I have argued for years in my small corner of Prep School Academia that a common Culture is necessary to promote a common society-improving discourse. The Tower of Babel comes to mind. No one can communicate with anyone.
If you never read any Shakespeare, half of the idioms in the English language make no sense to you.
If you never watched the Wizard of Oz, you have no clue what "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" means.
At one point, I recall protesting a decision by some well-known College when they removed Shakespeare's picture from the front Hall of the Humanities building. White Supremacy or something equally retarded.
The librarian at my school, upon hearing my protest, remarked smugly "Oh, you're making a big deal about nothing." Years later, English Majors can now graduate without having read ANY Shakespeare, or Milton, or Poe, or Twain, or the Bible, or just about anything else of Historical import. The lessons in their works are UNIVERSAL, and decidedly Western. Good stuff if you want a good Society.
Indeed, I once asked a few members of the Administrative Team how any of our "international students" would EVER know ANYTHING about Christianity if we wouldn't once a week read some scripture during the weekly 30 minute Chapel.
You know of course the lefty jargon about keeping religion out of the classroom, but this was the CHAPEL of the famous 100+ year old School, founded in large part by Christian Charity in the late 1800's.
Culture rots eventually from so many of these execrable University decisions. ....
Diversity is NOT a strength, no matter how many times some big wig proclaims it.
Aside from rendering the Tower of Babel as the "Tower of Babylon," your comment, like Jack's essay, makes perfect sense. Jack's main theme is betrayal and treason, but his sub-theme, and yours, is what I call "The Fall of Common Culture," and which I also wrote about in 2022:
But the fall of common culture is even worse than I thought. The notion that people don't even "get" a reference to Judas (let alone Benedict Arnold) as the ur- or proto-traitor is truly disturbing.
It dovetails with a particular peeve of mine regarding English usage:
As my own readers (including Jack) know, I'm a stickler for correctness in the written or spoken word. And one thing that particularly irks me is people saying "Calvary" when they mean "cavalry"; I shudder to think of how many times I've heard someone say (even on TV or radio) "Send in the Calvary"! This error is disturbingly common, and is not merely a slip of the tongue; it's an indicator of serious ignorance.
I'm not even a Christian but I know what Calvary is, and it seems appropriate now, as Christians observe Easter, to lament that so many self-professed Christians seem to not understand the word and its significance.
I think that's a compliment; at least I'm going to take it that way. I have great respect and admiration for Christians, and were I not a Jew I would probably be a Christian. But I am a Jew and will always be.
I have never thought of abortion as betrayal, but it is a very accurate description. What greater betrayal can there be (besides Judas's) but being destroyed by the one person who should have fought to the death to save you.
At age 11 or 12, I found, among the three generations of family books at home, a slim volume: The Man Without a Country, owned by my great grandfather. I have never forgotten it and read it repeatedly over the years until I went to college. Somehow it slipped away from the home library and I have a desire to have another good old copy for my own.
Now, it's infuriating to see so many fellow Americans openly supporting our enemies and hoping we lose the current military operations. These traitors are actually happy when our own young persons in service to our country are killed or maimed. There are few things good about getting old, but I'm glad I won't be here for much longer. It sounds cynical but one person's cynicism is another's contact with reality.
Time to go online and find an antique copy of my long-lost tale of a traitor's punishment and regrets for his treacherous wishes.
Additionally: Online search shows that the first publication of The man without a Country was in The Atlantic, December 1863. The current issue of The Atlantic features: "Hegseth’s War on America’s Military" and (zero points for subtlety here)"Hitler’s Edifice Complex."
Thank you! ‘The betrayal that ends in the death of the one betrayed—from Jesus Christ to Julius Caesar to the unnamed baby in a woman’s womb—will haunt the traitor for eternity. Just ask.’ Yes, today is a good day to remember.
I remember feeling betrayed as a fourth grader in 1968 when I learned my school was no longer teaching history but replaced it with social studies. I had learned to love history from watching old historical movies like Ben Hur and the Alamo and had become fascinated by the civil war through a book my uncle gave me. John Wayne movies instilled MAGA like patriotism! It pains me to see so many of my fellow American unable to appreciate the incredible legacy we have inherited because of those traitors who would destroy it.
Superb. I like to say that there is A Very Good Reason that in war they shoot traitors first. There is also a good reason that communists' first order of business is to destroy history.
Psalms 78 is a clear reminder that each generation has the obligation to make sure the next generation is fully informed as to history of God, His ways. and other important information that prepares them for the challenges of how to live life and gain wisdom.
If you skip a generation or two, that most valuable knowledge may be lost forever.
A blessed Good Friday to you, Jack and your subscribers! As a Millennial who is a pious Lutheran, I'm proud to live in a time when a gradual religious revival is going on in the United States and the western world more broadly. A Third Great Awakening is going on right now in the West. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium all report church attendance increasing, religious books sales are going up, Gen Z is showing an interest in religion much more so than the Millennials did, adult baptisms are up, and that a diverse array of people are becoming Christian. This would include people of color, ex-Muslims and people in rural areas. The Re-Christianization of the West has begun! The Golden Age of Secularism has passed. In any case, on to the main subject of Jack's article. Allan Bloom was a prophet who must have been blessed by God with the ability to see the future. His book The Closing of the American Mind practically predicted the divided America we live in today. America for decades now has lacked common cultural guideposts. When Roy Williams resigned as the coach of the Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball Team and went to North Carolina, many including Jack and his family, saw him as a traitor. Jack's son called him "Benedict Williams" in reference infamous American traitor General Benedict Arnold who betrayed the American Colonists by trying to give the plans to Fort Ticonderoga to British spy Major John Andre because he felt slighted by the American general staff. But none of Jack's son's friends had any idea who Arnold was. Jack hoped at the very least, everyone would know who Judas was. But a young woman proved in just how much trouble our culture was in when she expressed confusion over who Judas was.
Judas was one of Jesus's twelve disciples who betrayed him to his enemies for thirty pieces of silver on Good Friday. Some of the local Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus' popularity and influence with the public. The Romans also hated Jesus because they feared he would lead a revolt against the empire in Judea. Judas sold his friend and mentor out and led his enemies directly to where he knew Jesus prayed. The next day upon seeing Jesus was condemned to death, Judas was plagued by remorse. He went back to the priests and elders and gave them the thirty pieces of silver back. He threw the money into the temple and left. He would then commit suicide by hanging himself. As the great Dante Alighieri told us in the early 14th Century, betrayal is the worst of all sins. Judas would burn for all eternity in the 9th Circle of H*** the final and worst of all the circles of the underworld. His sin was so great one of the four zones of the 9th Circle Judecca, was named for him. One of his circle mates was a man named Brutus. Brutus is best known for helping assassinate a very famous historical figure who he was once a loyal friend to, Julius Ceasar. Traitors whether they be Judas, Brutus or women who have abortions and take a cavalier attitude towards will be haunted for what they did forever. I hope this Easter season everyone is thinking about the story of Jesus' betrayal and learning from the horrible betrayal Judas engaged in. Let us always be loyal to those we love and trust us. A husband must be faithful to his wife, a friend to friend, a father to his son, a mother to her daughter, a boss to his employee, and a politician to his constituents and his country. Something for Congress to chew on with this partial government shutdown going on.
Sadly Noah the 'Re-Christianization of the West' is too little too late. If the European Nations you mention have a 'Charlie Kirk' to lead them on a 'Christian Crusade of the 21st Century' the Islamist will kill him. The 'Religion of Peace' demands nothing less
The US judiciary has defined “traitor,” so narrowly that cia turncoats like Ames to commie facilitator “Hanoi,” Jane Fonda and her infamous North Vietnamese anti-aircraft picture as well as helping exploit American POW’s during her efforts to assist the Viet Cong, that no one is ever arrested, let alone tried, as American traitors. Inaction, can also have negative consequences too. We now have rioters rampaging through our streets screaming death to America, like they were in Teheran, and not NY city.
I have argued for years in my small corner of Prep School Academia that a common Culture is necessary to promote a common society-improving discourse. The Tower of Babel comes to mind. No one can communicate with anyone.
If you never read any Shakespeare, half of the idioms in the English language make no sense to you.
If you never watched the Wizard of Oz, you have no clue what "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" means.
At one point, I recall protesting a decision by some well-known College when they removed Shakespeare's picture from the front Hall of the Humanities building. White Supremacy or something equally retarded.
The librarian at my school, upon hearing my protest, remarked smugly "Oh, you're making a big deal about nothing." Years later, English Majors can now graduate without having read ANY Shakespeare, or Milton, or Poe, or Twain, or the Bible, or just about anything else of Historical import. The lessons in their works are UNIVERSAL, and decidedly Western. Good stuff if you want a good Society.
Indeed, I once asked a few members of the Administrative Team how any of our "international students" would EVER know ANYTHING about Christianity if we wouldn't once a week read some scripture during the weekly 30 minute Chapel.
You know of course the lefty jargon about keeping religion out of the classroom, but this was the CHAPEL of the famous 100+ year old School, founded in large part by Christian Charity in the late 1800's.
Culture rots eventually from so many of these execrable University decisions. ....
Diversity is NOT a strength, no matter how many times some big wig proclaims it.
Well said!
Aside from rendering the Tower of Babel as the "Tower of Babylon," your comment, like Jack's essay, makes perfect sense. Jack's main theme is betrayal and treason, but his sub-theme, and yours, is what I call "The Fall of Common Culture," and which I also wrote about in 2022:
https://stutarlowe.substack.com/p/the-fall-of-common-culture
But the fall of common culture is even worse than I thought. The notion that people don't even "get" a reference to Judas (let alone Benedict Arnold) as the ur- or proto-traitor is truly disturbing.
It dovetails with a particular peeve of mine regarding English usage:
As my own readers (including Jack) know, I'm a stickler for correctness in the written or spoken word. And one thing that particularly irks me is people saying "Calvary" when they mean "cavalry"; I shudder to think of how many times I've heard someone say (even on TV or radio) "Send in the Calvary"! This error is disturbingly common, and is not merely a slip of the tongue; it's an indicator of serious ignorance.
I'm not even a Christian but I know what Calvary is, and it seems appropriate now, as Christians observe Easter, to lament that so many self-professed Christians seem to not understand the word and its significance.
When it comes to language misuse, the common use of “irregardless,” is my pet peeve .
Mine is saying “I” as an object when it should be “me”. As in “This was done for you and I” when it should be “you and me”. Grates in the ears.
Thank you. Babylon has been edited to Babel. Me Editor (me) should have found it before you did.
I think you are a Christian but don’t want to admit it.
I think that's a compliment; at least I'm going to take it that way. I have great respect and admiration for Christians, and were I not a Jew I would probably be a Christian. But I am a Jew and will always be.
2008: “Pay no attention that the ‘president’ is a gay black muslim foreigner.”
Wow… that is creative and true…
I have never thought of abortion as betrayal, but it is a very accurate description. What greater betrayal can there be (besides Judas's) but being destroyed by the one person who should have fought to the death to save you.
Thank you for this teaching moment on this day especially.
It’s why I struggle with whether or not I still want to listen to Stevie Nicks’ music.
Although, I am well aware that a lot of my favorite celebrities have done things almost as heinous, some at least as bad or worse.
At age 11 or 12, I found, among the three generations of family books at home, a slim volume: The Man Without a Country, owned by my great grandfather. I have never forgotten it and read it repeatedly over the years until I went to college. Somehow it slipped away from the home library and I have a desire to have another good old copy for my own.
Now, it's infuriating to see so many fellow Americans openly supporting our enemies and hoping we lose the current military operations. These traitors are actually happy when our own young persons in service to our country are killed or maimed. There are few things good about getting old, but I'm glad I won't be here for much longer. It sounds cynical but one person's cynicism is another's contact with reality.
Time to go online and find an antique copy of my long-lost tale of a traitor's punishment and regrets for his treacherous wishes.
Additionally: Online search shows that the first publication of The man without a Country was in The Atlantic, December 1863. The current issue of The Atlantic features: "Hegseth’s War on America’s Military" and (zero points for subtlety here)"Hitler’s Edifice Complex."
A great piece of reminders, on this Good Friday🤠🇺🇸🙏
"...to the unnamed baby..."
Thank you! ‘The betrayal that ends in the death of the one betrayed—from Jesus Christ to Julius Caesar to the unnamed baby in a woman’s womb—will haunt the traitor for eternity. Just ask.’ Yes, today is a good day to remember.
I remember feeling betrayed as a fourth grader in 1968 when I learned my school was no longer teaching history but replaced it with social studies. I had learned to love history from watching old historical movies like Ben Hur and the Alamo and had become fascinated by the civil war through a book my uncle gave me. John Wayne movies instilled MAGA like patriotism! It pains me to see so many of my fellow American unable to appreciate the incredible legacy we have inherited because of those traitors who would destroy it.
Superb. I like to say that there is A Very Good Reason that in war they shoot traitors first. There is also a good reason that communists' first order of business is to destroy history.
Well Thought out, Jack, clearly spoken.
Psalms 78 is a clear reminder that each generation has the obligation to make sure the next generation is fully informed as to history of God, His ways. and other important information that prepares them for the challenges of how to live life and gain wisdom.
If you skip a generation or two, that most valuable knowledge may be lost forever.
Carry on Mr. Cashill
Who is Dante -- a baseball player?
Ninja turtle.
The next super bowl half time act?
Powerful, disturbing stuff, Mr. Cashill. Thanks.
Your last paragraph calling out for the murdered babies. Wow, powerful and thought provoking.
Happy Easter
A blessed Good Friday to you, Jack and your subscribers! As a Millennial who is a pious Lutheran, I'm proud to live in a time when a gradual religious revival is going on in the United States and the western world more broadly. A Third Great Awakening is going on right now in the West. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium all report church attendance increasing, religious books sales are going up, Gen Z is showing an interest in religion much more so than the Millennials did, adult baptisms are up, and that a diverse array of people are becoming Christian. This would include people of color, ex-Muslims and people in rural areas. The Re-Christianization of the West has begun! The Golden Age of Secularism has passed. In any case, on to the main subject of Jack's article. Allan Bloom was a prophet who must have been blessed by God with the ability to see the future. His book The Closing of the American Mind practically predicted the divided America we live in today. America for decades now has lacked common cultural guideposts. When Roy Williams resigned as the coach of the Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball Team and went to North Carolina, many including Jack and his family, saw him as a traitor. Jack's son called him "Benedict Williams" in reference infamous American traitor General Benedict Arnold who betrayed the American Colonists by trying to give the plans to Fort Ticonderoga to British spy Major John Andre because he felt slighted by the American general staff. But none of Jack's son's friends had any idea who Arnold was. Jack hoped at the very least, everyone would know who Judas was. But a young woman proved in just how much trouble our culture was in when she expressed confusion over who Judas was.
Judas was one of Jesus's twelve disciples who betrayed him to his enemies for thirty pieces of silver on Good Friday. Some of the local Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus' popularity and influence with the public. The Romans also hated Jesus because they feared he would lead a revolt against the empire in Judea. Judas sold his friend and mentor out and led his enemies directly to where he knew Jesus prayed. The next day upon seeing Jesus was condemned to death, Judas was plagued by remorse. He went back to the priests and elders and gave them the thirty pieces of silver back. He threw the money into the temple and left. He would then commit suicide by hanging himself. As the great Dante Alighieri told us in the early 14th Century, betrayal is the worst of all sins. Judas would burn for all eternity in the 9th Circle of H*** the final and worst of all the circles of the underworld. His sin was so great one of the four zones of the 9th Circle Judecca, was named for him. One of his circle mates was a man named Brutus. Brutus is best known for helping assassinate a very famous historical figure who he was once a loyal friend to, Julius Ceasar. Traitors whether they be Judas, Brutus or women who have abortions and take a cavalier attitude towards will be haunted for what they did forever. I hope this Easter season everyone is thinking about the story of Jesus' betrayal and learning from the horrible betrayal Judas engaged in. Let us always be loyal to those we love and trust us. A husband must be faithful to his wife, a friend to friend, a father to his son, a mother to her daughter, a boss to his employee, and a politician to his constituents and his country. Something for Congress to chew on with this partial government shutdown going on.
Sadly Noah the 'Re-Christianization of the West' is too little too late. If the European Nations you mention have a 'Charlie Kirk' to lead them on a 'Christian Crusade of the 21st Century' the Islamist will kill him. The 'Religion of Peace' demands nothing less
Out of the park Jack!
The reference was somehow transposed….actually Matthew 27:5 if anyone was looking.
The US judiciary has defined “traitor,” so narrowly that cia turncoats like Ames to commie facilitator “Hanoi,” Jane Fonda and her infamous North Vietnamese anti-aircraft picture as well as helping exploit American POW’s during her efforts to assist the Viet Cong, that no one is ever arrested, let alone tried, as American traitors. Inaction, can also have negative consequences too. We now have rioters rampaging through our streets screaming death to America, like they were in Teheran, and not NY city.