That's what Black Hawk said. . . This "homeland" was stolen from him.
. . . or are we talking about immigrants? For the most part, they were defending their lives by seeking refuge here, not their "culture."
Everyone is entitled to culture, subcultures and common cultures, familial cultures, whatever, but for how meaningful culture feels, it is still, from a spiritual perspective, illusory.
When this idea of defending one's culture comes up, it implies that it is under attack. But when a culture requires that other cultures be eradicated as an expression of itself, that's something else far more threatening to the human species and the human spirit.
If one culture requires that another be denied, it has no place in American society.
The language here echoes a familiar pattern in scapegoating propaganda. “Defend the culture” or “protect the homeland” has appeared in many political systems that later defined culture in increasingly exclusionary terms. The rhetoric often begins abstractly, then gradually shifts toward identifying internal enemies.
The most pernicious thing about “defend your culture” is how undefined it is. Ambiguity allows people to project their own fears into the phrase, which makes it a powerful mobilizing tool.
Thank you for recalling Marian Anderson's historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. The Philadelphia Orchestra has honored Anderson in her home city by dedicating its concert hall in her name. It was long overdue.
John Roberts Is Losing Patience with Trump with Immunity, I'm sorry I did this corruption, what was I thinking,
His majority opinion in last week’s tariff ruling was, characteristically, a model of succinctness. In a mere 21 pages (Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurring opinion, by contrast, clocked in at 46 pages, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissent at 63), he explained why, as a matter of statutory interpretation and the constitutional separation of powers, President Trump lacked the authority he had claimed, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, to impose a hodgepodge of tariffs on countries all over the world.
It’s worth remembering that Chief Justice Roberts is the head of the entire judicial branch. It is in that capacity that his vexation with Mr. Trump verges on acute concern. The president has denounced judges who have ruled against him, including by calling for a Federal District Court judge’s impeachment. Mr. Trump has helped create an atmosphere in which judges appropriately fear for their personal safety and that of their families. Many people expected the chief justice to address this issue directly in his year-end report in December, but he did not. In two decades as the nation’s top jurist, he has at times spoken directly in defense of the judiciary, as in his 2024 report. But these occasions have been infrequent, as if the only messages this notably self-possessed and buttoned-down man cares to send are those his opinions deliver.
I am so pleased to see your mention of John Williams’s Stoner! It is a novel that had escaped my notice entirely until my daughter (who is diffident about suggesting books to me) gave me a copy for Christmas. I read it last month and was astonished that a novel so perfectly conceived, so perfectly written, so human, should have been so obscure. I read it last month and have been recommending to people ever since.
True Detective is a 4 season HBO series starring Matt McConaughey and Woody Harrelson brilliantly portraying 2 cops who become a crime solving pair exposing the dark side of Louisiana culture Written by Vic Pizzolatto the series becomes an exploration of the Southern Gothic(https://bit.ly/4aNjMIC) which was evolved as a literary genre beginning in the 1850’s and deals with the dark side of Christianity as practiced in the South It sheds light on the toxicity of a cult that spans environmental, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life
What makes this series so relevant to the current state of American politics is the correlation with the Republican push for Christian Nationalism as the reigning dogma and its parallels to the Southern Gothic As most know Christian Nationalism has nothing to do with governing and all to do with political populism and authoritarianism and comes from the dark or the toxic side of Christianity complete with the Satanic and Nazi symbology
As Hitler wrote in 1928, “We tolerate no one in our ranks who attacks the ideas of Christianity. Our movement is Christian.” The Southern Gothic(https://bit.ly/4ayIldj) has clear parallels with Nazism with themes of inequality, racial purity, and fear with scapegoating minorities The present day Christian Nationalist movement supported by the current Republican party depicts the diabolical evil of the Southern Gothic and fascism
There is also on the YouTube channel(you can sign in as a guest) a documentary that is 4h+ long that goes through the history of the Southern Gothic that is excellent called The Mythos of True Detective labeled True Detective S1 - Mythology, Folklore,& The Occult by Novum Can also access with computer https://bit.ly/3Oz6VSN
Although long it describes all the details of how Pizzolato puts together the series including the symbology explanations of the Southern Gothic
The unholy Trump Bible Salesman and G.O.P. Crasher is no more Christian than The Don is Republican. But speaking of H.B.O., Tony Soprano barely beat Selina Meyer at the ballot box office…and your hilarious comments are no more reflective of the middle of the road, decisive swinger vote, than your describing actual Republicans like Nordlinger or…gotta run on. Thanks for your fascinating, as it is false, political view…gotta run on🍺✌️
The United States culture comes from the immigrant population, Italians, British and other Europeans that populated this country. People want to hold to a past that doesn’t exist. Culture changes over time, no culture stays the same. It was American culture to accept slavery and racial discrimination as normal, now it is not. Good question, what is American culture?
To the Village Idiwitt, what does Minnesota N.I.C.E. mean…meaner then meaner itself…Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti still cannot be reached for comment…as, not that you care for it, South Park pretty much nailed it (along with Don Lemon) when they parodied I.C.E. and Kristy the Cosplay Clown Noem going to the shallows of heaven to arrest dem damn n words, I mean I words…As South Parks P.S.A. for Trump, at the of the season premiere “The Sermon on the Mount” still makes me wanna wet my pants with laughter…let alone J.C. Himself grinding his teeth while lamenting a lawsuit He lost to The Don…dropping the f bomb, in all seriousness, to Trumpers, I mean the citizens of South Park). Be lie eve it or not Jay, Matt and Trey already answered your 64,000 bitcon question…pro trump messaging, by court order! Really, there is no need to celebrate the melting pot that is U.S. history and what makes for American exceptionalism….To quote the sub pop culture that is Diamond and Silk “Donald J Trump is still your President” and being AGAINST TRUMP is all that matters…not trying to prove to people that nodded their heads in belief with The Don that they are “eating pets”…If ever there was a time to throw out the white trash instead of trying to get through their thick monkey skulls…We the Living in Idiocracy Resistance is not futile, it is your moral duty to confront Trumpism in all its grotesque forms…No more Mr. Nice guy Jay….Protestors need to walk up to armed gorilla I.C.E. agents and ask them to their ugly masked faces “How would you like it if one of your fellow Un Americans were knock you to the ground and shoot you ten times!?” Or to answer your question another way, the fact Tony Soprano, I mean. Donald J Trump was not resoundingly booed when he entered the hollowed out souls of Congress…did I not suggest “hallowed” = white culture …God HELP U.S. Gotta run on. Thanks for taking my rant to the next level Jay. Peace through superior mental firepower
"Rejecting the left" ... are you talking about the far right Democrats? Who can only be seen as left to the farthest right Republicans? Both political parties are far right. It's risible to call far right "left" simply because it's to the left of the most extreme position.
That's what Black Hawk said. . . This "homeland" was stolen from him.
. . . or are we talking about immigrants? For the most part, they were defending their lives by seeking refuge here, not their "culture."
Everyone is entitled to culture, subcultures and common cultures, familial cultures, whatever, but for how meaningful culture feels, it is still, from a spiritual perspective, illusory.
When this idea of defending one's culture comes up, it implies that it is under attack. But when a culture requires that other cultures be eradicated as an expression of itself, that's something else far more threatening to the human species and the human spirit.
If one culture requires that another be denied, it has no place in American society.
The language here echoes a familiar pattern in scapegoating propaganda. “Defend the culture” or “protect the homeland” has appeared in many political systems that later defined culture in increasingly exclusionary terms. The rhetoric often begins abstractly, then gradually shifts toward identifying internal enemies.
The most pernicious thing about “defend your culture” is how undefined it is. Ambiguity allows people to project their own fears into the phrase, which makes it a powerful mobilizing tool.
Thank you for recalling Marian Anderson's historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. The Philadelphia Orchestra has honored Anderson in her home city by dedicating its concert hall in her name. It was long overdue.
Well said (also south NJ coast).
Trump Stole Our Money
John Roberts Is Losing Patience with Trump with Immunity, I'm sorry I did this corruption, what was I thinking,
His majority opinion in last week’s tariff ruling was, characteristically, a model of succinctness. In a mere 21 pages (Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurring opinion, by contrast, clocked in at 46 pages, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissent at 63), he explained why, as a matter of statutory interpretation and the constitutional separation of powers, President Trump lacked the authority he had claimed, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, to impose a hodgepodge of tariffs on countries all over the world.
It’s worth remembering that Chief Justice Roberts is the head of the entire judicial branch. It is in that capacity that his vexation with Mr. Trump verges on acute concern. The president has denounced judges who have ruled against him, including by calling for a Federal District Court judge’s impeachment. Mr. Trump has helped create an atmosphere in which judges appropriately fear for their personal safety and that of their families. Many people expected the chief justice to address this issue directly in his year-end report in December, but he did not. In two decades as the nation’s top jurist, he has at times spoken directly in defense of the judiciary, as in his 2024 report. But these occasions have been infrequent, as if the only messages this notably self-possessed and buttoned-down man cares to send are those his opinions deliver.
I am so pleased to see your mention of John Williams’s Stoner! It is a novel that had escaped my notice entirely until my daughter (who is diffident about suggesting books to me) gave me a copy for Christmas. I read it last month and was astonished that a novel so perfectly conceived, so perfectly written, so human, should have been so obscure. I read it last month and have been recommending to people ever since.
BRILLIANT.
Deep Dive Into Evils Of Christian Nationalism
True Detective is a 4 season HBO series starring Matt McConaughey and Woody Harrelson brilliantly portraying 2 cops who become a crime solving pair exposing the dark side of Louisiana culture Written by Vic Pizzolatto the series becomes an exploration of the Southern Gothic(https://bit.ly/4aNjMIC) which was evolved as a literary genre beginning in the 1850’s and deals with the dark side of Christianity as practiced in the South It sheds light on the toxicity of a cult that spans environmental, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life
What makes this series so relevant to the current state of American politics is the correlation with the Republican push for Christian Nationalism as the reigning dogma and its parallels to the Southern Gothic As most know Christian Nationalism has nothing to do with governing and all to do with political populism and authoritarianism and comes from the dark or the toxic side of Christianity complete with the Satanic and Nazi symbology
As Hitler wrote in 1928, “We tolerate no one in our ranks who attacks the ideas of Christianity. Our movement is Christian.” The Southern Gothic(https://bit.ly/4ayIldj) has clear parallels with Nazism with themes of inequality, racial purity, and fear with scapegoating minorities The present day Christian Nationalist movement supported by the current Republican party depicts the diabolical evil of the Southern Gothic and fascism
There is also on the YouTube channel(you can sign in as a guest) a documentary that is 4h+ long that goes through the history of the Southern Gothic that is excellent called The Mythos of True Detective labeled True Detective S1 - Mythology, Folklore,& The Occult by Novum Can also access with computer https://bit.ly/3Oz6VSN
Although long it describes all the details of how Pizzolato puts together the series including the symbology explanations of the Southern Gothic
The unholy Trump Bible Salesman and G.O.P. Crasher is no more Christian than The Don is Republican. But speaking of H.B.O., Tony Soprano barely beat Selina Meyer at the ballot box office…and your hilarious comments are no more reflective of the middle of the road, decisive swinger vote, than your describing actual Republicans like Nordlinger or…gotta run on. Thanks for your fascinating, as it is false, political view…gotta run on🍺✌️
The United States culture comes from the immigrant population, Italians, British and other Europeans that populated this country. People want to hold to a past that doesn’t exist. Culture changes over time, no culture stays the same. It was American culture to accept slavery and racial discrimination as normal, now it is not. Good question, what is American culture?
To the Village Idiwitt, what does Minnesota N.I.C.E. mean…meaner then meaner itself…Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti still cannot be reached for comment…as, not that you care for it, South Park pretty much nailed it (along with Don Lemon) when they parodied I.C.E. and Kristy the Cosplay Clown Noem going to the shallows of heaven to arrest dem damn n words, I mean I words…As South Parks P.S.A. for Trump, at the of the season premiere “The Sermon on the Mount” still makes me wanna wet my pants with laughter…let alone J.C. Himself grinding his teeth while lamenting a lawsuit He lost to The Don…dropping the f bomb, in all seriousness, to Trumpers, I mean the citizens of South Park). Be lie eve it or not Jay, Matt and Trey already answered your 64,000 bitcon question…pro trump messaging, by court order! Really, there is no need to celebrate the melting pot that is U.S. history and what makes for American exceptionalism….To quote the sub pop culture that is Diamond and Silk “Donald J Trump is still your President” and being AGAINST TRUMP is all that matters…not trying to prove to people that nodded their heads in belief with The Don that they are “eating pets”…If ever there was a time to throw out the white trash instead of trying to get through their thick monkey skulls…We the Living in Idiocracy Resistance is not futile, it is your moral duty to confront Trumpism in all its grotesque forms…No more Mr. Nice guy Jay….Protestors need to walk up to armed gorilla I.C.E. agents and ask them to their ugly masked faces “How would you like it if one of your fellow Un Americans were knock you to the ground and shoot you ten times!?” Or to answer your question another way, the fact Tony Soprano, I mean. Donald J Trump was not resoundingly booed when he entered the hollowed out souls of Congress…did I not suggest “hallowed” = white culture …God HELP U.S. Gotta run on. Thanks for taking my rant to the next level Jay. Peace through superior mental firepower
A solid essay.
I wish I could write like this.
A pleasure to read.
"Rejecting the left" ... are you talking about the far right Democrats? Who can only be seen as left to the farthest right Republicans? Both political parties are far right. It's risible to call far right "left" simply because it's to the left of the most extreme position.