Says the meme, says the fear: "I was once willing to give my life for what I believed this country stood for. Today I would give my life to protect my family from what this country has become."
My thoughts are different, so I reply to that meme on Facebook by saying: "We're fine. We are still a nation of values. The forces of evil are stronger, and more people listen to them instead of to God, but we still remain overall a good and honorable nation. My fear is that this type of thinking falls right into the hands of those who would take over our nation. You worry that you need to give your life to protect your family from bad values? While the morals of our nation have dipped, let them not serve as excuse for turning on each other in war. Do you feel you will need to take up arms against the LGBTQ? Hey, hey, don't go that far; do not be persuaded of that. Live with those whose morals are not your own. Love them. The danger of our country falling into a civil war is real, and this kind of thinking falls right into the arms of those who are seeking to take our freedom away."
ReplyDeleteI'm not persuaded by those who argue the reenactment in the Olympics was inspired by something else. Twelve people (in the image making the news, though more in the whole play) . . . almost the same as the Last Supper (13). One in the center . . . same as the Last Supper. The one in the center faces straight ahead while the others (many, anyway) are turned towards and giving attention to the middle person . . . same as the Last Supper, The poses of the drag queens are similiar to those of the apostles in the Last Supper. The person in the center is crowned with an aureole . . . same as Christ is often depicted. All versions of the Last Supper are not the same, but in those of the High Renaissance, Christ has such a halo. In a painting that has been suggested as being the inspiration for the Opening Ceremonies play, The Feast of the Gods, painted by the Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert, there also is much in common with The Last Supper, even to the point I conclude that it, too, is a parody of the Last Supper.
When asked about the short play, and the controversy that resulted, the artistic director (Thomas Jolly) did not specify that it wasn't a reenactment of The Last Supper. Instead, he defended the right to depict things the way he wanted and not depict them in a way that would please Christ worshippers. He said, "In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.” One can easily wonder if he is taking a shot at the United States, suggesting that the U.S. doesn't allow as much freedom of speech as does France.
-- John Jackson