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.

[He Rides A White Horse]

I knew one of you would be along sooner or later.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Yes, Iknow, they are exactly the same.

That's why NOW and NARAL donated and campaigned extensively for the President.

That's why every leftist front organization came out against him (People for the American Way, et al)

Really, some of you need to be more discerning.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Yes, I know Okiegolddust, you and the rest of the ideologically 'pure' are going to take Washington by storm by Saturday.

I've heard it all before.

[He Rides A White Horse]

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....

Maybe you can start with these?

[He Rides A White Horse]

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

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." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

..........and these are also things the average Repub pushes for?

[He Rides A White Horse]

You see, virtually every institution in this country is under assault by these subversives.

Yes, they are beginning to infiltrate the GOP.

No, I don't think a couple of RINOs are cause yet to leave.

If the GOP decides to abandon what is referred to sneeringly as the "religious right", then they might as well literally join the Democratic Party at that point.

They will be sorry they ever entertained that notion.

[serinde]

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.

I once heard that "Casablanca" would never be made today, because it lacks all the needed elements for a "hit." Unfortunately, this same criteria could be applied to lots of great movies.

[serinde]

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.

I agree. It is time to do something positive for once, instead of merely reacting.

[serinde]

Let's not forget that the spread of the communist agenda has depended heavily on the enthusiastic support of people they term 'useful idiots' - those who would support their short-term aims and those they proclaimed to the public (peace, workers' rights, racial equality, etc.), even if they were in the dark about their long-term goals.

When I was in college, I heard some Communist leader say something about not having to conquer America by force, the people would do it for them.

At the time I was naive enough to not believe this - why would anyone want to give up what we had, what made America great? I also believed that our elected officials wouldn't stand for this, that they would honor their oaths and protect this country.

I've grown up a lot since then. Unfortunately.

[serinde]

Calling all Culture Warriors

I do like this title. Thanks! It's got a nice ring to it.

[Don Myers]

bttt

[Rudder]

...the PC dominated conservative establishment is selling you a line when they tell you they're really interested in fighting these things.

So it would seem--if I follow you correctly---that a simple equation of summary would be:

PC=Neomarxist=Democrat=GOP=establishmentarian.

At least it seems that way to me.

[185JHP]

You're right. Most great movies are about the tension between good and evil, and doing what's right. Problem is, nowadays too many agents of influence like to portray evil as good - "Pulp Fiction", "Natural Born Killers."

[185JHP]

Thanks for your reply. One thing the vilest people in Hwood understand is money - that ain't there. FReegards

[Antoninus]

Excuse me. The Democratic AND Republican parties. See #56

No, they haven't captured the GOP yet. They're trying - having guys like Mike Bloomberg and Dick Riordan on our side is certainly not helping matters.

[Antoninus]

Thanks for the link. That was a great article. To quote part of it that is directly applicable here:

At the Frankfort School, established in 1933 at Columbia University in New York City, Theodor Adorno, Wilhelm Reich, Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse launched the program that would lead to the mainstreaming of cultural Marxism. Their assault on American values left Pro-American intellectuals in the dust scratching their heads wondering what had happened to the philosophy of the founders. Freedom, liberty, and morality, ideas that established the greatest society in history, have since been reduced to saloon talk on radio shows and websites.

Exactly what was the allure of the godless foursome? Why didn´t freedom advocates check them on the battlefield of ideas? The simple answer is that the Marxists offer sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

The reason they are so hard to combat, besides the fact that they offer sex and drugs, is that they don´t actually stand for a culture. The cultural Marxists actually represent an anti-Culture. They seek to tear down any notions of culture and replace them with…well…nothing. They stand for nothing and everything at the same time. This becomes apparent when trying to debate a cultural Marxist, and if you don´t believe me try it for yourself.

[Antoninus]

You see, virtually every institution in this country is under assault by these subversives. Yes, they are beginning to infiltrate the GOP. No, I don't think a couple of RINOs are cause yet to leave. If the GOP decides to abandon what is referred to sneeringly as the "religious right", then they might as well literally join the Democratic Party at that point. They will be sorry they ever entertained that notion.

I'm with you 100%, white horseman. You've got a clear view of the situation. An important battle in the culture war is to make sure the GOP knows that if it wants to win ANY future elections, they had better NOT mess with the abortion plank. How to achieve this? Make sure pro-choice RINOs don't get elected.

Without the 'religious right', the GOP is just a tiny, pale, shadow of the DemocRats.

[Antoninus]

I've grown up a lot since then. Unfortunately.

So have a lot of us.... I realized what was going on in college as well after doing a paper on the HUAC investigations of the Hollywood 10. Those guys (the Hollywood 10) were real scum with a truly evil agenda.

[Antoninus]

You're right. Most great movies are about the tension between good and evil, and doing what's right. Problem is, nowadays too many agents of influence like to portray evil as good - "Pulp Fiction", "Natural Born Killers."

Exactly! When watching a movie nowadays, I try to find the admirable characters. In 9 movies out of 10, there isn't one. All the characters have some scummy aspect or another. The message is that there is no 'good' or 'evil'. People who commit wicked acts all have a justification of some kind (unless they're rednecks, capitalists, 'homophobes' or religious people - they have a justification too, it's just invalid). Life has no meaning - it's just a bunch of stuff that happens.

This is not just in the movies. It's in books and other artistic media as well, btw.