Monday, October 20, 2003
Under God?
Saturday, my friend Carol and I went to "the Max." It's the old Music Hall, and home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). An engraving on the wall conveyed what had been reported in the news -- that Max M. Fisher made an unbelievably generous donation of more than ten million dollars to restore the building, add revenue-producing real estate, and create a school for performing arts. He restored to the world class DSO the home they deserve. Thus, the Music Hall is now "the Max." To celebrate this fully restored cultural center, Marshall Field's department store hosted two free days of music that advertised "everything from Mozart to Motown," including folk, gospel, classical, rap, techno, Celtic and Asian music, jazz, bluegrass, and lots, lots more! All great, and all free.
The names of other generous donors were inscribed on the wall. Five million dollars or more, one million dollars or more, five hundred thousand dollars or more, etc. But only one other benefactor hit the ten million mark -- the State of Michigan.
Personally, I think that is what the State should be doing with our money. I think they should give us a reason for working, a place to go where we can be uplifted and exalted, where we go to be inspired to be better. There are a lot of things that separate us from the plants, but the ability to create is supreme.
However.
In thinking about the current dispute over "one nation under God" in our pledge, something struck me as odd. There we were, sitting on the floor -- no room left in the stands -- listening to excellent and jubilant gospel music from the Perfecting Choir of Detroit. They were exciting, upbeat, and really knew how to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. The harmonious and rising crescendos and rolling waves of hands and bodies all flowing over the stage and audience. . . truly no music can surpass the excitement of a good gospel choir. Suddenly, Carol noticed there was a row of older white-haired white-skinned people that were just, well, sitting there. They stood out because they were the only people in the room that did not respond to the music. Not a hand was clapped, not a head nodded, nor a body bounced, nor a foot tapped. Not even a finger tapped. Not a twitch. Not one visible sign of awareness. I made a joke about them being Catholics. But I think it more likely they were just not religious. And they were sitting in this room where the spirit bounced off the walls. After a few songs, they left. But I have been thinking about those people.
How does the State of Michigan dare contribute money to a place where Gospel Music is performed?
For that matter, how dare the State of Michigan contribute money to a place where Handel's Messiah is performed?
And the state-funded Detroit Institute of Arts, or any other art museum, is even worse! The vast majority of great classical paintings have a religious figure or theme as its subject. How can a building devoted to such paintings accept taxpayer funds?
Later, while discussing the State's contributions and the current Pledge of Allegiance debate, Carol said she was not even taught to say "under God" in grade school. She is only three years older than I, but she had escaped the whole phrase. I had forgotten that "under God" was an addendum while I was still young.
Do you know when "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance? About the same time that the "In God We Trust" was added to our money: the McCarthy era of the mid-1950's. Another of the knee-jerk responses our society had to the growing fear of Communism. We had propaganda mongers swarming through our schools, telling us that Chinese Communists ate babies and Russian Communists sent people to Siberia where no one lived past 30 years of age. Really! They really did! We were also told fluoride in the water was a Communist plot. And, we were asked if we attended Sunday School over the weekend. Indeed, we all prayed together at our desks before eating our sack lunches.
We had two hair cuts and three television stations to choose from. Those were the first days of the Ugly Americans. Everyone had to be just like everyone else -- ugly and narrow minded. But at the same time we expected everyone to be alike, we ridiculed the Communist nations where men and women worked and even dressed alike.
McCarthyism was a very scary part of our history. No freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, no freedoms at all for people that had their own ideas. So, why are we back in the same place today? Trying to make everyone alike, only this time, to make everyone soulless.
If we erase the "under God" and the "In God We Trust" to appease the ACLU, must we also tape brown paper over all paintings that contain religious figures, ban Gospel music and Handel's Messiah, and ban all plays, ballets, and art forms that mention God? Maybe we could burn books. Melt films. Close museums and theaters. We have allowed secularists to take the Christ out of Christmas, so maybe they'd let us keep gospel music, as long as we take out all the silly "higher power" stuff.
There are those who believe we're one hundred percent physical beings, nothing more. They ignore our intellectual and spiritual sides. They ignore our humanity. We're in the age of a second McCarthyism, where we all must be the same, only this time, "the same" is closer to the Communist stereotype that the first age of McCarthy was trying to discredit and destroy. To require all Americans to practice a specific religion and political ideology is wrong. But a knee-jerk restriction of everything that might have the slightest religious expression or intent, is equally so.
Considering it was only added as a McCarthyism in the first place, I suppose I could learn to live without the God in the Pledge and on the money. But if the ACLU wins again, what will they take next from me?
Saturday, my friend Carol and I went to "the Max." It's the old Music Hall, and home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). An engraving on the wall conveyed what had been reported in the news -- that Max M. Fisher made an unbelievably generous donation of more than ten million dollars to restore the building, add revenue-producing real estate, and create a school for performing arts. He restored to the world class DSO the home they deserve. Thus, the Music Hall is now "the Max." To celebrate this fully restored cultural center, Marshall Field's department store hosted two free days of music that advertised "everything from Mozart to Motown," including folk, gospel, classical, rap, techno, Celtic and Asian music, jazz, bluegrass, and lots, lots more! All great, and all free.
The names of other generous donors were inscribed on the wall. Five million dollars or more, one million dollars or more, five hundred thousand dollars or more, etc. But only one other benefactor hit the ten million mark -- the State of Michigan.
Personally, I think that is what the State should be doing with our money. I think they should give us a reason for working, a place to go where we can be uplifted and exalted, where we go to be inspired to be better. There are a lot of things that separate us from the plants, but the ability to create is supreme.
However.
In thinking about the current dispute over "one nation under God" in our pledge, something struck me as odd. There we were, sitting on the floor -- no room left in the stands -- listening to excellent and jubilant gospel music from the Perfecting Choir of Detroit. They were exciting, upbeat, and really knew how to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. The harmonious and rising crescendos and rolling waves of hands and bodies all flowing over the stage and audience. . . truly no music can surpass the excitement of a good gospel choir. Suddenly, Carol noticed there was a row of older white-haired white-skinned people that were just, well, sitting there. They stood out because they were the only people in the room that did not respond to the music. Not a hand was clapped, not a head nodded, nor a body bounced, nor a foot tapped. Not even a finger tapped. Not a twitch. Not one visible sign of awareness. I made a joke about them being Catholics. But I think it more likely they were just not religious. And they were sitting in this room where the spirit bounced off the walls. After a few songs, they left. But I have been thinking about those people.
How does the State of Michigan dare contribute money to a place where Gospel Music is performed?
For that matter, how dare the State of Michigan contribute money to a place where Handel's Messiah is performed?
And the state-funded Detroit Institute of Arts, or any other art museum, is even worse! The vast majority of great classical paintings have a religious figure or theme as its subject. How can a building devoted to such paintings accept taxpayer funds?
Later, while discussing the State's contributions and the current Pledge of Allegiance debate, Carol said she was not even taught to say "under God" in grade school. She is only three years older than I, but she had escaped the whole phrase. I had forgotten that "under God" was an addendum while I was still young.
Do you know when "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance? About the same time that the "In God We Trust" was added to our money: the McCarthy era of the mid-1950's. Another of the knee-jerk responses our society had to the growing fear of Communism. We had propaganda mongers swarming through our schools, telling us that Chinese Communists ate babies and Russian Communists sent people to Siberia where no one lived past 30 years of age. Really! They really did! We were also told fluoride in the water was a Communist plot. And, we were asked if we attended Sunday School over the weekend. Indeed, we all prayed together at our desks before eating our sack lunches.
We had two hair cuts and three television stations to choose from. Those were the first days of the Ugly Americans. Everyone had to be just like everyone else -- ugly and narrow minded. But at the same time we expected everyone to be alike, we ridiculed the Communist nations where men and women worked and even dressed alike.
McCarthyism was a very scary part of our history. No freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, no freedoms at all for people that had their own ideas. So, why are we back in the same place today? Trying to make everyone alike, only this time, to make everyone soulless.
If we erase the "under God" and the "In God We Trust" to appease the ACLU, must we also tape brown paper over all paintings that contain religious figures, ban Gospel music and Handel's Messiah, and ban all plays, ballets, and art forms that mention God? Maybe we could burn books. Melt films. Close museums and theaters. We have allowed secularists to take the Christ out of Christmas, so maybe they'd let us keep gospel music, as long as we take out all the silly "higher power" stuff.
There are those who believe we're one hundred percent physical beings, nothing more. They ignore our intellectual and spiritual sides. They ignore our humanity. We're in the age of a second McCarthyism, where we all must be the same, only this time, "the same" is closer to the Communist stereotype that the first age of McCarthy was trying to discredit and destroy. To require all Americans to practice a specific religion and political ideology is wrong. But a knee-jerk restriction of everything that might have the slightest religious expression or intent, is equally so.
Considering it was only added as a McCarthyism in the first place, I suppose I could learn to live without the God in the Pledge and on the money. But if the ACLU wins again, what will they take next from me?
