“On the whole, we’re a murderous race. According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratricide. Genesis says that in a fit of jealous rage, the very first child born to mortal parents, Cain, snapped and popped the first metaphorical cap in another human being. The attack was a bloody, brutal, violent, reprehensible killing. Cain’s brother Abel probably never saw it coming. As I opened the door to my apartment, I was filled with a sense of empathic sympathy and intuitive understanding. For freaking Cain.” From The Dresden Files novel “Dead Beat”, by Jim Butcher
The last few years have been challenging for most, I suspect. The turn of the millennium ushered in great upheavals: war, economic downturn, censorship, plague, invasion, inflation, injustice, and fear. At first, the progression could seem logical—one calamity leads to the next inevitable calamity. Over time, the progression of events came to feel unnatural, even deliberate and coordinated.
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Lucasfilm
Against the backdrop of these times, the cause of entertainment may seem a small, petty thing to focus on. Given events taking place in my own life, I’ve spent a lot of time recently considering the value of where we place our attention, and the things that give our lives meaning. In considering these questions, I feel it might be beneficial to examine exactly why it is we fight in the cultural arena.
The Aim of Man
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”
John Adams, in a letter to Abigail Adams
John wrote this letter to Abigail, lamenting the fact that he had not the time to describe the statuary and gardens of Versailles while he was at court in France. He noted that what our young country needed at that moment was those learned in the mechanical arts, and while studying art and beauty would be the preferable diversion, greater needs attended on him—specifically the study of politics and war.
A scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Lucasfilm
The statement would seem to trivialize the appreciation and critique of the arts, but in actuality spoke to the need to deal with the immediate in order to partake in the transcendent. The ultimate aim of man is thus to reach a state of stability and peace that he can focus on truth, beauty, and the Divine.
The Fall of Man
When mankind stops pursing truth, beauty, and the transcendent, the world quickly becomes discordant. The creation of art is always a statement—conscious, or unconscious. Through art, different minds in different cultures and circumstances can express and exchange ideas that go beyond the verbal.
At its very best, art can inspire an emotional reaction that brings the partaker to tears of joy. At its worst, it can be used to demoralize, misinform, or remove hope. Not all art is equal, and art should not be beyond criticism. However, art can move a heart where debate never could.
Five Bear Rugs in Country Bear Musical Jamboree at Walt Disney World via Disney Parks blog
This places art uniquely in a realm beyond the mere physical. Consider, why do we love music? What logical sense does music make? Why do those blessed with the ability to hear respond to it even as infants, unable to understand the “rules” of music, and yet are moved by it?
It’s something wholly unique to man.
When we begin to ignore the value of our culture, or worse, misuse it, we debase humanity itself. Leaders become Tyrants. Workers become Cogs. Children become inconveniences. Humanity wars with itself.
The Practical Application – Meaning
Art provides us with meaning, or at least, a target. Art allows us to see, understand, and feel things that could not be expressed in any other way.
It is the curse of man to toil the earth, but if life were only toil, weeds would quickly consume it.
The last several years have provided an object lesson of what happens when governments and businesses consider people and their culture as only subjects to be owned, ruled over, exploited, or disposed of. What we have been witnessing up to this point is not a new socialism or communism as some have argued, but a Neo-feudalism, in which those entrenched in the halls of power, whether government or big business, become sovereign over their subjects.
A protestor screams as Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States via ITV News Facebook
This is the true danger of DEI, ESG, and Corporate/Government collusion. It’s a small step from here to social credit scores and coercive power with the weight of government behind it. The hedge fund managers of the world know this well.
When these rulers of the earth have the power to take away those works that give us personal meaning, our souls are corroded. A world that does not value truth and beauty is on the road to Hell.
Conclusion
I have learned over a long and painful period that work without meaning, no matter how well-paid, can destroy a person. While society appears to be undergoing a pendulum-swing that looks promising, the fight is far from over. We battle entrenched enemies and powers that will not end their fight.
It is incumbent on us to continue to resist them.
My son wants more than anything in life to be a musician. If he is to be a musician, I must first study the art of war and politics, to win him the culture that will allow him to flourish.
THAT is why we fight.
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Michael New puts out some great YouTube videos on how music works. I recommend them for your son in order to learn to be a musician.
Excellent, Lorn.
So where do I click to give this 1,000 likes, loves and other expressions of agreement/admiration? SO WELL DONE MY FRIEND!
Political correctness and wokeness are actually pure fascism. Intolerance of other views, and banning them. (Fascism has always been left wing, by the way. Big govt leads to TOTAL govt).