No Peace in the Pantheon
The sign reads “Beware of Religious Fundamentalists.” I first saw this warning sign on my walk from there to nowhere a few years back. It seemed then that most people fearing the fundamentalists were pot-smoking libertarians living in the free-trade district; that once-prestigious part of downtown that gave way to the sprawling fever once Americans exchanged their nationalist coffee for a free trade brew. But now these front door warning labels have become quite the trend. Books, billboards, and bumper stickers! I think I even saw a young lady with something like “Fundamentalists are Fascists” tattooed on her ankle… or was it her big toe? I am not sure anymore. What I am sure of, though, is that this new “peace in the pantheon” craze has spread like pinkeye in a culture hell-bent on giving everyone eye-to-eye butterfly kisses.
I needed to get to the bottom of this. Truth be told, I was freaking out! Most everyone in town knew I worked with Local 10:34, a Roman Catholic union named after the now-famous sword-text in St. Matthew’s gospel. If fundamentalists were scary, then we were every child’s nightmare!
We said some pretty crazy stuff, I guess. We were pretty bold, saying things like “outside the Church there is no salvation” and that the modern ecumenical movement is tantamount to institutionalized religious whoredom. Many fundies had backpedaled over the years, but not us. Benedict XVI apologized to his “Muslim brothers and sisters” after quoting Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos during his now-famous Regensburg lecture. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell both apologized for connecting the obvious dots between national immorality and national disaster. Billy Graham and Mel Gibson wept before the bright lights after being busted bad-mouthing Jewry and its Lobby. These fellas were diminished to bootlicker status. We weren’t like them. We said what we meant, sure. But we went further and meant what we said. The audacity of conviction!
But yesterday’s boon is today’s bust, or so it appears. And if Dr. “Scary” Gary North was in hot water, then members of Local 10:34 were in hellfire!
A few days later I found myself talking to someone who appeared to be part of the opposition. I don’t recall what it was that gave her away. Was it the fact that she had “COEXIST” detailed across the hood of her car? Maybe it was her “I Luv thePrayer Summit of Assisi” T-shirt. No, it was probably the “Got Questions? Ask me!” button. I guess it really doesn’t matter. What did matter was that I spoke to someone in “the know” about this.
“These fascists are so intolerant,” she said. “They are so full of hatred.”
“Who are they?” I asked.
“Them!” she shouted. “All the fundamentalists. Not just Muslims.”
Not just the Muslims? What??? This terrifying group of foaming-at-the-mouth “Islamofascists” who tear their beards out every time someone mentioned voting machines in their presence?
The entire conversation was quite confusing. It all appeared to be so hypocritical. We needed to hate hatred. We had to be intolerant of all intolerance. Freedom of religion for everyone but not for everyone. Freedom of speech protects blasphemy and porn, but “fundie talk” must be forbidden. Confusing to say the least.
But the Tolerance Tyrants are a pretty complex herd.
The more radical libertines advocated playing arm-chair eisegesis, finding in every religion and sacred text some super-secret hidden proof of hyper-inclusivism. Reading between the lines would result in discrediting the plain-as-day exegesis of yesteryear. These folks have mastered the arts of reading between the lines and the invisible writing on walls.
The “Agree with us or die” handbook from the First Church of Americanism is quite helpful for those exclusivists trying to understand the ecclesiastical structure for this unpleasant tribe of New Worlders. A woman at the gas station up the road from my home gave it to me along with a pack of American Gold cigarettes and handful of peanut gallery cashews. It appears that America’s founding fathers are high priests who had magical insight into the way things ought to be. Thomas Jefferson, who penned “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” a gospel gutted of supernaturalism, is the chief guru. Jefferson is accompanied by George Washington, the Grand Master of the Freemason’s Alexandria Lodge 22, whose own pastor at Christ’s Church questioned the legitimacy of his confession after years of Washington’s refusal to take part in communion services. The works of Mr. “The bloody Christian faith” Thomas Paine are prominent, with Common Sense and Rights of Man being treated like Chick tracts. Apologists for this “second Israel” see in the Bill of Rights what Paul VI saw in the United Nations: the last hope for mankind and for world peace. It’s even ready-made with its own Magisterium, the Supreme Court of the United States. The devil couldn’t have penned a better catechism!
A few hours ago, right before penning this, I noticed a number of city folk parking in front of the house. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was all about, so I went to the door. Bad idea! Turns out that one of their more vocal apologists, a certain Jay Batman, wrote a piece entitled “The Problem of Violent Fundamentalism: Religious Freedom and Responsibilities Thereof.” A harmless little blog, really… or at least it was until it got into the hands of radical inclusivists. Now they are chanting outside my home! Some even have signs reading, “Peer pressure him into submission!” They went so far as to hire a negotiator. “Mr. Bannister,” he said, “fundamentalists can’t hug their children with nuclear arms.” I tried convincing him that I wasn’t down with nukes and that I’m not a fan of the war hawks, but there was no convincing him. Mass hysteria set in strong, and it couldn’t even wait until I was done with my evening walk.
I’m not sure how all of this will turn out. There is no saying, really. We are dealing with a strange breed; the type of person that will demand you hug your neighbor while aiming a gun at your head. There seems to be no exits, so I’m stuck having to fight my way out of this nonsense. I’ll leave you, then, with my favorite line from my favorite propaganda film, Flight 93: “Let’s roll…”
For the Commonwealth
Aquinas: The Treatise on Law Qu. 90. The Essence of Law
2. Is the law always directed towards the Common Good? A: Every part is ordered to the whole as the imperfect to the perfect. The individual is part of a perfect whole that is the community. Therefore, law must concern itself in particular with the happiness of the community.
I have heard all too many reckless souls accuse Aquinas of being a proponent of Communism. Their remarks are premised on quotations such as this one. But this would be a rather unfortunate rendering of what he had to say. These individuals, all proponents of the most aggressive equalitarianism, are apparently little aware of the fact that the Angelic Doctor knew all too well the flaws of man and the reality of natural inequalities that function as social underpinnings within a world that’s far from being a Utopia.
While many may wish to toss Aquinas to the wind, I think we, particularly those of us in America, would do well to consider his insight on matters such as these. For there was a time when America understood the idea of a commonwealth. There was a time when America understood the idea of a nation. To be quite frank, there was once a time when America knew what America was! But as with many great things, much of this has fallen to the wayside.
For American to regain a sense of identity would require us to embrace a common heritage, common traditions, a common religion, and common values. It would force us to realize, and accept, that while the promises of “you can do anything you want so long as you put your mind to it and give it 110 percent” are nothing more than empty platitudes, they can most certainly do what they do best. And who other than themselves and those near and dear to them would know what this is and how this is to be done.
But it is here where the individual and the collective come into conflict. It is here where we find a tension between what is good for the one and what is good for the many. This has been the one of the great trials of our times. Thankfully, we are not left to wander on our own. Those brave souls and great minds having come before us faced the same questions, and they dealt with them in ways that we shouldn’t take for granted.
Saints and sinners attempted to find that place of balance and harmony between these two extremes. On the one hand, they fervently defended the divine right of private property. On the other hand, they wished for the owner to feel a familial commitment to those around him. They saw man’s desire to pursue happiness as a majestic goal to be achieved. But they never mistook liberty for license. It was a balancing act, to say the least, but one they did fairly well. The result of their efforts bringing them to the notion of a commonwealth, that place where the one and the many find a place and a purpose, both in and outside of themselves.
It is quite unfortunate that we have forgotten this concept. The cult of radical diversity, led by the Diversicrat ayatollahs, is tearing this country apart at the seams. Laissez faire tolerance of moral deviancy is eating away at a culture that, while not perfect, embraced a social an economic equilibrium unlike most anything we see today. We have gained shadows and phantasms at the expense of justice, solidarity, and liberty.
It is long overdue for the products of all things new to reconsider the wisdom of many things old. In doing so, we may once again find that place of balance and harmony where the one and the many find their rightful place. Otherwise, will continue down this reckles road that leads to everywhere and nowhere, not recognizing it for what it is. The very road that has been traveled by all great civilizations that once were but are no more.
Sacrificing Bits of Babies to the God of American “Civil” Religion
By Antipelagian
Here is a link to a previous video You Tube took down.
Molechism is alive and well in America…and it thrives in our churches as well. The greatest repulsion, to many of us, is not that abortion is still going on, rather, that people have the audacity to keep talking about it.
When the sheer ugliness of the concept is shown, proponents want to cover it up. Those who revel in the “freedom” infanticide delivers hate to be conftronted with the reality of what it actually is: infanticide.
If freedom is your god, and the sacrifice is the unborn, I that is the sacrament of Freedom…how does Freedom taste?
The Von Bannister Family Singers
This goes out to the Hodges’ kids in Georgia. We miss you all so much!
The Stench of Modern Feminism
By Velleitaire
Jan. 9, 2007
On the first day of my Writing and Rhetoric II class, my professor took us for a field trip to the bathroom… yes, the bathroom. We walked down the hallway and when we got to those bathroom doors he asked if we noticed anything different about them. I looked at the doors in front of me and all I could think to say was that they were opposite of each other, one opening to the left and the other to the right.
Apparently I was way off track. He looked at me, pointed to the doors and said,
“This one says men and this one says ladies.”
Well, of course. I had taken notice of this, but I really didn’t consider it to be of any real significance. He went on to ask,
“Well, why don’t they say men and women or ladies and gentleman?”
We then walked back to the classroom in order write about what we thought it meant. Was it significant? Why?
My mind was in a whirlwind. The topics he was getting at (gender sensitivity and feminism) are issues that get me a tad ticked off.
While I failed to voice my opinion in class, I did make sure to write what was on my mind. It seems like almost anything offends women these days, and it has become quite dangerous.
The question that stuck in my mind revolved around the hypocrisy of the whole thing. I mean, why are the very people who say we have to accept people for who they are so intolerant of people who don’t believe the way they do?
Here is a good example: The Vagina Monologues. Olivet College, where Paleo and I attend, is putting on a rendition of the Vagina Monologues this year. I guess they have done it for many years now. But why is it that colleges like ours, and those all around the country, have no problem with The Vagina Monologues, but students have to be careful when talking about the Bible or religion in class? For that matter, why is it that the Women’s Resource Center has plenty of “safe sex” material and more than a handful of condoms for the taking, but finding pamphlets about abstinence or the dangers of abortion are almost non-existent?
All of this is really peculiar coming from Olivet College. Olivet was founded as a Christian college. Just looking at the college’s sticker on my laptop I can clearly see the words, “Pro Christo Et Humanitate,” which is Latin meaning “For Christ and humanity.” The seal also has the word Torah in Hebrew! I can only wonder what the founders, and especially Father Shipherd, would say about the current state of affairs. More on that in my next post.
But let’s get back to the bathroom doors. I highly doubt that it was put there by some sort of egotistical womanizer who expressed his chauvinism by referring to women as ladies. The likelihood that the person intended to make women feel inferior to men by referring to them as ladies is rather slim. Actually, I think it is kind of a compliment.
I am curious to know if anyone considered the possibility that it was done in good will. What if it was meant to make a woman feel respectable and dignified? Who really knows?
It’s one thing to fight for a woman’s right to be treated fair. It is another thing to take exception to being referred to as ladies rather than women on a bathroom door. As for me, I am glad they chose to refer to us as ladies. If only more began acting ladylike.
Sirach 10:2
As a judge of the people is himself, so also are his ministers: and what manner of a man the ruler of a city is, such also are they that dwell therein.
American Life at 173 MPH
Written by Paleocrat
Jan. 8, 2009
What I wouldn’t give for a typewriter. A real nice vintage one. The kind you would see on Citizen Kane or in an old picture of Hunter S. Thompson. If my memory serves me well, and it rarely does, there used to be one tucked away somewhere in friend’s attic. Not at all sure what happened with it, but I wouldn’t put it past the poor saps to have slapped a $1 tag on it in a garage sale. Unfortunate.
My fascination with typewriters may be chalked up with a simple love for all things old. Cars, quills, clothing styles, black and white photographs, music, you name it. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that they require a relatively decent amount of finger coordination. Mistakes aren’t easily glossed over. Errors are obvious, smudged over with White Out. Were I to be tapping away on one of these typewriters at this very moment, this entry would be as mark-free as Tony Soprano’s wrap sheet.
But this post isn’t really about typewriters. At least not directly. Instead, as with most other things, it correlates to my obsession with all things socio-political.
Americans live life fast and furious, tapping away at their keys without but a care in the world. The delete key, unlike the White Out of old, provides the luxury of fumbling around without having to pay much mind to errors. A simple backspace and all is well. Most forget just how many times, and exactly on what words, they utilize this feature. This allows them to fumble through life while minimizing the number of visible cover-ups by which to recall their errors. Pounding out words and actions as if they bear no consequence. Easily out of sight, easily out of mind. This is the American way.
While life may be dandy when all is easily forgotten, it is those very errors, as well as the reflections thereupon, that make us all the better. We see common mistakes, we notice redundancies, and we get a better grasp on where fine-tuning is in demand. It is here that we begin to more accurately realize our need for betterment, and where exactly these things are to be found. This is not so when all is blotted out with broad strokes and no visible remains.
While I may have a personal passion for the nostalgic, I am by no means encouraging all to return to the yesteryear of typewriters and quills. But maybe it would do us well to be more cautious, more calculated, and more willing to reflect long and hard on those areas in life where haste took precedence over prudence.
Oh Yes, Economic Insanity! That’ll do!
Written by Paleocrat
Jan. 4, 2009
“It was the mystical dogma of Bentham and Adam Smith and the rest, that some of the worst of human passions would turn out to be all for the best. It was the mysterious doctrine that selfishness would do the work of unselfishness.”
GK Chesterton
The day and age of prudence and sanity is long gone, if in fact it ever did exist. We live in a time where money gurus babble on about how the most radical deregulation will mysteriously perform the functions of regulation, how an absolutely unfettered economy will bring about order, and how “the virtue of selfishness” (as Madame Rand was fond of calling it) would result in nothing short of the economic Utopia finding its home in the wildest fantasies of men like Mises and Bastiat. To be quite frank, the entire ordeal is a tad bit overwhelming for those who, like me, have a sensitive gag reflex.
I wish these were the musings of a madman who hasn’t the slightest clue of things as they really are, the ravings of things far-fetched. Unfortunately, one has only to fetch the remote. Market mystics are commonplace, and like a bad case of herpes they show up in predictable places at just the worst times. Hucksters in tight suits and cheap cologne spouting off what Betty Crocker would consider a sure recipe for economic disaster.
The problem isn’t so much their being large in number as it is that they are professional ear-tickerls! They know the game, and they play it like champs. The masses are assured that if they just allow their cookies to crumble, then even bigger, better tasting cookie will appear from the heaped remains they let tumble to the floor.
It all sounds so simple! It sounds almost too good to be true. Like a good, old fashion pyramid scheme or bottle of snake oil. If only its this bit of irony was any bit ironic.
To imagine that we haven’t overcome our susceptibility to the charlatans of old. We should know better by now. Then again, there must be a reason why the adage “we never learn from history” has stood the test of time. If only there were a generation that had the kind of moral resolve and intellectual fortitude to put that precedent to rest. If only…
Paleocrat and The Distributist Review
Great minds think alike… and often times flock together.
I had a chat with John Medaille of The Distributist Review this evening. What began as a simple inquiry into The Review’s submission policies turned into an open invite for yours truly to be an official contributor. As the idea of working towards a more unified Distributist voice on the internet has been floating around in the forefront of my mind for some time now, the answer was a no-brainer. I accepted, we shared some ideas, and now my name appears next to the likes of Medaille, Athanaius, Tom Laney, and Richard Aleman.
Having listed these names makes me wonder… what exactly was John on when he asked me aboard??? In all seriousness, it is a real honor to be asked to work with John and the rest of those at The Distributist Review. I hope to make new friends, broaden our network, and contribute even a small part towards restoring all things in King Christ.
For The Paleocrat Tribune Kool-Aid drinkers:
Most of the material I post on The Review will first be posted here. I will also post material on this site that may not fit the particular format of The Review. At any rate, I will continue being just as active on The Paleocrat Tribune as I have since its inception.
NOTE: The Paleocrat Tribune invites those interested in becoming contributors to e-mail us at paleocrat@me.com.
THE PALEOCRAT TRIBUNE 
