this visual assault were ones that grew up and came of age during MTV, BET, and the like (to name only a few). They know what they’ve seen and what’s capable of being shown on MTV and the like at times. The actual "wardrobe malfunction," and for that matter even the crotch-grabbing by Puff and Nelly, were nothing new (personally, given how Hip Hop has at times become the whipping "boy" for ills that actually extend to all of popular culture, I was somewhat relieved that my two rappers and Kid Rock got off fairly easy in the backlash that followed, and that the majority of the wrath instead was focused on the two main culprits). Most of the people that saw all this had in their time seen much worse. The straw that broke the camel’s back, however, was the blatant attempt to shove the concept of public immodesty (in this case nakedness) down peoples’ throats live and in front of one of the larger worldwide audiences---adult and child alike---and somehow bring it off as just simply the way things are or should be (cf Genesis 19:9).
A further annoyance and insult was the blatant insinuation that it’s perfectly okay and to publicly violate someone’s modesty, and that it’s perfectly okay and even obligatory for the violatee to routinely accept this gesture from the violator as somehow perfectly normal and hence something to be done in front of others (as opposed to privately ‘gettin’ down’ in preparation for some monogamous act of conjugal bliss, in which case it might be relatively kosher to have a prospective violatee ’naked by the end of [the] song’). The "malfunction" epitomized the extent to which objective moral standards of decency and civility had been lost, and now people were being coerced into accepting all this as a "new" (cf Ecclesiastes 1:9-10) and "wonderful" (cf Isaiah 5:20-21) manifestation of the supposed "liberty" that we have to ‘do as we please’ (cf Genesis 19:8-10) with and especially to one another, and to advertise the moment with any and all. People had lost their patience (cf Revelation 10:6), had literally seen enough, and were suffering from an acute case of "illness and fatigue" that would be dealt with by taking off "The Belt" and going after the media responsible for it, and the underlying cultural attitudes, philosophies and possibly even intent driving it (cf Proverbs 1:7; 29:15; 26:3; Isaiah 5:20-25).
His Truth is Marching On
Next door at the Astrodome, nearly 12 years earlier the GOP caught a lot of heat for attempting to frame the re-nomination of George H.W. Bush around a theme of "family values." Like so many things, in some ways it was ahead of its time, and it was only in subsequent years that many people (me included) realized that Pat Buchanan and William Bennett (and also others) had hit the nail on the head in their remarks to the Convention. In view of what happened that November (1990’s "read my hips" that followed 1988’s "read my lips" certainly didn’t help either), the 1992 affair at the ‘Dome was kind of like a Harper’s Ferry of sorts for the culture war that we’re indeed in. The Reliant may very well prove to have been the Fort Sumter, since the firestorm that followed has continued to ignite the already-short fuses of many people of all races and ideologies in blowing various issues wide open. Nested in this is the growing sense that a respect for decency, modesty and civility is a respect for the right of everyone to bodily integrity, safety, chastity and dignity---and, first and foremost: LIFE itself.
Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment.
It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.
Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. And though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment.
Most blacks are brainwashed and use racism to justify their lack of responsibility. Whites are so scared that the mention of racism makes them run for the hills
‘Tear Down This Wall’
The "Red State" mentality of 1964 didn’t win elections then and neither did it win in 2004. The "Blue State" mentality of 2004 didn’t win elections then, and neither did it win in 1964. Nelly and Tim McGraw both come from "Red States" of 2004. Many 1964 "Red State" people and many 2004 "Blue State" people are confounded by their recent collaboration. Others see the future. It takes courage to cross barriers, and requires the kind of courage that can only be grounded in love (1 John 4:18)---True Love which can transcend the guilt of many transgressions. It takes great love to see (cf Ephesians 1:18) that it’s simply not true that behind every rapper (or for that matter any African American male under 40) is some thug capable only of spewing the most vile words or participating in the most licentious and violent of behavior, and that though the "sins" of Cornell Haynes may be as ‘scarlet’ (in the sense that he also participated in the spectacle that ended with the "malfunction" and consequently may have also been required by the FCC to bring his checkbook down to the courthouse, and furthermore drew heat for his Tip Drill video), his great love (cf Die For You, from the Suit album) will in the end cover many sins as well (cf Luke, 7:37-47; 1 Peter 4:8; Proverbs 10:12). It takes great love to see (cf Ephesians 1:18) that it’s simply not true that hidden in the heart (cf Matthew 6:22-23; 15:19-20) of every white boy from ‘Nashville’ (or for that matter any "Red State") that values his wife and kids is some Bible-thumping, cross-burning, clinic-bombing bigot (or, to use the words from a 1980 movie, ’a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot’).
It takes great love to see (cf Ephesians 1:18) that an "ownership society" can promote the kind of solidarity that can preserve life in a community that people finally have a true personal stake in (cf Summa theolgiae II-II, q.66, a.2; Genesis 13:8-9). It takes courage and hence love (cf 1 John 4:18) to roll back the kind of mentality whereby the concept of an ownership society, an authentic entrepreneurial spirit, or an appeal to simple human decency is one of those "white thangs," and thus somehow either racist, "Uncle Tom," or simply "not black enough" (cf I Wish I Made That/Swagga, by Will Smith). With Love united in the Truth, however, it's only a matter of time before this attitude of social (ie, racial), economic and ideological isolationism and classist confrontationism that has occurred even within the African American community comes to an end, as a great epiphany occurs as it realizes that the highest and noblest aspirations of the Civil Rights Movement can eventually be met only by embracing principles espoused by Modern Conservatives. In their own words and in their own ways, people of all races are uniting in a common campaign for decency and civility, and once again saying "tear down this wall," since only together---in ‘Spirit and in Truth’ (cf John 4:21-24)---can we ‘overcome’ and ‘save our lives in an extraordinary deliverance’ (cf Genesis 45:7) in winning the World War for Life (cf Evangelium Vitae, elements 17, 58-59).
Lo, The Sun of Justice arises to heal the land (cf Malachi 3:20; Dives in Misericordia, elements 135-136). And the children return to their fathers, for the hearts of the fathers turn once again to their children (cf Malachi 3:24; Luke 15:11-32).
The culture of life means thanking God every day for his gift of life, for our worth and dignity as human beings, and for the friendship and fellowship he offers us as we make our pilgrim way towards our eternal destiny…....America, defend life so that you may live in peace and harmony .....God Bless America!
We got to stick together
Cause we as a people
All people
Gotta' make it to the promised land
The following links may be of interest:
Brotherhood Organized for a New Destiny (BOND)
Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE)
The Myth of the Racist Republicans
Black Genocide
Klan Parenthood (Don't be misled by the title)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states. Are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people
The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State. The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security. As the former periods will probably bear a small proportion to the latter, the State governments will here enjoy another advantage over the federal government. The more adequate, indeed, the federal powers may be rendered to the national defense, the less frequent will be those scenes of danger which might favor their ascendancy over the governments of the particular States.
.......the supreme authority of the State ought, therefore, to let subordinate groups handle matters and concerns of lesser importance, which would otherwise dissipate its efforts greatly. Thereby the State will more freely, powerfully, and effectively do all those things that belong to it alone because it alone can do them: directing, watching, urging, restraining, as occasion requires and necessity demands. Therefore, those in power should be sure that the more perfectly a graduated order is kept among the various associations, in observance of the principle of "subsidiary function," the stronger social authority and effectiveness will be the happier and more prosperous the condition of the State.