USA Today redefines the American political spectrum
Henry G. Brinton, pastor and author merited nearly all of page 13A today with his op-ed Finding spiritual world's middle ground. He makes some interesting points about American politics and redefines the national political spectrum in a very American, and very spiritual way. Instead of conservatives and liberals, he renames the polar ends obligation-keepers and liberation-seekers.
He links his definitions to Biblical examples in a fascinating and yet faulty manner, even offering modern examples of each category.
"President Bush is a classic obligation-keeper - pro-life and pro-traditional family, with a strong focus on moral clarity. His approach to strong focus goes back to God's original covenant with Abraham, whom God promised to make fruitful if he will walk before God and be blameless...
Bill Clinton, on the other hand, is a liberation-seeker - determined to help people in need and protect freedoms such as gay rights and abortion rights. His style of religion can be traced back to Moses and the exodus from Egypt, in which God liberates his people from the oppression of pharoah."
If you've ever actually read the Bible, you know exactly where this analogy breaks down. Moses did not simply liberate people unconditionally. He liberated the people who had covenanted with God. Obedience to specific laws were exacted in order to gain liberation - remember that bit about lamb's blood over the door as an outward display of the convenant. Obedience to that divine mandate spared the lives of the promise keepers. Let's not forget that freedom was a benefit of compliance to the covenants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was not arbitrary - it was a direct response to keeping "obligations". Further more, Moses was the prophet of the Law. It was he who came down from Mt. Sinai with commandments in hand.
Brinton makes the point that conservatives and liberals often change from obligation-keepers to liberation-seekers and vice versa depending on the political issue and therein lies room for much compromise and understanding. This is about the closest his assessment comes to making sense. No group is as homogenous as it seems at first glance - only those who view political issues and people through the short-sighted lens of a camera see things so naively. These are people who let newspaper headlines and 30 second CNN reports govern their political thought. The reality of the human condition is infinitely more complex.
As far as the whole idea of obligation-keeper and liberation-seeker goes, these spiritual themes are not extremes on a spectrum of modern American thought. They are more like polar ends of the same stick. You cannot have one without the other. Take for example the analogy of two children taking piano lessons. There is the one child whose parents demand attentive practice and there is the other whose parents allow him the freedom to choose whether or not he will dedicate time to his talent. Both boys hate practicing. Their liberty is infringed upon by the daily half hour sessions spent plunking out notes and studying melodies. And yet, in later years, when called upon to demonstrate his skill only one of the boys enjoys the freedom to play. The child who never practiced, who did not keep up his obligation, ultimately lost his freedom. When asked, "Will you play the piano?" He was left only one response. The diligent boy, on the other hand had the freedom to respond by either declining or accepting the invitation. He is now free to choose.
The same principle holds true with every decision we make as individuals and as a society of the free. We often choose to give up some liberties for the greater good. We choose to inhibit the freedom of our children, forcing them (as they often see it) like cruel taskmasters to endure 8 hours of schooling daily. We exhibit cultural self-abnegation in a myriad of ways, and do so willingly and frequently when we consider the ultimate freedoms guaranteed through a little give and take. We give up income so that our tax dollars can buy us the greater freedom of a standing military and freedom from criminals and social ills. We have nationally chosen to be obligation-keepers in countless ways because we realize that keeping obligations allows us to ultimately enjoy greater liberty. Obligation and libertarianism are not and either-or proposition but and if-then construct.
Most of the social degradation, corruption and lack of personal morality that afflicts our nation right now is directly caused by the desire to offer liberty without obligation. The removal of allegiance to social and moral covenants has resulted in a complete absolution of accountability and when we refuse to hold up our obligations, we find ourselves like the Israelites Moses was sent to liberate. Enslaved.
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Bill---Moses------------oh please! Bill Clinton could not handle a face to face with God, he would have been burned.
Comment by Verity— 2006/05/08 @ 01:56 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Cate— 2006/05/09 @ 06:02 AM — (Reply)
Now Now Verity you're apt to rile up some of our liberal friends...
Comment by elmers brother— 2006/05/08 @ 09:41 PM — (Reply)
Nor do I much care for that article. I thought the author was stretching his point beyond credibility, and using Bush and Clinton as some sort of polar opposites was a case of using bad examples for both "roles."
But I love your last paragraph, Cate. Well done.
Comment by Michael— 2007/02/14 @ 01:50 PM — (Reply)
Actually, I've had a few other liberal commenters and much more traffic than the comment section suggests. Unfortunately, according to my site tracker, most people who accidentally bump into my blog do so by using their search engines to find "soccer mom hot sex". Boy, they must be disappointed
Comment by Cate— 2007/02/14 @ 06:18 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Michael— 2007/02/14 @ 07:14 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/05/08 @ 10:54 PM — (Reply)
Bill Clinton didn't seek to liberate the oppressed in Somalia - he sought to gain glory without sacrificing points in the polls and after sending men to their deaths, he pulled out, leaving them as vain casualties. Because he didn't value the obligation that a commander has to the men who follow him - even more interesting is the fact that even though we knew Al-Qaida had played a part in the Mogadishu affair and had perpetrated the WTC bombing 8 months before, he ran for cover, emboldening them even more to attack us openly and ferociously on our own soil.
Comment by Cate— 2006/05/09 @ 01:38 PM — (Reply)
No argument on this one!
Comment by ixgames— 2006/09/16 @ 08:59 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/09/16 @ 09:15 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/09/16 @ 01:42 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/09/16 @ 11:33 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/09/16 @ 11:38 AM — (Reply)
I've heard Bush mention God - maybe I'm wrong, but I can't remember him ever saying anything about belief in Jesus.
Comment by Dugg— 2006/09/16 @ 11:51 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/09/16 @ 11:55 AM — (Reply)
I have two books that spell out his Christian faith in very good detail.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/09/16 @ 11:59 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/09/16 @ 01:50 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Barry G.— 2006/09/16 @ 12:17 PM — (Reply)
Lots of people have been members of this club:
Are you prepared to call them all Satan worshipers? If so I highly recommend you take your bible out for a reread.
from Wikipedia
George Herbert Walker Bush
Bill Clinton
Ronald Reagan
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Harry Truman
Herbert Hoover
Calvin Coolidge
William Howard Taft
Theodore Roosevelt
As well as,
Jeb Bush
Henry Kissinger
George Shultz
Earl Warren
Robert Kennedy
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Jr.
Nelson Rockefeller
James Wolfensohn
Alan Greenspan
Paul Volcker
Colin Powell
Jack Welch
David Packard
Riley P. Bechtel
Henry Ford II
Prince Philip
John Major
Helmut Schmidt
Lee Kuan Yew
James A. Baker III
Newt Gingrich
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Bob Novak
Malcolm Forbes
David S. Broder
Neil Armstrong
Mark Twain
Francis Ford Coppola
Charlton Heston
Clint Eastwood
Walter Cronkite
Facilities
The primary activities taking place at the Grove are varied and expensive entertainments, such as an elaborate Grove Play (known as "High Jinks") and musical comedies ("Low Jinks") - where female roles are played by men in drag - produced by the members and associate members of the Club. Thus the majority of common facilities are entertainment venues, interspersed among the giant redwoods.
There are also sleeping quarters, or "camps" scattered throughout the grove, of which it is reported there were a total of 104 as of 2005. These camps, which are frequently patrilineal, are the principal means through which high-level business and political contacts and friendships are formed. For senior corporate executives, the camps are said to be the pinnacle of socio-political networking in the US.
According to Joel van der Reijden (see External Links below for a full list of camps and substantive details on the past affiliations of the camps' members), the pre-eminent camps are:
Mandalay (Big Business/Defense Contractors/Politics/US Presidents);
Hill Billies (Big Business/Banking/Politics/Universities/Media);
Cave Man (Think Tanks/Oil Companies/Banking/Defense Contractors/Universities/Media);
Stowaway (Rockefeller Family Members/Oil Companies/Banking/Think Tanks);
Uplifters (Corporate Executives/Big Business);
Owls Nest (US Presidents/Military/Defense Contractors);
Hideaway (Foundations/Military/Defense Contractors);
Isle of Aves (Military/Defense Contractors);
Lost Angels (Banking/Defense Contractors/Media);
Silverado squatters (Big Business/Defense Contractors);
Sempervirens (Californian-based Corporations);
Hillside (Military - Joint Chiefs of Staff)
Grove Stage - it is an amphitheatre with seating for 2,000 used primarily for the Grove Play production, on the last Friday of the midsummer encampment. The stage extends up the hill side, and is also home to the second largest outdoor pipe organ in the world.
Field Circle - a bowl-shaped amphitheatre used for the mid-weekend, "Low Jinks" musical comedy, as well as for variety shows.
Campfire Circle - has a campfire pit in the middle of the circle, surrounded by carved redwood log benches. Used for smaller shows in a more intimate setting.
Museum Stage - a semi-outdoor venue with a covered stage. Lectures and small ensembles shows.
Dining Circle - seating approximately 1500 diners simultaneously.
Club House - built in 1903, it is the site of the Manhattan Project planning meeting held in 1942 (see above).
The Owl Shrine and the Lake - an artificial lake in the middle of the grove, used for the noon-time concerts and also the venue of the Cremation of Care, that takes place on the first Saturday of the encampment. It is also the location of the daily (12.30pm) "Lakeside Talks." Professor G. William Domhoff (see below) states these significant informal talks (many on public policy issues) have been given over the years by entertainers, professors, astronauts, business leaders, cabinet officers, CIA directors, future presidents and former presidents; these have been the subject of ongoing controversy, as the transcripts of these talks have never been released to the public.
Symbolism and rituals
Since the founding of the club, the Bohemian Grove's symbol has been the owl, long held as a representative of wisdom. A forty-foot concrete owl stands at the head of the lake in the Grove and, since 1929, has served as the site of the yearly "Cremation of Care" ceremony (see below). The club's motto, Weaving Spiders Come Not Here, is taken from the second scene of Act 2 from A Midsummer Night's Dream; it signifies that the Grove is limited to exchanging friendship and the free sharing of common passion, summarized in the term, "the Bohemian Spirit."
The Club's patron saint is John of Nepomuk, who legend says suffered death at the hands of a Bohemian monarch rather than disclose the confessional secrets of the queen. A large wood carving of St. John in cleric robes with his index finger over his lips stands at the shore of the lake in the Grove, symbolising the secrecy kept by the Grove's attendees throughout its long history.
Cremation of Care
The Cremation of Care was devised in 1893 by a member named Joseph D. Redding, a lawyer from New York. During the ceremony, which serves as the opening to the Grove encampment, a mock human sacrifice representing "dull care" is cremated to symbolize the liberation of the participants. The New York Times described the show in a June 25, 1899 article:
"Great attention was paid to all the details, and the Druid priests who figured prominently in the show bore all the insignia of their order on their vestments. Over 500 persons figured in the spectacle, and electric and calcium lights were used to illuminate the tableaus. There was a symphony orchestra and a grand chorus. A Druids' altar and sacrificial stone lent an air of realism to the scenes. Mr. Redding served as High Priest of Bohemia. Then came a procession of eight Druid priests bearing six chained captives-- a Gaul, a Celt, a Roman, a barbarian, and two men from the Far North. Each captive was in costume and each in turn pleaded his cause before the assembly, but was condemned to death. Only the Gaul, who represented Bohemia, was able to make a defense that lifted the sentence from the heads of the captives. A loving cup was then drunk by Druids, captives, and Bohemians. Mephisto and a number of devils rushed in and attempted to rescue [an effigy representing a personification of] "Care" from the catafalque [sacrificial pyre]. The devil made an impassioned address, saying that goodfellowship was a mockery and that "Care" could not be banished. Then the Druid leader drove them into the woods with a lighted torch, which he at once applied to the funeral pyre. After this came the "low jinks," a species of amateur minstrel show. Then the Bohemians retired to their tents and to such sleep as the wags and practical jokers of the club permitted them to take."(citation needed)
Today, the ritual consists of hooded members accepting the effigy representing "dull care" from a ferryman traveling across a creek. Music and fireworks accompany the ritual, for dramatic effect. The mock human sacrifice is placed on an altar and set on fire. The ritual represents the act of embracing the revelry of Bohemian Grove while setting aside the "dull cares" of the outside world.
The ceremony takes place next to a 45-foot concrete Owl statue. During the ceremony, audio plays through nearby speakers providing the illusion of a speaking statue. The voice of the former-newsman Walter Cronkite, a member of the Bohemian Club, is used as the voice of The Owl during the ceremony.
The ceremony involves the poling of a small boat across a lake containing an effigy of Care. Contrary to rumor, Care is not a child. Although "dead", Care has a speaking part and a deep voice. As suggested by the title, Care is eventually burned under the Owl statue towards the end of ceremony. This cremation symbolizes that within the Bohemian Grove members leave the care of the outside world. Contrary to rumor, no parts of the script contain reference to prisoners of the Druids representing enemy tribes such as the Gauls and Celts.
G.W. Domhoff, a sociologist, was able to obtain an unusual amount of access to the Bohemian Club's records and membership and was able to thoroughly research the group because of this. He was able to detail the Cremation of Care ceremony, along with the High and Low Jinx and other ceremonies and plays of the Club.
The ceremony is meant to represent the destruction or burning of worldly concern.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/09/16 @ 04:26 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Barry G.— 2006/09/16 @ 04:47 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/09/16 @ 04:49 PM — (Reply)
Cave Man (Think Tanks/Oil Companies/Banking/Defense Contractors/Universities/Media);
Stowaway (Rockefeller Family Members/Oil Companies/Banking/Think Tanks);
Uplifters (Corporate Executives/Big Business);
Owls Nest (US Presidents/Military/Defense Contractors);
Hideaway (Foundations/Military/Defense Contractors);
Isle of Aves (Military/Defense Contractors);
Comment by Thomas Jones— 2007/02/14 @ 01:28 PM — (Reply)
There was a symphony orchestra and a grand chorus. A Druids' altar and sacrificial stone lent an air of realism to the scenes. Mr. Redding served as High Priest of Bohemia. Then came a procession of eight Druid priests bearing six chained captives-- a Gaul, a Celt, a Roman, a barbarian, and two men from the Far North. Each captive was in costume and each in turn pleaded his cause before the assembly, but was condemned to death.
Comment by Gerard Kennedy— 2007/02/27 @ 12:40 PM — (Reply)