Informing thoughtful engagement with our culture and media.

"/>

World Views

Results filtered by “Art Flickinger”

Fall

Fall comes slowly

                                              inching its way from summer's grasp

                                                            leaves fall

                                                                                        I guess it's aptly named 

                                               the dog days of summer slowly give way to a refreshing coolness  framed  by splashes of colored beauty

                                                                                                  a mosaic that is a delight to the eyes 

                                                                  cerulean blue skies contrast just right, providing the sun

                               a chance to direct its light through leaves that glow 

                                                                                      nature's cathedral stained glass windows

                                                                 a surreal mystical feeling  I surrender to,

                                        washing over me 'neath a canopy tunnel of trees

                                                                             stiff wind gusts carry leaves                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             swirling snowflakes

                                                  meeting obstacles they mount back up into the sky

                                                                                                                            a harbinger of the winter to come

                                                        I think it's called fall, because I fall deeper in love each year with the Creator of all. 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          acf

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Posted by Art Flickinger

Statue-tory Rape

 

On October 12th, 1958 as part of the bicentennial founding of Pittsburgh celebration, a statue of Christopher Columbus was unveiled in Schenley Park. Created by the famous Italian sculptor, Frank Vittor, over 2000 people attended the ceremony. Among the attendees were leaders of the Italian American community, Pittsburgh political figures, clergy from the Catholic Diocese, representatives from the Vatican as well as Italian diplomats. The statue was gifted to the city by the Sons of Columbus of America and the proud Italian  American community of Pittsburgh.  One hundred thousand dollars was raised to commission the work of art and beautiful monument. In today's dollars that would be a little over 1.3 million dollars a remarkable achievement and gift.

If you haven't seen the statue  in its original setting, it's too late. For the past two years its been shrouded in plastic per the order of a judge. How did we get here? It all started two years ago in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.  Activists went on rampages across America tearing down monuments of any statue deemed to be racist. Ironically, they even tore down a statue of Abraham Lincoln, and of course Christopher Columbus was on the hit list. Not to be outdone by her peers, Pittsburgh activist Finn Murphy collected over 15,000 signatures to remove Columbus's monument from Schenley Park. She claimed that it was hurtful to the native American community and that Columbus was a genocidal maniac, racist, white supremacist, rapist and a slave trader. (Do you think Finn Murphy has as much Native American ancestry as Elizabeth Warren?) The petition was presented to Mayor Peduto and the Pittsburgh Art Commission. The Art Commission and the Mayor anxious to display their "woke" bona fides voted to remove the monument. The Italian Sons and Daughters of America filed an emergency injunction which was then granted by Judge John T. Mcvay. The  judge ordered the statue covered in plastic. Two years later he announced his decision that the monument needed to be removed because the city has the right to say what monuments are displayed or not, on its property calling it "government speech."

So what is the truth about Columbus? Was he really guilty of what he is being accused of? Nothing could be further from the truth. Columbus was a brave and heroic explorer as well as a devout Catholic. He did not believe the world was flat, as that had been debunked even before his time. Because the Muslim empire had taken over and blocked lucrative Italian trade routes to the east, his plan was to find a new trade route by going west. After eight years of trying to fund his expedition King Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain consented to fund Columbus, as an opportunity  to spread the faith through exploration. After 35 days at sea, keeping control of a mutinous crew that wanted to turn back, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria landed in what we know today as the Bahama's. Columbus was received warmly by the natives and they traded and shared livestock, farming methods and foods. Columbus returned to Spain and was hailed as a hero even though he didn't find the trade route he set out for. Columbus was named governor of the new territory and he returned two more times to the New World. On his second voyage back he was accompanied by Hidalgos who were eager to profit from the new world in any way they could. They saw Columbus as an impediment to their desires of conquest and profits, and they  eventually overthrew Columbus's authority and sent him back to Spain in chains. Meanwhile the Hidalgos enslaved the peoples and forced them into mining gold and treated them as sub-human. Queen Isabella pardoned Columbus but Ferdinand stripped him of his titles and nobility. Meanwhile in order to combat the rumors from the new world of the crimes being committed and the slave trade that put Spain in a bad light, the King ordered Bartolome De Las Casas, a priest of the Inquisition, to blame Columbus for all the wrong doing. Three hundred years later Howard Zinn an avowed Marxist, resurrected De Las Casas's writings and included them in his text book used across America, The People's History of the United States. So you see whole generations of American children are learning that Columbus was an evil villain.  No longer do we hear our children proudly recite, "Christopher Columbus discovered America on October 12th, 1492. He sailed the ocean blue, in the Nina,  the Pinta and the Santa Maria!" No, what rolls off our children's tongue today is, "Christopher Columbus: racist, genocidal maniac, white supremacist." We can't continue to let this happen. Good or bad our history, is our history. We can not allow the past to be re-written by Marxist, left wing, idealogues or we will lose America, one statue at a time.

 

 

Posted by Art Flickinger

The Respect for Marriage Act

The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, held that there was no right to abortion implicitly protected by the due process clause of the 14th. Amendment or by any other provision in the Constitution. The ruling overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should likewise reconsider the precedents that similarly relied on the concept of “substantive due process.” Among the cases he specifically mentioned was Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that announced the discovery of a constitutional right to same sex marriage. Justice Thomas’s opinion is what initiated the knee jerk reaction by liberal ideologues  to pre-empt the overturning of Obergefell. Within a month of overturning Roe, the House of Representatives wrote and passed the Respect for Marriage Act which would codify into federal law same sex marriage. Every Democrat along with 47 Republicans voted to pass this law. The Senate has decided to wait until after the midterm elections to consider the bill, allowing a bipartisan group of Senators time to hammer out changes that would make the bill more palatable to Republicans.

Why should Christians be concerned? We have seen the consequences of the Obergefell ruling. Americans unwilling to assent to the new “orthodoxy” are being labeled as bigots and are vilified. Businesses, religious universities, adoption agencies and churches have faced censure, threats and lawsuits, over their sincerely held religious beliefs on marriage and human sexuality. Nondiscrimination and public accommodation laws and policies have been weaponized by local, state and the federal government in order to stigmatize, intimidate and coerce those who believe in a biblical definition of marriage. Many Americans have acceded to the beliefs that we should let bygones be bygones and after all no harm will come to anybody, we should not stand in the way of love between consenting adults, and many have friends who are in same sex relationships. Nothing could be further from the truth, the reality is that activists have relentlessly attacked those who do not comply and embrace the new ideology and will continue to do so until they have wiped out the entire concept of biblical marriage in America. If that is not enough we are being forced to embrace a nonbinary, non-biological definition of male and female and even changing our language to accommodate this chaos. Parental control of our children is being undermined in schools where they are being indoctrinated and groomed to question and change their sexuality. Boys and girls are being surgically butchered and given hormonal treatments by Doctors who condone this ideology. This is what letting bygones be bygones has led to. 

There are three key reasons why The Respect for Marriage Act should not be codified into federal law.

1. It prioritizes the gratification of adult sexual desires superseding the the welfare of children as a societal goal. This view of marriage prioritizes “happiness” for adults and ignores the fact that uniquely only the marriage of an opposite sex couple can procreate.

2. Religious freedom repercussions:  More of the same attacks on people who hold to beliefs of Biblical marriage and sexuality. Activists will be emboldened by federal law and will be more egregious and numerous in their attacks upon people of faith.

3. States Rights objections: The act requires every state to recognize as valid a  marriage solemnized in another state. Therefore, If one state decided to legalize polygamy other states would be required by federal law to recognize it as well. The sky is the limit as to what one state could do to the other 49. (think California)   

We are not on the precipice of a moral abyss, we are sliding over the edge. Every successful society of mankind that has ever walked this earth has had to recognize the importance of marriage being between a man and a woman and the subsequent family that arises from the conjugal relationship between them. Families are the building blocks of any society. Values, ideals, and institutions that lead to human flourishing must be preserved - and that includes marriage.

What can we do? Call your state’s Senators and raise your objections to this law. Vote wisely in the midterm elections for those candidates who do not support attacks on marriage. Stay informed of the attacks on religious liberties and court rulings. Pray that the Supreme Court will overturn the wrongly decided Obergefell decision. Talk to family, friends and coworkers to raise awareness of this insidious evil.

Posted by Art Flickinger

12345678910 ... 5960