Things I Think
1. For those unaware, I’m a life long hockey fan. When I was a kid the team I loved to hate was the Philadelphia Flyers…”The Broad Street Bullies”. They were a mean, rough and tumble bunch with a great goalie and a secret weapon. Well, not really a secret…she was too big and too loud to hide.
Before important games Kate Smith would sing “God Bless America” and her win/loss record was amazing for a while. She became a beloved figure in Philly long after her prime and they even put a statue of her outside the stadium.
They tore down that statue last week and banned her recording of “God Bless America” from the arena, thirty plus years after her death.
Her posthumous crime was to have recorded racially insensitive records early during the 1930’s…even though almost every white artist one can think of did likewise.
The politically correct police found something that offended them and acted swiftly…banning her music, tearing down her statue, and doing everything they can to wipe her memory from the earth.
If they could disinter her and burn the remains they would do that too.
Judging historical figures by modern standards is fools game and an offense against society and history.
When we try to wipe the record clean of contemporary “sins” we lose not only historical perspective, but the ability to learn from historical figures.
We fool ourselves by pretending that we have arrived at some pristine state of existence and ethics without acknowledging what it would take to arrive at our imaginary destination.
Society tries to to find complete sanctification without a Savior or the Holy Spirit, using instead cultural erasers that simply smear the pages of history.
We have our Kate Smith’s and Robert E. Lee’s in the church…John Calvin and Martin Luther have their legacies examined under the withering eyes of the pure and fail as well.
If we were honest about historical figures (and ourselves) we would celebrate the reason we raised markers to to certain people and learn from their mistakes as well.
Removing all memories of them means we will replicate their mistakes without inheriting what made them great.
We will be poorer and more wicked for the effort…
2. I’m sure the above will get me labeled as a “white supremacist”… because on Twitter if you disagree with anyone about anything that’s the reason why…
3. Stupid has no end on social media…there was outrage from a vocal few that donations poured in to rebuild the cathedral of Notre Dame when three small black churches in Louisiana had also burned down that week. This was also the result of racism despite the cathedral being one of the worlds architectural and artistic jewels for a few hundred years and awareness of its place in the world exponentially exceeded that of the small churches. All the churches ended up getting funds to rebuild, so maybe we’re not all racists after all…and all the attention on Notre Dame got attention for those churches in Louisiana as well…
4. More social media stupid…”why rebuild that cathedral when there are homeless, hungry, etc., etc,”, they cried…as if addressing one issue means you’re unable forever to address another…
5. Over 200 Christians were killed in Sri Lanka by Muslim extremists Easter Sunday…and hundreds more were slaughtered in other locations over the the week. This happens almost every week…so I don’t think it’s any sort of ‘phobia” to be concerned about such getting a foothold in this country…
6. The PC crowd opposes Trump without realizing that their nonsense was directly responsible for his election…thanks for nothing, people…
7. This is also the group that is in favor of late term abortion, which history will judge as mass murder…get your applause while you can, folks…
8. Some will see this as a liberal vs. conservative piece…I see it as rational vs. irrational…
9. If you want to know if your pastor is a narcissist, count how many selfies he did for Easter services…
10. Finally, I am irrationally excited to see “Avengers: Endgame” when we can get a seat…even though the curmudgeon in me thinks Thanos might have been on to something when he snapped his fingers and made half of everything vanish…I kid because I care…
phoenixpreacher@gmail.com
Well,
In China they are codifying everyone’s behavior and ascribing numerical values to the citizens based on conformity to the norm. They use facial recognition and every electronically registered activity as basis to judge their citizens and control their access to goods, services, jobs, freedoms, and whatever else they whim.
In America the PC crowd is going to do the same thing. Make no mistake about it this is totalitarianism in embryo. My liberal friends tell me that PC is just politeness. What you described about Kate Smith is certainly other than social polite behavior.
No one will escape the wrath of the politically correct.
What We Feared Dread
BD,
I believe you are right and the last generation that would fight this will pass from the scene just as it flowers here…
#9 – We’re coming in at zero 🙂
Josh,
You’re safe… 🙂
Hey Michael, I don’t remember giving you permission to write about Philadelphia sports without my pre-approval. 🙂
KevinH,
I was really writing about Kate Smith because I thought you’d be too young to remember her…but I will watch myself going forward… 🙂
Oh, they still used Smith recordings at Flyers games at times up to current day. I’ll give you more in my next comment. Be careful of that hatred for the Bullies, though. 🙂
I HATED them…Dave Schultz, Bobby Clarke…my enemies!
I had walked past that statue quite a few times in my lifetime.
To this day, when the Flyers would play Kate Smith before a game it would bring about a huge roar from the crowd. They generally would save her for big games (which the Flyers haven’t had many the last few years) and what the Flyers would always do in these cases, as they have since the beginning, is have Smith sing God Bless America in lieu of the National Anthem before the start of the game. And what they have done for quite a while now, is the song is started live by professional recording artist Lauren Hart (daughter of the late, great Flyers play-by-play man, Gene Hart) and then joined in on video by Smith in a duet. Whenever Smith’s part first comes on, the crowd explodes in excitement.
It was disappointing, but not surprising given her time period, to find out about Smith’s racist ideas. Unless the Flyers were willing to endure all kinds of pressure, attacks, and defamation, they had no choice but to take down the statue and cut off all future ties with Smith. It will upset a good many of their loyal fans, but those fans will keep supporting the team and will eventually get over it. However, the damage done to their national standing and reputation would have suffered much more had they decided to stick with Smith.
And it is a shame, for many of the reasons you articulate in your article. At this rate, it won’t be long before there is intense pressure to tear down the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and eradicate many of the great contributors from our history.
Bob Kelly
Reggie Leach
Bill Barber
Bernie Parent
Andre DuPont
Fred Shero
Just a few more for you there, Michael. 🙂
Well said, Kevin.
I almost wrote this as a demand to tear down the Lincoln Memorial but it was getting too cynical.
These PC clowns no nothing about the history of popular music in the twentieth century, but they would all affirm the “artistic” value of rap and hip hop…Lord have mercy…
Fred Shero was the strangest man to ever coach professional sports.
I hated Parent…but that was a reflection of his greatness.
Oh boy, Michael. I was learning from you until I read the comment about the the “PC clowns” and “hip hop”. I don’t know… that one was a bit too close to the edge for me. And by the way, not all of these folks (mainly Black folks?) support late- term abortion, nor are they liberals. Not all like or listen to hip-hop. I am one such person. And no, I’m not calling you a supremacist or a racist, but I do think your cynicism here points to a certain group of people whom you’re painting with a broad brush. I have always loved your thought- provoking articles though.
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste…” There used to be a public service spot promoting Black education with that line. …
Oddly now it seems that minds are being wasted across the color spectrum irregardless of education…. even within our Christian communities
Amen to #8 and to BD’s 9:20 observations
Nina,
Thanks for the kind words.
I do get ruffled on this topic…I believe rap is one of the most destructive cultural influences of this generation.
I actually consider myself a liberal, but at this point I’m pleading for sanity on both sides…
5. Religion. Yeah. It does that stuff. Regularly. But my saying so starts Christian into defense mode, and they say stupid things like Stalin. Fact. Every single time.
10. James Jude told me he could not see End Game without seeing Captain Marvel. So we watched it during church time in a churchy town so we could have the best seats. He was right. You have to see that first. Like it’s pretty much a requirement.
Reuben,
Trey and I saw it already and I loved it…I’m ready for “Endgame”…
Just so that the prophecy may be fulfilled…
But Reuben, what about Stalin?
Michael, thank you for your thoughtful response. I, too, feel that hip-hop is a destructive influence on our culture. I also believe, as you do, that both sides need to be more rational.
” If you want to know if your pastor is a narcissist, count how many selfies he did for Easter services…”
I ended my Lenten facebook fast and saw a few of my pastor “friends” who posted their selfies that the took either at the beginning, middle of end of their Easter service. I have considered each of them a narcissist for other reasons in the past, now they gave me one more reason to support my belief in their personality disorder.
#2. I’ve disagreed with plenty of people on twitter and never once been called a “white supremacist”.
London, you white supremacist, you.
Jeez, your #1 needs to be repeated in the ears of everyone ad nauseum
Notre Dame is a physical manifestation of a spiritual reality – Christendom could burn down today and it wouldn’t make much difference. Something ecumenical will come along to take its place.