Poor Art?

If art inspires wouldn't we agree that non-art, or perhaps the more politically sensitive "poor" art does not inspire? I would. In fact, I would go so far as to say that poor art leads people to poor conversation, poor conclusions, and poor ideas. It all sounds so snobby. I will not apologize though.

Were we surrounded by inspiration, surrounded by greatness, surrounded by true art, our lives, our education, and our spirits would be filled with the joy of eternal beauty. Instead, in so many of our sanctuaries today, and in so many museums and concert halls, we are surrounded by ugly, ill fitting, mockingly conceited attempts by vain men to challenge mortality.

Dan, the author of the blog TDAXP, was a favorite of Federalist X's. I have no idea why. I've visited Dan's blog often. The vast majority of what he has to say is completely incomprehensible, though there is a good deal of the Catholic guilt thrown in so it isn't all incomprehensible to me I suppose.

He gives us a perfect case in point of the costs of poor art. Dan quotes Corinthians 15:12-20. A passage that any Christian knows well. What good is it, the Apostle reasons, if the dead aren't raised to preach of Christ then?

Underneath the quote Dan places this horrible painting.


Like some sort of juvenile Chagall imitation, this "holy" relic seems to poke fun at the very serious statements made by the Apostle. What good is it if Christ is not risen? Followed by a cray-pas drawing of a comic, faceless and footless christ floating above the indistinct ground.

The drawing is in fact a mockery of Christ. It is laughing in the face of the resurrection. The artist undoubtedly was amused, like most easterners so cynically are, at the notion that the dead were raised. The Buddha-like hand gestures again show disdain for Christianity and certainly for the Orthodox faith. The whole thing is an abomination. One must wonder whether Dan posted the picture as an insult to Christians intentionally or just naively?

You can't read the Corinthians quote and then see the drawing without experiencing a good degree of uneasiness. Imagine though if that quote were followed by this:

Here is no faceless godhead, but a man. A strong man victoriously lifting the dead from their tombs. He has conqured death and is unblemished. Everyone is beneath him as he lefts the dead from their eternal slumber. This is Jesus, son of Man, winning the fight. Something tells me this is more like what the Apostle had in mind when he said:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

Nothing could be more true.

Well Hello.

Sometime ago, Federalist X gave me the opportunity to begin writing here at Amendment IX. I was flattered. A9 is a blog I have admired for awhile. Unfortunately, the opportunity he gave me coincided with a point in time that prevented me from blogging. He reminded me this weekend, and I'm now ready to proceed.

I only hope regular A9 commenters haven't lost their appreciation for the independent minded thoughts that are so often a part of the posts here at this blog.

My first post, short and sweet as it is shall be in the form of a question.

Why are we still in Iraq when the true enemy is here at home?

Some explanation of the term "true enemy" is needed. A true enemy is different from a false enemy in one way only, the true enemy has the ability to vanquish the state you live in. A false enemy can only provide damage. One can think in terms of threat level. Or perhaps one can view this in terms of ontology. However it is viewed, one cannot say that a true enemy awaits us in Iraq. One can say, on the other hand, that a true enemy awaits us here at home.

Culturally, illegal immigrants from Central America have the ability to vanquish our state. All southern border states can, in less than a generation, be seen moving from a western democratic ideal to an authoritarian, dictatorial ideal. Chief reason is the governmental traditions carried with these immigrants. I care far less about their purported propensity to steal than their actual lack of experience in governing themselves freely.

Another true enemy, one that Federalist X often spoke against, is the enemy of government debt and needless inflation. I am financially naive, but I know enough to know that the more paper our treasury prints the less valuable our tangible assets become. As our asset values erode, all experience so far has shown that a parallel eroding of governmental legitimacy takes place.

It would require a lot to destroy or vanquish the United States. Hyper inflation did not vanquish Argentina or Chile. But then again, the dictatorial and authoritarian traditions of those countries perhaps were the only known antidote to hyper-inflation.

In short, I can very easily see a scenario whereby the southern border states are thrown into economic and governmental chaos by the twin catalysts of hyper inflation and mass illegal immigration. I can't see anything in Iraq, even the now fanciful line of "the terrorist fighting us here at home" causing an equal threat to the existence of our Union.