The American Spectator

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Sound Beliefs

6.24.03 @ 12:01AM

CASINO LOCALE:
Re: George Neumayr's Casino Country:

Awesome article, just what we are suffering in Jamul, CA.
-- Jonathan Shultz

WAYS AND MEANINGS
Re: Francis X. Rocca's The Third World Way:

Francis X. Rocca's general comments on religious conservatism allude to many important additional issues. I would like to make three points:

1. Mr. Rocca writes of Anglicanism (Episcopalianism in the U.S.) and Catholicism in the spirit of one being the peer of the other. It is a healthy attitude, for Anglicanism, although "protestant," is not Protestant. In fact the two have so much in common that, in this more "cooperative" era, one validates that other ... or in the case of the "progressives," one can help destroy the other.

2. Should any person actively engaged in any sexual relationship, outside of a marriage between a man and a woman, be knowingly ordained to the deaconate or priesthood, thus affecting "liberalization" of church-wide policy such a church, by one self-indulgent move in the guise of "fairness," ceases to be a Christian church.

3. In the case of the Episcopalians in the U.S., holding to religious tradition is fundamentally serious. It was the Episcopalian communion (pre-Revolutionary Anglican) that exerted far-reaching influence on the ethics and norms that undergird the cultural foundation of our Republic. For our country to continue on into the future, such values must be continued in the lives of a significant number of citizens -- citizens who depend upon their religious communion to be truthful, regardless of strong destructive social norms to the contrary.

4. For more on No. 3 above, read The Way of the WASP: How It Made America and How It Save It ... So To Speak by Richard Brookhiser.
-- Carl G. Pyper
Monett, MO

Mr. Rocca's article on religion once more shows his complete ignorance of what Christianity is really about. Not once in his diatribe did he mention Jesus Christ, the Apostles, or even the Bible. Instead he launches into a conservative/liberal schism centered around homosexuality. Mr. Rocca seems to forget that God condemns sin for what it is and that homosexuality is an abomination unto the Lord, as stated in the Bible, which while written by man, is the word of the Lord. Therefore the "Third World Christians" are not conservative per se, but follow their faith according to its tenets. On the other hand, the "white European and North American Christians" have fallen into sin and away from the tenets of their faith, which they try to pass off as progressiveness. The Christian faith is not subject to populous whim but to what is stated in the Bible. It's about time a supposedly intelligent man like Mr. Rocca realized that.
-- Pete Chagnon

THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC
Re: Lawrence Henry's About Songs:

Lawrence Henry correctly points out the major difference between songs "then" and "now." He mentioned Oldies stations.

Can anyone believe, twenty-five years from now, that there will be Oldies stations playing Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or anything from Britney Spears?
-- Greg Barnard
Franklin, TN

What passes for music today (ad nauseam) is nothing more than the noise of clashing junk akin to Fibber McGee's famous closet. Since I was raised in a home that valued light classic music and the big bands while my youthful musical interests strayed toward Dixieland, Klezmer, country and other folk music tastes, it came as a body blow when the painful "rock" hit the public market. My seminal moment came when I was standing outside Oregon's stunning Timberline Lodge at night during a light snowfall and the earsplitting cacophony of "Rock Around the Clock" boomed out over loudspeakers. The strong urge to vomit swept through me. Over the years, things went downhill from there. There is no way that I would set a radio dial to today's "top tunes" as what comes out of the radio is far too upsetting. It is too painful and disturbing; certainly not what my idea of what music is supposed to do for us.

I can remember songs we would sing around a campfire in summer camp or even those that were popular during WWII. We knew the words, the music and we could dance to the tunes. Can anyone repeat the words of, much less sing, today's popular songs? What's the point? Noise along with the mind-numbing beat of drums. I just don't get it. Band leaders who have mastered maybe four chords of a guitar and dress like sex starved hobos dragging in millions of dollars while they screech and shout obscene words. Why are these talentless creeps so admired?

What is such a shame is that the technology of music recording is far beyond anything I could have dreamed of as a kid and yet it is garbage that one finds on today's CDs. I do appreciate the remastering of the grand old tunes and the great artists and bands of yesteryear. I value my collection of old vinyl records and once in a while buy a CD of good music if I can find a treasure amid the trash in today's stores.
-- Al Martin
Depoe Bay, OR

Letter to the Editor

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