Calling all Culture Warriors

Continental Congress of Art ^ | 1/16/02 | Antoninus

[Antoninus]

On January 10, 1963, Democrat congressman A. S. Herlong, Jr. of Florida read, with unanimous consent, a list of 'Current Communist Goals' into the Congressional record. This prescient list, taken from a book called "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen, has been posted on Free Republic several times.

Perhaps what's most shocking about this list are the cultural items. Goals that would have been considered absurdities 40 years ago are today eerily real. To review a few of the points on the list:

• 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

• 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

• 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

• 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

• 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture."...

• 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture....

Now, supposedly communism was dealt a political death-blow in the late 1980's. However, as we all know, the progeny of the original far-left culture warriors have created new bastions within our very own educational, media, entertainment, and cultural institutions. Our political attempts to disconnect these individuals from the government teat have been, on the whole, failures. In the face of these reverses, many social conservative commentators have thrown in the towel, declaring the culture war lost or unwinnable.

I disagree. In order to fight and win a culture war, your side must be able to present a viable alternative. The 'counter-culture' of the 1960s is a classic example of this strategy. With rare exceptions, conservatives, traditionalists, Americanists, and republicans (small R), were not able to respond to this counter-cultural tidal-wave effectively. Thus, the 'counter-culture' of the 1960s has become the dominant culture today. While individual writers or artists of a traditional bent may occasionally rise up and be recognized, they are now at the mercy of the anti-American, anti-family, anti-tradition, anti-religion dominant culture that rules the media, the publishing industry, Hollywood, and the art scene.

But with the advent of the Internet, we now have a way to circumvent completely the apparatus of the cultural elites. A single individual with an idea now has the capacity to reach most of the country and indeed the world with his or her message. As we all know, Free Republic has demonstrated this capability to an amazing degree. This single site and its army of Freepers has the ability to shape debate, cow or encourage the media and petty local officials, and influence elections.

Believing that more needs to be done on the cultural front, myself and Claud, two Freepers of long standing, have set up a website called:

The Continental Congress of Art

Our hope is that this site will "build interest in the vast artistic and literary treasure trove of American civilization, as well as serve as a hub for new ideas and endeavors, with the common goal being the advancement of literature and fine art in the United States of America." In short, we hope to turn the site into a network and free showcase for like-minded artists and writers, and play a part, however small, in a cultural reawakening in America.

Similar to the original Continental Congress of 1774, we are hoping to attract 'delegates' from across the country. As this effort is very much in its infancy, we have posted to date only four individuals on our delegates page (most of whom are associated in some way with our publishing program), representing three northeastern states. We are eager to add delegates from other states and regions and based on the popularity of the 'Free Republic Poet Laureate' threads, we know there are many Freeper writers and artists out there. If you think you've got what it takes to become a delegate, we encourage you to visit the site and give it a shot.

Even if you're not a writer or artist, you might be interested in visiting the site just to check out our links to America's Heritage, our Guide to Literary Form, or the photos of America scattered throughout the site taken by Claud and yours truly.

[Antoninus]

If I show you my art you will cry all right. My wife is more the artist, so we have hope for the kids.

Ah, but you can't fool us. We know you write well, just based on your posts on FR...

[EternalVigilance]

FYI...thought this article's reference to Cleon Skousen might interest you.

[Antoninus]

It is a sad fact of modern conservatism that while we have plenty of cultural critics, we seem to have so few cultural contributors. You can't banish the darkness from a room--you have to bring in the light.

Actually, I think there are plenty of potential contributors out there. Many of them have been through the wringer trying to get their work accepted in journals, shows, books, etc. I'm sure many of them are just plain disillusioned by rejection and feel that perhaps their work isn't 'sexy' enough to make it in this cultural morass in which we find ourselves. Better to keep their work to themselves than risk ridicule and rejection at the hands of our cultural elites.

That's where we come in. We build a network of people that appreciate literature and art that have positive messages, embrace American traditions and values, and generally celebrate that which is good, honorable, holy, and beautiful. Contrast this to what's being foisted upon us: the ugly, the repulsive, the meaningless, the sacrilegious. Seems like a no-brainer to me...

[Antoninus]

Hollywood would not do anything to threaten its own lifestyle and standard of living.

Personally, I don't believe that. They know that well-done, wholesome movies without a political agenda are a lock to bring in big cash. My 60 year old mother and her friends go to the movies regularly. The only thing that stops them is a sheer lack of unoffensive films to watch. Yes, Hollywood is out to make money, but they're also out for something else. Wasn't it Lenin who claimed that he would sell us the rope with which we would hang ourselves?

There were a lot of actors and screenwriters with Communist leanings in the 1930s.

Well, actually, there were a lot of out-and-out members of the Communist Party USA who were actors and screenwriters. After the investigations of the 1950s, some of them like Dalton Trumbo, openly boasted that they had been able to insert communist themes into certain movies, and that they'd been able to keep anti-communist movies from being made. Furthermore, we now know that the Communist Party USA had been receiving funding from ol' Uncle Joe in the Soviet Union. That's more than 'communist leanings' - that's treason.

There has also been a long-standing hostility in Hollywood to religion and traditional social values. But this doesn't mean that Hollywood is Communist. They just make too much money for that.

If you think money and communism don't mix, you must not remember that Leonid Breshniev had a collection of antique cars. Money and communism DO mix. It's just that only the guys at the top get to enjoy the wealth. Everyone else gets to share what's left.

True, they don't like religion or small-town America. They don't hesitate to villify right-wingers. They give to the Democrats and gush over Clinton-types. But any socialism in Hollywood is more dilettantish than anything else.

See my 'useful idiot' comment above. Sure, there are plenty of useful idiots in Hollywood. However, there's no denying that Hollywood has its share of 'true believers' and 'apparatchiks' as well.

Militant generations tend to see everything in terms of war, revolution, liberation, struggle. That's why the "culture war" became such a powerful image.

It's not a generational issue. If you've read any marxist/communist literature, that's all they say. Such talk appeals to the young and foolish. The left is always after the young. Witness their attempts to force their agenda into the public schools. Why is that?

The development of new media and promotion of new artists is all to the good, as is the desire to bring conservative voices to art and media, but the culture war doesn't reflect what's going on now.

Perhaps not. But to successfully prosecute a culture war, you have to plant seeds now or else go hungry later.

Look at history. The "culture war" was very divisive in the 1920s, as conflicts over prohibition, evolution, immigration, modern art, theology and sex showed.

Our conflicts are even more divisive than in the 1920s - abortion, 'multiculturalism', drugs, secularism, illegal immigration, scandalous art, the porn culture, etc. The mere fact that people are seriously considering elevating the status of homosexual liaisons to be on par with that of marriage is proof enough that we are at a nexus of cultural conflict.

For the next 30 or 40 years that culture war was dormant as depression, war, and cold war took center stage. We may be seeing a similar development now.

It was not dormant. If you read some of the articles about what Stalin and the communists were up to while supposedly our allies against Nazism, it's fairly clear that the culture war wasn't dormant - only one side was fighting it.

[Antoninus]

The communists did not need to use communists or convert people to communism to accomplish the numbered goals. They communists knew that the cultural decay would set the stage such that a majority of folks would one day consider communism.

Exactly!!! It's the same MO used by our friends in the Democrat party today - create a crisis, exacerbate it, put yourself forward as the ONLY solution to the crisis. Get enough people to believe you and the country is yours!

Cultural decay was one method by which they hoped to destabilize us. It's working. I posit that the best way to head this rot off at the pass is by presenting a viable alternative to the loathesome garbage served up by our cultural elites. Get enough people to ignore them, ridicule them, become jaded with them and their rhetoric and they're finished.

[Antoninus]

Sign me on! In the meanwhile I boycott movies, sit-coms, etc.

I do strategic boycotts. For example, when a quality movie like The Patriot comes out, I make sure to see it, encourage lots of other people to see it, then rent it when it comes out. In the case of The Patriot I bought it too!

I gladly stay home when movies like American Beauty are out there. Wouldn't spend a dime on such garbage.

[Jhoffa_]

Culture Warrior bump

(if those are the objectives.. it would appear that we have lost the war ya know..)

[GROUCHOTWO]

Congratulations on this first step on our attempt to combat this assault on our culture.

[Antoninus]

(if those are the objectives.. it would appear that we have lost the war ya know..)

Huh? Could you explain that, please?

Actually, there's no complete victory or total defeat in a culture war (short of armed repression). As long as a few reject the dominant culture, the war goes on. Right now, the left may have us down, but some of us are ready to get off the mat. If we don't they'll just continue to kick us in the ribs anyway!

[Jhoffa_]

I know..

I was just being bitter at all we have sacrificed thus far in this "culture war"

[Antoninus]

They largely play by different rules, going after one institution after another. AS soon as they get a foothold, that foothold is used to bring in more and more people like them. They may not see themselves as communist cells, but for practical purposes they act like them.

Honestly, the homosexuals do the same thing. I watched it happen in a large company I worked for. One got into a managment position. She proceeded to hire several more and suggest applicants for other departments. Soon, the company medical plan was offering domestic partner benefits. It happened so fast it made my head spin. Of course, considering the mental state of most of these folks, many didn't last long there. The original manager ran her program into the ground and was eventually canned for gross incompetence. I can't tell you how many times she was found weeping in her office. It truly was a sad case.

Meanwhile, if anyone got a whiff that you were a conservative, particularly a religious conservative, watch out! Personally, I wasn't shy about it, and eventually, people stopped debating me. I even went toe-to-toe with one of the VPs over several beers one night. But my immediate boss was simply an excellent, open-minded person, so my job was never in jeopardy. But I heard horror stories about people who were harassed by their bosses and considered 'outsiders' to be avoided because they dared to think religion was important, for example, or because they voted for Bush.

[Antoninus]

I was just being bitter at all we have sacrificed thus far in this "culture war"

I hear you. I'm just tired of being bitter. I'm ready to get in there and throw some punches.

[185JHP]

Hollywood has an anti-decency agenda. A lot of them want to make indecent movies, with gratuitous sex, violence, nudity and foul language. G-rated movies on average return more than (P)ornography(G)uaranteed and (R)eprehensible ratings do. The movie "Pleasantville" revealed a mocking, anti-decency attitude. Movies like "Old Yeller", "The Shootist", "The Magnificent Seven", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" could be made, and they would be, if enough people wouldn't go to any that weren't as clean.

[Gelato]

Thanks for the ping! Cleon Skousen's birthday is this week, BTW. He's not quite 100, but he's getting there. :)

Antoninus and Claud bring up an excellent point. The left is ruining our country while the right does little more than complain. It's time we started offering an alternative to the left's garbage art.

The Continental Congress of Art is a great idea!

[Antoninus]

The movie "Pleasantville" revealed a mocking, anti-decency attitude.

I nearly threw the clicker at the TV when we made the mistake of renting that message-laden stinker. Though I haven't seen it (and probably shouldn't comment on it), American Beauty, based on the reviews, struck me as a finger in the eye to ordinary suburban Americans. To my mind, it was Hollywood pouring their unmittigated scorn upon the very people that keep them in business.

Movies like "Old Yeller", "The Shootist", "The Magnificent Seven", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" could be made, and they would be, if enough people wouldn't go to any that weren't as clean.

Indeed. Hence the rationale for the targetted boycott. If enough of us start voting with our dollars, we'll get their attention.

[Antoninus]

Thanks for the ping! Cleon Skousen's birthday is this week, BTW. He's not quite 100, but he's getting there. :)

No kidding? He's still alive then? I wonder how he feels about the current situation of the country today. Any idea?

Thanks for the kind words. It seems to me that with all the junk passing for fine art and literature out there, and the easy access to the world we have since the advent of the internet, the field is wide open for the emergence of an artistic revival.

[Rudder]

Paleo-Leftism and Marxism is passe.

I knew it! Try as I may I could never keep up with the current style.

But a rose by another name...