The once popular conservative radio host, Michael Savage, coined the phrase, “Liberalism is a mental disorder,” and wrote a 2005 book with that title. In the two decades since, Savage has been proven not only right but prescient. Ironically, the incoherent, illogical, and fanatical ideology that sought to “equilize” the two sexes has proven to be outright sexist itself, multiplying much faster and pervasively among women than the weak men advancing it.
Feminism now resembles the hysteria of witchcraft that drove the plot of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. To quote the memorable Deputy Governor Danforth in the play, “Now we shall touch the bottom of this swamp.” Two stories last week featuring famous women — one from Washington, the other Hollywoke — suggest feminism has crossed the saturation point to an intolerable degree. (READ MORE from Lou Aguilar: Judgment Day in America)
The first was Hillary Clinton actually, publicly calling for the deprogramming of conservatives on CNN last Friday. “At some point, you know, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members,” Clinton told Christiane Amanpour. To speak this way about American citizens makes her “basket of deplorables” line from the 2016 presidential campaign sound innocent. That Clinton specified Trump voters – last recorded at over 75 million people — as the “cult members” makes the statement no less vile or dangerous. She also used the word “formal” — as in official, as in mandatory, as in governmental.
The same goes for Ellen Burstyn, who could have created a crowd-pleasing bridge to the past instead of burning it.
A former Secretary of State invoking the regime in power to forcibly reorient uncooperative citizens is not merely insane but tyrannical. The liberal Biden regime has already thrown scores of innocent people in jail for a phantom “Insurrection,” targeted protesting parents and traditional Catholics as domestic terrorists, colluded with social media to quash contradictory speech, persecuted the foremost free speech champion, and is currently prosecuting the opposition frontrunner in a manner that would gladden Castro’s soul amid the flames of Hell.
But there’s something to be said for the “science” of physiognomy — the art of deducing a person’s character from his or her external features — and a bright intern at this magazine, Elizabeth Crawford, said it sublimely last week in an article here. Crawford cited a Fox News story on a Danish study that found the most attractive female politicians are most likely conservative. Hillary Clinton falls squarely in both opposite camps. (READ MORE: Ms. Turns Fifty)
She wasn’t always so outwardly unattractive, certainly not as First Lady in the 90s. But the more bitter she got ideologically, the more physically unbecoming she became. So that the Babylon Bee could hilariously mock her in a headline, Elderly Woman Escapes Nursing Home, Rants About Deprogramming the Populace.
The other story comes from Hollywood. The new movie, The Exorcist: Believer, a sequel to the brilliant 1973 horror masterpiece, is being mocked for one of the worst lines in movie history. The line not only embarrasses the revered female star of the original, Ellen Burstyn, but tries — and fails — to undermine the religious power of the original.
In the sequel, Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil is asked why she was prevented from witnessing the exorcism of her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair). “Because I’m not a member of the damn patriarchy,” she replies. Bad enough to ignore the fact that exorcism is the most private and obscure rite reserved for Catholic priests, and not a spectacle. But it is perverse and idiotic to demean the artistic brilliance of William Peter Blatty’s very Catholic 1971 novel and William Friedkin’s respectful 1973 film.
Their narrative marvelously depicts the faith and heroism of two priests who risk their lives and souls to free an innocent young girl from the ultimate evil, the Devil himself. And they’re bolstered through the ordeal by their Master and Savior, Jesus. “The power of Christ compels you!” they repeat to great effect on the demon.
You didn’t have to grow up Catholic in Washington D.C. as I did to grasp the full spiritual force of the story. Or attend Holy Trinity Elementary in Georgetown, where stands the church desecrated in the novel. Or have your father teach at Georgetown University — the workplace of the psychiatrist protagonist, Father Karras (Jason Miller in the movie) — and be an extra in the campus scene. Or have gone up and down that spooky narrow staircase a dozen times. (READ MORE: Don’t Let Feminism Warp 9/11)
Naturally, no modern Hollywoke filmmaker, like The Exorcist: Believer co-writer-director David Gordon Green, would understand, let alone depict, the key point of the story. But he or she should be artistic enough not to disparage it for a ridiculously woke and ignorant line. The same goes for Ellen Burstyn, who could have created a crowd-pleasing bridge to the past instead of burning it. She could and should have said no to the idiocy, and have her character defend the holy men who sacrificed themselves for her daughter. Indeed, the blessed, not the “damn” patriarchy saved Regan.
But there’s great hope for the future, aesthetically and culturally, both from the gentle sex and the Catholic Church. Attending a children’s Mass this Sunday, I witnessed the faith and femininity on display. Little girls all in lovely dresses celebrating the eternal tradition, encouraged by their similarly dressed moms. And I could not imagine any of them turning into bitter shrews like Hillary Clinton, or anti-Christian players like Ellen Burstyn. Most will always be physiognomically beautiful.
Looking for an endearing holiday gift book? Try my romantic Christmas ghost story, The Christmas Spirit, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine bookstores.
