March 27, 2010

Freedom of the Mind and the Emasculated Society

By Gary Wolf
Struggling to make sense of the dire straits in which the nation finds itself, I recall a trip I took to Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago. One of the many aspects of the city that struck me was the heavy Greek-revival element in the architecture of the older government buildings. The Treasury, for example, would not have looked out of place in the Athens of Plato.Needless to say, the disconnect between the original spirit of this style and the worldview of Washington's dominant clan of philistines could not be greater. This glaring contrast led me in turn to compare the ancient world to the contemporary West, seeking in the wisdom of the former answers to the riddles of the latter.Allow me to present examples of this juxtaposition taken from the two founts of our European heritage: the Judeo-Christian and the Greco-Roman.As I witness the dismemberment of the American republic, bewilderment overtakes me. I cry out as another human being did millennia ago:I will lift up mine eyes unto...(Read Full Article)