Western\u00a0 society\u00a0 is\u00a0 beset\u00a0 with\u00a0 slogans\u00a0 of\u00a0 one\u00a0 kind\u00a0 or\u00a0 another.\u00a0 There\u00a0 can\u00a0 be\u00a0 few\u00a0 societies\u00a0 which\u00a0 have\u00a0 had\u00a0 to\u00a0 face\u00a0 so\u00a0 many.\u00a0 Not\u00a0 that\u00a0 previous\u00a0 generations\u00a0 have\u00a0 not\u00a0 had\u00a0 to\u00a0 respond\u00a0 to\u00a0 them.\u00a0 Virgil\u00a0 spoke\u00a0 to\u00a0 the\u00a0 ancient\u00a0 world\u00a0 of\u00a0 \u2018Eternal\u00a0 Rome\u2019,\u00a0 and\u00a0 people\u00a0 were\u00a0 meant\u00a0 to\u00a0 be\u00a0 grateful\u00a0 that\u00a0 the\u00a0 Roman\u00a0 Empire\u00a0 would\u00a0 go\u00a0 on\u00a0 forever.\u00a0 Thankfully\u00a0 it\u00a0 did\u00a0 not.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is\u00a0 probably\u00a0 fair\u00a0 to\u00a0 say\u00a0 that\u00a0 it\u00a0 was\u00a0 the\u00a0 French\u00a0 Revolution\u00a0 that\u00a0 ushered\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 modern\u00a0 age\u00a0 of\u00a0 slogans.\u00a0 The\u00a0 slogan\u00a0 for\u00a0 the\u00a0 Revolution,\u00a0 of\u00a0 course,\u00a0 was\u00a0 a\u00a0 most\u00a0 appealing\u00a0 one:\u00a0 \u2018Liberty,\u00a0 Equality,\u00a0 Fraternity\u2019.\u00a0 Thomas\u00a0 Paine\u00a0 proclaimed\u00a0 \u2018The\u00a0 Rights\u00a0 of\u00a0 Man\u2019,\u00a0 and\u00a0 denounced\u00a0 despots.\u00a0 Even\u00a0 as\u00a0 the\u00a0 guillotine\u00a0 was\u00a0 working\u00a0 overtime,\u00a0 people\u00a0 were\u00a0 still\u00a0 beguiled\u00a0 into\u00a0 thinking\u00a0 that\u00a0 the\u00a0 shedding\u00a0 of\u00a0 so\u00a0 much\u00a0 blood\u00a0 would\u00a0 somehow\u00a0 ring\u00a0 in\u00a0 utopia.\u00a0 Indeed,\u00a0 it\u00a0 was\u00a0 the\u00a0 Committee\u00a0 of\u00a0 Public\u00a0 Safety\u00a0 which\u00a0 praised\u00a0 civic\u00a0 virtues\u00a0 while\u00a0 waging\u00a0 war\u00a0 in\u00a0 a\u00a0 paranoid\u00a0 way\u00a0 on\u00a0 the\u00a0 Third\u00a0 Estate,\u00a0 as\u00a0 well\u00a0 as\u00a0 the\u00a0 First\u00a0 and\u00a0 Second\u00a0 Estates.\u00a0 Napoleon\u00a0 did\u00a0 not\u00a0 betray\u00a0 the\u00a0 Revolution;\u00a0 he\u00a0 fulfilled\u00a0 it.<\/p>\n
Stalin\u00a0 did\u00a0 the\u00a0 same\u00a0 in\u00a0 revolutionary\u00a0 Russia\u00a0 after\u00a0 1917.\u00a0 The\u00a0 Bolshevik\u00a0 Revolution\u00a0 was\u00a0 supposed\u00a0 to\u00a0 ensure\u00a0 the\u00a0 Dictatorship\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 Proletariat.\u00a0 It\u00a0 in\u00a0 fact\u00a0 achieved\u00a0 a\u00a0 brutal\u00a0 dictatorship\u00a0 over<\/em>\u00a0 the\u00a0 proletariat,\u00a0 and\u00a0 everybody\u00a0 else.\u00a0 The\u00a0 Communist\u00a0 Manifesto\u00a0 <\/em>by\u00a0 Karl\u00a0 Marx\u00a0 and\u00a0 Friedrich\u00a0 Engels\u00a0 had\u00a0 declared\u00a0 that \u00a0\u2018The\u00a0 proletarians\u00a0 have\u00a0 nothing\u00a0 to\u00a0 lose\u00a0 but\u00a0 their\u00a0 chains.\u00a0 They\u00a0 have\u00a0 a\u00a0 world\u00a0 to\u00a0 win.\u2019\u00a0 Whatever\u00a0 chains\u00a0 which\u00a0 bound\u00a0 them\u00a0 in\u00a0 Tsarist\u00a0 days\u00a0 were\u00a0 exchanged\u00a0 for\u00a0 the\u00a0 death\u00a0 camps\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 Gulag,\u00a0 and\u00a0 somehow\u00a0 they\u00a0 failed\u00a0 to\u00a0 win\u00a0 the \u00a0world.\u00a0 Alexander\u00a0 Solzhenitsyn\u2019s\u00a0 A\u00a0 Day\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 Life\u00a0 of\u00a0 Ivan\u00a0 Denisovich\u00a0 <\/em>portrayed\u00a0 an\u00a0 inmate\u00a0 who\u00a0 was\u00a0 just\u00a0 happy\u00a0 to\u00a0 be\u00a0 able\u00a0 to\u00a0 survive\u00a0 till\u00a0 the\u00a0 next\u00a0 day.<\/p>\n In\u00a0 Germany\u00a0 the\u00a0 Thousand\u00a0 Year\u00a0 Reich\u00a0 crumbled\u00a0 after\u00a0 twelve\u00a0 long\u00a0 years.\u00a0 The\u00a0 \u2018Strength\u00a0 Through\u00a0 Joy\u2019\u00a0 leisure\u00a0 programme\u00a0 ended\u00a0 out\u00a0 promoting\u00a0 the\u00a0 death\u00a0 camps,\u00a0 while\u00a0 the\u00a0 Charitable\u00a0 Transport\u00a0 Company\u00a0 gathered\u00a0 disabled\u00a0 children\u00a0 and\u00a0 invalids\u00a0 for\u00a0 the\u00a0 gas\u00a0 chambers\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 Nazi\u00a0 euthanasia\u00a0 programme.\u00a0 But\u00a0 we\u00a0 are\u00a0 all\u00a0 past\u00a0 that,\u00a0 aren\u2019t\u00a0 we?\u00a0 Well,\u00a0 no,\u00a0 we\u00a0 still\u00a0 seem\u00a0 prone\u00a0 to\u00a0 fall\u00a0 for\u00a0 one\u00a0 utopian\u00a0 lunacy\u00a0 after\u00a0 another.<\/p>\n The\u00a0 Woodstock\u00a0 generation\u00a0 told\u00a0 us\u00a0 to\u00a0 \u2018Make\u00a0 Love,\u00a0 Not\u00a0 War\u2019,\u00a0 and\u00a0 portrayed\u00a0 themselves\u00a0 as\u00a0 \u2018gentle\u00a0 people\u00a0 with\u00a0 flowers \u00a0in\u00a0 their\u00a0 hair\u2019.\u00a0 Too\u00a0 often\u00a0 it\u00a0 all\u00a0 descended\u00a0 into\u00a0 drugs\u00a0 and\u00a0 promiscuity,\u00a0 accompanied\u00a0 by\u00a0 anger\u00a0 and\u00a0 even\u00a0 violence.\u00a0 Since\u00a0 then,\u00a0 the\u00a0 slogans\u00a0 have\u00a0 continued,\u00a0 without\u00a0 any\u00a0 sign\u00a0 of\u00a0 abating.\u00a0 We\u00a0 have\u00a0 Harmony\u00a0 Day\u00a0 to\u00a0 promote\u00a0 an\u00a0 artificial\u00a0 harmony,\u00a0 and\u00a0 all\u00a0 our\u00a0 schools\u00a0 are\u00a0 \u2018centres\u00a0 of\u00a0 excellence\u2019,\u00a0 although\u00a0 standards\u00a0 are\u00a0 falling.\u00a0 The\u00a0 modern\u00a0 classic\u00a0 is\u00a0 surely\u00a0 the\u00a0 demand\u00a0 for\u00a0 \u2018Marriage\u00a0 Equality\u2019.\u00a0 \u2018Marriage\u2019\u00a0 sounds\u00a0 a\u00a0 good\u00a0 thing,\u00a0 as\u00a0 does\u00a0 \u2018Equality\u2019,\u00a0 so\u00a0 \u2018Marriage\u00a0 Equality\u2019\u00a0 must\u00a0 be\u00a0 doubly\u00a0 good.<\/p>\n Add\u00a0 this\u00a0 to\u00a0 the\u00a0 soothing\u00a0 rhetoric\u00a0 of\u00a0 Barak\u00a0 Obama\u00a0 after\u00a0 the\u00a0 Supreme\u00a0 Court\u2019s\u00a0 5-4\u00a0 decision\u00a0 of\u00a0 26\u00a0 June\u00a0 2015\u00a0 to\u00a0 allow\u00a0 same-sex\u00a0 marriages\u00a0 throughout\u00a0 the\u00a0 United\u00a0 States.\u00a0 Obama\u00a0 waxed\u00a0 lyrical:\u00a0 \u2018This\u00a0 ruling\u00a0 will\u00a0 strengthen\u00a0 all\u00a0 of\u00a0 our\u00a0 communities\u00a0 by\u00a0 offering\u00a0 to\u00a0 all\u00a0 loving\u00a0 same-sex\u00a0 couples\u00a0 the\u00a0 dignity\u00a0 of\u00a0 marriage\u00a0 across\u00a0 this\u00a0 great\u00a0 land\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 And\u00a0 this\u00a0 ruling\u00a0 is\u00a0 a\u00a0 victory\u00a0 for\u00a0 America\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 When\u00a0 all\u00a0 Americans\u00a0 are\u00a0 treated\u00a0 as \u00a0equal,\u00a0 we\u00a0 are\u00a0 all\u00a0 more\u00a0 free.\u2019\u00a0 Sentimentality\u00a0 seems\u00a0 to\u00a0 have\u00a0 replaced\u00a0 any\u00a0 capacity\u00a0 for\u00a0 thought\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 modern\u00a0 media\u00a0 world.\u00a0 \u2018Equality\u2019\u00a0 does\u00a0 not\u00a0 mean\u00a0 \u2018Sameness\u2019;\u00a0 marriage\u00a0 is\u00a0 a\u00a0 celebration\u00a0 of\u00a0 differences.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is\u00a0 the\u00a0 complementary\u00a0 nature\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 two\u00a0 sexes\u00a0 that\u00a0 is\u00a0 crucial\u00a0 to\u00a0 any\u00a0 marriage.\u00a0 Surely\u00a0 too\u00a0 Mr\u00a0 Obama\u00a0 must\u00a0 know\u00a0 something\u00a0 about\u00a0 Christian\u00a0 bakers,\u00a0 florists,\u00a0 and\u00a0 wedding\u00a0 workers\u00a0 who\u00a0 are\u00a0 being\u00a0 sued\u00a0 for\u00a0 not\u00a0 pandering\u00a0 to\u00a0 the\u00a0 same-sex\u00a0 lobby.<\/p>\n Mark\u00a0 Twain\u00a0 once\u00a0 quipped\u00a0 that\u00a0 \u2018Wagner\u2019s\u00a0 music\u00a0 is\u00a0 better\u00a0 than\u00a0 it\u00a0 sounds.\u2019\u00a0 The\u00a0 reverse\u00a0 can\u00a0 be\u00a0 said\u00a0 of\u00a0 slogans:\u00a0 the\u00a0 reality\u00a0 is\u00a0 invariably\u00a0 far\u00a0 worse\u00a0 than\u00a0 the\u00a0 rhetoric.\u00a0 The\u00a0 problem\u00a0 lies\u00a0 not\u00a0 only\u00a0 with\u00a0 the\u00a0 corrupt\u00a0 and\u00a0 dishonest\u00a0 manipulation\u00a0 of\u00a0 words,\u00a0 but\u00a0 also\u00a0 with\u00a0 a\u00a0 kind\u00a0 of\u00a0 zealous\u00a0 sincerity.\u00a0 Distinguishing\u00a0 between\u00a0 the\u00a0 two\u00a0 groups\u00a0 is\u00a0 not\u00a0 always\u00a0 easy.\u00a0 In\u00a0 any\u00a0 case,\u00a0 the\u00a0 result\u00a0 is\u00a0 yet\u00a0 another\u00a0 illustration\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 words\u00a0 of\u00a0 Isaiah:\u00a0 \u2018Woe\u00a0 to\u00a0 those\u00a0 who\u00a0 call\u00a0 evil\u00a0 good\u00a0 and\u00a0 good\u00a0 evil,\u00a0 who\u00a0 put\u00a0 darkness\u00a0 for\u00a0 light\u00a0 and\u00a0 light\u00a0 for\u00a0 darkness,\u00a0 who\u00a0 put\u00a0 bitter\u00a0 for\u00a0 sweet\u00a0 and\u00a0 sweet\u00a0 for\u00a0 bitter!\u2019\u00a0 (Isa.5:20)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Western\u00a0 society\u00a0 is\u00a0 beset\u00a0 with\u00a0 slogans\u00a0 of\u00a0 one\u00a0 kind\u00a0 or\u00a0 another.\u00a0 There\u00a0 can\u00a0 be\u00a0 few\u00a0 societies\u00a0 which\u00a0 have\u00a0 had\u00a0 to\u00a0 face\u00a0 so\u00a0 many.\u00a0 Not\u00a0 that\u00a0 previous\u00a0 generations\u00a0 have\u00a0 not\u00a0 had\u00a0 to\u00a0 respond\u00a0 to\u00a0 them.\u00a0 Virgil\u00a0 spoke\u00a0 to\u00a0 the\u00a0 ancient\u00a0 world\u00a0 of\u00a0 \u2018Eternal\u00a0 Rome\u2019,\u00a0 and\u00a0 people\u00a0 were\u00a0 meant\u00a0 to\u00a0 be\u00a0 grateful\u00a0 that\u00a0 the\u00a0 Roman\u00a0 Empire\u00a0 would\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"resource-author":[6005],"topic":[517],"class_list":["post-24411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","resource-author-barnes-peter","topic-christian-thought-2"],"yoast_head":"\n