To be simultaneously Queen of the Britons and Head of the Commonwealth when the Commonwealth has come to Britain is a schizophrenic occupation.  Evidently, though, for the Sufferer it is made less onerous by the incapacity to see any conflict therein.  One side of the divide is, after all, cast down into the mud.  It hates, or so they say.  The other is graced by expedience and favoured by the conviction that liberal sanctimony is the measure of all decent men.  Much of the expedience, never forget, consists in the sure knowledge that the latter choice will assist the corporate survival of the Monarchy itself.

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I always like finding examples of genuinely conservative thought in history. It makes a nice change to be able to present these gems, rather than to be always a critic of liberalism.

So I was pleased to find the following piece of writing by John Jay, who was a Founding Father of America and the first Chief Justice of the United States. Jay wrote that,

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… which, all things considered, is a fairly appropriate moment to return to the subject of faith in our liberal times.  Earlier this month a Cassandra-like figure, Jayne Ozanne, lit up a debate in the Church of England with a private paper she submitted to the Archbishop’s Council.  It was leaked and in it she wrote this:-

I see a time of great persecution coming, which will drive Christianity all but underground in the West. I believe that this will primarily take the form of a social and economic persecution, where Christians will be ridiculed for their faith and pressurised into making it a purely private matter.

Meanwhile, the established Church will continue to implode and self-destruct, fragmenting into various divisions over a range of internal issues. There will be an increasing number who fear man more than God, and who shy away from admitting that there is any absolute truth. Instead, they will seek to promote a gospel that is socially acceptable to all. As a result, many will continue to leave – disaffected and dismayed by the lack of faith and courage needed to stand the ground.

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In a recent post John Ray writes that,

“It is of course my contention that Leftism can ONLY be understood as a psychological rather than a rational phenomenon.”

This statement touches on important issues, so I don’t want to let it pass by without comment. I don’t think that John has described things adequately. I believe that both the left and the right wing of politics have adopted the same underlying political principle and that the logical unfolding of this principle explains the course of Western politics.

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Crossposted from my web log.

Drew Pinsky, host of Loveline, writes about culture in his book Cracked.

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Chris Bonnor wants Australian boys to be more like girls. In 1997 he was a principal of a boys’ school in Sydney when he gave an influential speech on the issue of boys and education.

The gist of the speech was that the world of work had changed. Male skills were no longer required and therefore boys would need to learn to “cross gender boundaries” to succeed in life. According to Bonnor “gender is something that is socially constructed” which meant it was his school’s “core business to reconstruct boys”.

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“The plan I came up with was to invite theatres across the country to read the play and discuss it afterwards, to have a debate so there was more understanding about the whole issue.  I was proceeding with these plans until last night, when I received a request from the author.”

Neal Foster, actor-manager, Birmingham Stage Company.

That request from Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, the author of the play, Bezhti, was made from hiding because of death threats against her by fellow Sikhs.  They, fearing that Neal Foster’s defence of liberal values might result again in their religious sensibilities being offended, then called him on the phone.

“They said I would be shot if I continued with plans to stage the play,” he said. “I have taken them seriously.”

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It is maintained that a society is free only when dissenting minorities have room to throw their weight around. As a matter of fact, a dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority; what it abominates most is the dissent of the majority.

Eric Hoffer, Reflection on the Human Condition

Thanks to Kevin Michael Grace, back from an entirely untoward absence.