07-06-2022, 06:40 PM
(07-06-2022, 05:00 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:(07-05-2022, 11:07 PM)JasonBlack Wrote: To be perfectly honest, more authoritarian regimes tend to have the best tastes in music, architecture, military uniforms and public works. That doesn't mean I agree with their other policies, but American liberals in particular seem allergic to anything opulent or glorious. Taking a deeper look, the psychology behind aversion seems to be rooted in a sense of "We've had our time in the sun. It's time to step down, reduce our consumption and go off quietly to think over the crimes we have committed".
To a large extent, this is true of aristocratic and religious regimes in the past, although the early republics that co-existed with them since the early Renaissance era were also excellent. I could care less about military uniforms, but otherwise yes it's a good point. The challenge for the USA and modern economies is whether the almost-exclusive obsession with gross national product, wealth and even equality of economic opportunity often precludes interest in and support of the arts. In the USA today, it is performance rather than creativity that is emphasized and supported by the authorities here. But speaking of which, is the USA any less authoritarian today than the aristocracies of Europe? There's really not that much difference now. Meanwhile, it's also well to point out that in aristocratic Europe and Asia, the arts were built for the glory of the authorities, and sometimes (especially among aristocrats) the public was not admitted into the palaces they built or the concerts they organized until the revolutions gave more power to the common people.
The Dutch Republic, one of the freest societies of the time, had arguably the greatest cultural awakening that a country ever had. The merchants loved their oil paintings, and they wanted good ones by the likes of Rembrandt, Vermeer, et al. A religious refugee from the Spanish Inquisition, Baruch Spinoza, was one of the greatest of philosophers of all time. He made his living grinding lenses for the telescopes that Dutch scientists used for exploring the heavens or Dutch merchant-traders used for locating their place at sea. Descartes established the marvel of analytic geometry in the Netherlands. The Dutch had a fine composer in Pretorius, and if they were not so great at literature (it is telling that to this date the greatest work of Dutch literature is an incomplete, juvenile work by someone whose native speech was not Dutch; it is almost always read in translation. A hint: it's from the middle of the twentieth century). That may reflect that the Netherlands is a small country whose language is surrounded by the powerhouse literary languages French, English, and German.
The Florentine and Venetian republics were hardly democracies, but their leaders generally knew enough (especially in Venice) to leave the artists alone to do what they did well. Britain (except under Henry VIII) was much the same.
Quote:The aristocrats and religious leaders of the past had a sense of the divine, and especially the Church wanted their arts to communicate and inspire the glory of God or other divinities. Since the revolutions that brought the commons more to the fore, the dictators that have emerged from them or sought to reimpose brute authority over the people have no such desire or interest. This is where dictatorial taste like Donald Trump's is shown. His taste is horrible, and reflects not only his desire to be dictator, but his total lack of any other values or interests except his own wealth. Such has also been true of the fascists and communists, who only sought to impose narrow ideologies on the people and keep them restricted. In the same way, in fact, the garish, Goldfinger-like taste of Donald Trump communicates the ideology of neoliberalism that proclaims that the wealthy alone should rule the people in the name of "free enterprise" and "job creaters".
Thank you, Eric. You have expressed something that I did not express. Trump celebrates nothing grander than his ego. Were I an artist it would not be about me. The great art of the Roman Catholic Church sought to humanize the Gospel and Old Testament stories into something something accessible to the masses. Much of this is in remembrance of Jesus for his ultimate Sacrifice.
Let us remember another religious tradition not mine as it is not from my ethnic group. Slaves in America got the Gospel in the expectation that it would make them productive toilers who would accept their personal degradation and economic exploitation as the Will of God. Those slaves often found the Gospel having copious allusions to freedom and human dignity against the Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. It's hardly surprising that the Nazis and Stalinists did not want their subjects to contemplate that part of the Bible, as it might give people some ideas incompatible with tyranny. The Stalinists sought to obliterate religion altogether, and the Nazis tried to bowdlerize Christianity to cheap sentimentality.
I take the commandment Thou Shalt Not Steal as a condemnation of economic exploitation, itself a form of theft. That commandment is incompatible with the plutocracy that the Hard Right would delightfully impose upon us all at the cost of all liberty and personal dignity,
Quote:"Make America Great Again" used to be a cliche. In 2022, it's isn't, because we live in a time where it is controversial whether or not America ever really was great, and, even worse, if we actually do want to make it great. You are more than welcome to criticize Trump's behavior (I personally think he's very unstatesmanlike sometimes), or his policies, but we want a leader who is confident. Someone who inspires with grandeur and isn't afraid to think big. Trump's penchant for the dramatic and awe-inspiring is a plus in my book, not a negative. It remains true that USA people (Americans of the United States) prefer inspiring leaders, especially when voting for president. Those elected may or may not especially "think big", but at least give the impression of being leaders who can accomplish something. They look for leadership qualities and for their ability to connect with the people. History confirms this. Trump is able to connect with that portion of the country willing to follow him, and he gives the impression of leadership ability. It turns out to be a mistaken impression; an ability to deceive, and his notions of grandeur are revolting to anyone with any taste. We need better examples of inspiration and thinking big than the worst president in USA history can provideImo, if you don't want your country to be the best and want people to be proud of your country, you...shouldn't run for office. The reason why the Democrats have lost so much favor from people whose interests they claim to support is that they can sense the bad faith in their statements. Their contempt for rugged individualism (you don't have to be rich to be rugged individualist. out here in the country, it's the norm), their contempt for pretty much every classically American pastime. Hell, there are even a group of liberal celebrities now....boycotting the 4th of July? Are you serious? Do you trust people like that to be leaders?
Quote:Sorry man, not a fan of this take.
The reason the people have not supported Democrats in the degree that they should, as far as I can see, is their tremendous gullibility and penchant for the irrational and for fantasy. Liberals understand that we need to go beyond what today's right-wing Court conceives of as traditions and economic realities too disruptive to change. We need to do precisely that now if we are to prosper and succeed in the near future. We either move away from classic American "pastimes" and nostrums like "rugged individualism", or we fall to pieces in total failure. We are now the worst developed nation in the world because too many people accept these worn out false notions and outdated systems, and are unwilling to change. Those who knock liberals are just those people who want to continue to live in the worst developed nation in the world, and even are OK with its rapidly-current fall into banana republic status. The non-liberals today are truly pathetic.
The GOP program suggests much the same as the heretical Gospel of Greed. The idea that faith in Jesus will guarantee wealth otherwise unavailable contradicts the Sermon on the Mount, the essence of Christianity. Jesus told His followers to bring dignity to the poor, and to not exploit them for personal gain. Jesus' Ministry tells us to sacrifice corrupt gain and aristocratic finery to make life better for those in grave, and often life-threatening peril from their poverty.
The few rich people of Jesus' time were either aristocrats, corrupt officials, hustlers, or outright thieves. Maybe He would have had a different message had he been born in one of the mercantile republics such as Holland or Venice in which commerce created wealth that could literally tickle down to the common man. I doubt that in such a place He would have gone after the merchants and manufacturers. I doubt that He would have told small businessmen to liquidate their businesses, give the proceeds to the poor -- and leave their employees destitute.
Those who demand that others suffer for the gain of themselves while the poor endure great suffering, or offer such a fraud as most of our televangelists offer, deserve to be called out for what they are. Such people are the priests of the false god Mammon.
[quote]"Boycotting the 4th of July"! Again, I find the whole idea bizzarre. What, I won't go watch the fireworks? Gee whiz, what an insult to the USA that is![/quote]
See my above post. Patriotism is fine when the nation is healthy. Under sick leadership patriotic expressions become obscene parodies.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.