For those who just expect me to write on religion and theology, I apologize. Well...actually I don't. History and politics interest me, although not as much as religion. So, if politics completely bore you, then I suggest you skip this post.
A growing sentiment seems to be filling the air of late. As I speak with my neighbors, listen to talk radio, and discuss the state of America, I think we are headed for another revolution. Of course, I welcome it. I think we have needed a revolution for many years. I do not have a love affair with violence. However, I am beginning to think that the only way to get things done is through violence.
Let me put it more plainly...VIOLENCE IS UNDERESTIMATED.
Here in California, leftist legislators are pushing to overturn the necessity of 2/3 majority. This would mean that laws could be enacted if only 51% of the congressmen vote for it. I heard an assemblywoman say, "It's just too difficult to get things done" by the current law. Funny...I wonder when she last read the Federalist Papers. The whole point of requiring a 2/3 majority was to make it difficult! Hamiliton's insight into man's nature and political corruption led him to create a system that the majority could not tyrannize the minority, and vice versa. It appears we come to a point when our politician are ready to finally destroy the Constitution.
But our country has bigger problems than that. We are giving billions of dollars to foreign countries, in the name of compassion. Government is spending our money to cure AIDS is Africa. Millions of dollars are sent to foreign countries who support abortions. We have an undying and irrational devotion to Israel. We allow terrorism and Islam to hold the world captive, all the while Christians are being murdered in Africa, China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
Here at home, we continue to protect illegal aliens who also are taking our tax dollars. And, don't get me started on the hand-slapping that occurs with criminals in this country. Our legal system is a joke! We automatically give capital offenders an appeal. We are so concerned about appearing "nice" and "compassionate" that we have lost our sense of justice. When are we going to wake up!
Part of me wants Obama's plans to pass in force. I believe it will bring this country the purging and reckoning it has needed for many decades. America has a history of revolt. We understand what is just and unjust. We know when our rulers are not representing us. I am afraid, though, that we have lost our willingness to take back the country. I am afraid that too many people have been duped by materialism and the media. Too many rely on the goverment, and will refuse to "bite the hand that feeds them."
When are we going to wake up! When are we going to call a spade a spade? When are we going to oust our legislators and start over? When are going to realize that political elites are out of touch with us? When are going to take the law into our own hands?
The reckoning is coming. Thomas Paine is alive and well. But do we have the courage to "begin the world over again?"
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Amadeus - A Movie Everyone Should See
Not only is Milos Forman's Amadeus my favorite movie, but I think it is a must see for everyone. I first saw the movie when I was ten, and I have never forgotten it. It sparked a love for classical music that has remained with me to this day. As I have aged, the movie has become more meaningful to me. It is not just a great piece of art, filled with incredible music and outstanding performances. What makes Amadeus great is the plot behind the plot - the spiritual struggle between Salieri and God.
When Salieri recollects his memories of Mozart to the priest, he admits that Mozart was his "idol." Of course, not wanting to indict himself before a man of the cloth, he quickly adds that he was really jealous of Mozart's "father, who had taught him everything." We soon come to realize, though, that Salieri's obsession and idolization is in the fact the boy "prodigy."
When Salieri finally meets Mozart, he is shocked with the "giggling, dirty-minded creature, crawling on the floor." His disgust at Mozart's behavior compels him to question God: "But why! Why would God choose..." It is Salieri's struggle with God's Providence and giftings that create the real drama in Amadeus. The idolization, contempt, and jealousy for Mozart are merely incidental. After all, would not God be a better God if He gifted an upright, chaste composer, like Salieri?
Salieri's downward spiral gets worse. After Mozart memorizes Salieri's original piece on "one hearing only," he improves it, drawing attention and accalades from those within and without the chamber. This causes Salieri to give his hanging crucifix a stern, quasi-evil eye. "Gracias, Senor," is all he could say in rebellion and jealousy. He then asks the question, "What was God up to?" when he discovers Mozart fornicated with his "darling girl." It is almost as if God is using Mozart's evil to chasten Salieri, revealing his inner heart, which questions God justice. Forman wrote this movie with brilliance.
The final separation between Salieri and God comes when Constanza, Mozart's wife, secretly brings her husband's work to be viewed. Salieri is shocked that Mozart "doesn't make copies" of his compositions. Why is it so shocking? "They showed no corrections of any kind! Page after page of it! As if just taking dictation!" Studying Mozart's original works enraptures Salieri, causing him to drop them on the floor. Although he agrees the works are "miraculous," Salieri refuses to help Constanza. He leaves her on the floor without help.
"From now on we are enemies. You and I. Because you choose..." These are the next words we hear from Salieri's mouth. They are a sign that he is fed with God's bestowing musical gifts to Mozart, leaving him only the "ability to recognize the incarnation." He removes the crucifix from the wall and burns it in the fire, promising to "ruin Your incarnation."
Pride, self-righteousness, jealousy, God's Providence and giftings, and the eternal struggle between God's Mind and man's mind combine to make Amadeus much more than an Academy Award winning picture. It is a testament to great art, and a story that continues to both inspire and bewilder the true humanist.
When Salieri recollects his memories of Mozart to the priest, he admits that Mozart was his "idol." Of course, not wanting to indict himself before a man of the cloth, he quickly adds that he was really jealous of Mozart's "father, who had taught him everything." We soon come to realize, though, that Salieri's obsession and idolization is in the fact the boy "prodigy."
When Salieri finally meets Mozart, he is shocked with the "giggling, dirty-minded creature, crawling on the floor." His disgust at Mozart's behavior compels him to question God: "But why! Why would God choose..." It is Salieri's struggle with God's Providence and giftings that create the real drama in Amadeus. The idolization, contempt, and jealousy for Mozart are merely incidental. After all, would not God be a better God if He gifted an upright, chaste composer, like Salieri?
Salieri's downward spiral gets worse. After Mozart memorizes Salieri's original piece on "one hearing only," he improves it, drawing attention and accalades from those within and without the chamber. This causes Salieri to give his hanging crucifix a stern, quasi-evil eye. "Gracias, Senor," is all he could say in rebellion and jealousy. He then asks the question, "What was God up to?" when he discovers Mozart fornicated with his "darling girl." It is almost as if God is using Mozart's evil to chasten Salieri, revealing his inner heart, which questions God justice. Forman wrote this movie with brilliance.
The final separation between Salieri and God comes when Constanza, Mozart's wife, secretly brings her husband's work to be viewed. Salieri is shocked that Mozart "doesn't make copies" of his compositions. Why is it so shocking? "They showed no corrections of any kind! Page after page of it! As if just taking dictation!" Studying Mozart's original works enraptures Salieri, causing him to drop them on the floor. Although he agrees the works are "miraculous," Salieri refuses to help Constanza. He leaves her on the floor without help.
"From now on we are enemies. You and I. Because you choose..." These are the next words we hear from Salieri's mouth. They are a sign that he is fed with God's bestowing musical gifts to Mozart, leaving him only the "ability to recognize the incarnation." He removes the crucifix from the wall and burns it in the fire, promising to "ruin Your incarnation."
Pride, self-righteousness, jealousy, God's Providence and giftings, and the eternal struggle between God's Mind and man's mind combine to make Amadeus much more than an Academy Award winning picture. It is a testament to great art, and a story that continues to both inspire and bewilder the true humanist.
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