RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/where-have-all-the-alphas-gone/

For some time now I have watched the immensely popular HGTV as a window on the culture—a large picture window letting in “lots of natural light,” as the rather silly and predictable house hunters are fond of saying—providing a cameo on the conventions of middle-class society. One notices, with few exceptions, that the wives tend to be voluble and bossy; they speak first, far more often, more insistently and more authoritatively. Their needs and desires are clearly predominant. The husbands, for their part, are mostly bland and subservient, almost leguminous in comparison, generally deferring to their wives with only the occasional mewl of protest.

One notes, too, the lack of genuine taste, the utter preoccupation with trivialities, and the cloying banality of conversation among the often obese participants. They are obviously hewing to script, but the ideas, habits, physical attributes, speech patterns, attitudes and expectations on display are close enough to the cultural norm to seem authentic. People recognize themselves and their aspirations in these TV episodes. Although the self-indulgence and broadly decorticate behavior one observes is certainly off-putting, the absence of gender parity, in favor of the wives, is perhaps the most conspicuous quality that affirms itself.

One might dismiss these observations as making too much of a mere reality TV show, but HGTV does let in a lot of natural light on a culture grown flaccid and critically disoriented. The ascendancy of the now-dominant, rule-giving female and the attendant decline of the proud and assertive male is the order of the day. The male essence is not a privilege but a fact of nature—that is, when nature is allowed to take its course. Yet, everywhere we look men are surrendering their right to be men—to be strong, confident, honest, unashamed and productive. I do not blame the vindictive and self-righteous feminists for the debacle. I blame the men who have allowed a social disaster to come to pass. We now see the gradual disappearance, or at least the alarming paucity, of alpha males in the social mix accompanied by the rising tide of beta males—apologists for their “toxic” nature, Michael Kimmel types— who are complicit with the feminist agenda.

http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/topic/politics/

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 and moved to its present location on Fifth Avenue ten years later. It has benefited from the work of many illustrious architects from the 19th century on – all adding to the elegance and majesty of America’s premiere neo-classical palace of Art. Its collections are priceless, ranging from ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Assyrian, Chinese and many other cultures to contemporary painting and sculpture with an emphasis on international presentation of art in all its myriad forms.

Each season, the museum publishes a brochure called What’s On that features descriptions of the temporary exhibitions as well as gallery talks, tours, concerts, talks by the artists, conversations with curators and art historians It’s an excellent way to get acquainted with activities you might not know about and parts of the vast museum you might never have visited. It undoubtedly has an international mailing to members and patrons and perhaps an even broader audience online; as such it represents the grandeur and diversity of the museum itself.

In the current Winter brochure, there is a description of the Great Hall Commission which consists of two monumental paintings by Kent Monkman, a Cree artist, which will be on view in the Great Hall from December to April. According to the brochure “Central to his work are themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience, and he often enlists his gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a time-traveling, shape-shifting, supernatural being, to challenge notions of history and indigenous peoples.” I’m not sure who wrote this but it sounds a lot like a sophomoric college student majoring in Gender Studies. In the Welcome article on the first page of the brochure, the new director of the Met, Max Hollein, had this to say about the artist: “His two monumental paintings are the latest in a series of contemporary commissions in which we invite artists to create new works inspired by the Met collection. Monkman’s themes of migrations and displacement, provocatively expressed with the help of his alter-ego, Miss Chief, disrupt our notions of history while recalling iconic American and European works.” You will notice that he left out Miss Chief’s name, a wise decision to overrule either the artist’s own words or those of his agent or the decision of a trendy-wannabe editor of What’s On.

In another location, The Museum of Sex for example, Monkman’s feeble attempt at humor or p.c. obedience might not stand out, but at the Met, it sounds as silly and crude as a child shouting curse words at church. It rings shallow and hollow under the rubric of the pinnacle of American Culture. Whoever allowed it to remain has cheapened the dignity of the Met and sadly, unlike an inappropriate comment that is spoken, this one will stand out in black print for five months. Sic transit gloria mundi………

http://swtotd.blogspot.com/

Slavery is the worst kind of bondage where the individual has no rights and is treated as chattel. It disappeared in the United States with the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863: “…that all persons held as slave are, and henceforward shall be free.” However, enfranchisement came slowly. It was not until the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 that women were able to vote. And it was only on August 6, 1965 that President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which enforced the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution that had been adopted in 1870. It would be another year before poll taxes – a uniform tax on all individuals regardless of financial means, the payment of which was required in order to register to vote – would be declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections.

Nevertheless, there are other forms of dependency, not as cruel or degrading as slavery but nonetheless demeaning and inhibiting, like addiction to drugs, alcohol or even social media. And there are forms of dependency that chain individuals to a business, a movement or a state. It is dependency on the state, and all that entails, that concerns this essay.

The elected Washington politician who served because he or she wanted to improve the condition of his or her constituents is a species at risk of extinction. Certainly, there are exceptions, but they have become rare, as the benefits of power, fame and money have grown more ubiquitous for those who serve in Congress. Also, among endangered species is the individual who once traveled to Washington, accepting less pay and longer hours, because he was on a noble enterprise to help fellow citizens. But, with an expanded administrative state, he has become a supercilious, egocentric bureaucrat seeking the monetary and retirement benefits now due a public sector worker.