What is Conservative?

In contemporary  news media, it seems there is a huge divide. This divide may or may not be an illusion. It sometimes reminds me of Star Wars and the dark/light side of the force. Both sides have strong, almost impenetrable arguments for the rightness of their cause. The Jedi are selfless and protect the galaxy while sacrificing their own pleasure and comfort. The Sith are aggressive and passionate and gain great power for themselves alone. A major problem in contemporary politics is dividing people into "Sith" and "Jedi" and not learning and understanding why someone believes something.

There are many dichotomies in 21st century politics and its reporting. The biggest one is the dichotomy between conservatives and liberals. Statements are made everywhere about this division. Fox News is conservative; MSNBC is liberal. Republicans are conservatives; Democrats are liberals. Drudge Report is conservative; Huffington Post is liberal. Then, the division becomes almost like hyperbole. So-called liberals call so-called conservatives "backwards", "fundamentalists", and "fascists". On the other hand, so-called conservatives call so-called liberals "socialists", "communists", and "politically correct." Reporting news of current events often gets lost in these epithets. My goal is as objectively as is humanly possible to define conservatism and liberalism and show how their meanings have changed throughout. Positive and negative criticism is accepted.

What is a conservative? Dictionary.com, one of the five fountains of knowledge (along with Google, Wikipedia, Bing, and Spark Notes) defines conservative as "disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions etc., and to limit change". This is why many "conservatives" are against new taxes and are big fans of the Constitution and Founding Fathers. A second definition is "cautiously moderate or purposefully low." This seems to be an apolitical definition, having to do with estimating costs or placing bets. The final definition is "traditional in style and manner; avoiding showiness or novelty." This definition could be applied to politics like supporting "family values", but in my opinion, it mostly applies to personal things, like fashion choices. For example, someone who wears a turtleneck instead of a V-neck.

So, you now know what conservatism is, but where did it come from? Some argue that Plato was an early conservative.(See this helpful blog) He hated democracy and thought it would lead to mob rule. Plato also thought that society should be ruled by "guardians" who received the best in training and education and protected the people from chaos, like a doctor protects his patients from disease The guardians will make sure the people revere the city's gods and protect them from "new" poetry and music. Plato's respect for religion is shared by some modern conservatives like possible GOP presidential nominee Michelle Bachmann, who won the endorsement of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and is supported by some Evangelical Christians. However, many modern conservatives would be appalled at Plato's idea of a big government to protect the people.

An important, early conservative thinker was Edmund Burke, who is also seen as an early classic liberal. He was a Whig member of the House of Commons and supported the colonists in the American Revolution, wanting them to choose their own taxes. He saw a common kinship in the the freedoms of England and the colonies, calling both countries "the sanctuary of liberty." However, Burke was against the French Revolution, saying that it was based on ideas alone unlike the earlier Glorious Revolution of 1688 which "was made to preserve our antient indisputable laws and liberties." Burke didn't believe in the divine right of kings, but he did want to hold onto English traditions like the Magna Charta and was wary of the Enlightenment.

But what did Karl Marx, who some call the father of communism, say about Burke? In a footnote to Das Kapital, he calls Burke, " the sycophant who in the pay of the English oligarchy played the romantic laudator temporis acti (praiser of acts for time) against the French Revolution just as, in the pay of the North American troubles, he had played the liberal against the  English oligarchy- was an all out vulgar bourgeois."

The English oligarchy that Marx speaks of is the Tory dominated British Parliament of the 1770s that would not allow the colonies to tax themselves and have self-representation in Parliament. Burke was a classic liberal in this since and believed that states had the right of revolution, if they had proper reasons. The French Revolution, in his opinion, was not a valid revolution because it was based mainly on Enlightenment ideals and not on what the people needed. Marx considered Burke " a vulgar bourgeois" because he only believed in revolution for the middle class, not the workers which made up the core of Marx's political philosophy.

In conclusion, Edmund Burke was a mixture of classic liberalism and conservatism. He was liberal because he supported the American Revolution and conservative because he wanted to preserve the traditional Protestant values and political structures, like the House of Lords and Commons and was suspicious of the "new" thinking of the Enlightenment and the more radical and violent French Revolution. Burke is an example that people are complex and can't be pigeon-holed into conservative and liberal molds.

Who would Plato and Edmund Burke vote for 2012? Do you consider yourself a conservative? Why or why not?

Fantasy Fiction and the Importance of Companionship and Self-Sacrificing Love

This past Sunday my pastor preached a sermon on Genesis 2:18-25 on how marriage should be, using the example of Adam and Eve, the first marriage. He talked about that humans are incomplete without relationships, and marriage is the deepest and strongest of all relationships. A quote by Michael Williams, a theology professor at Covenant Seminary, summarizes this, " God intends that we be social creatures...". The Biblical reason for marriage is to have companions along the journey and co-laborers in the gospel. This principle also applies to platonic relationships. True Christian relationships are built on community and self-sacrifice, not a pragmatic "what can I get out of it" mentality.

OK, nice sermonette, you're probably saying. But because God created humans in his image, they can create works of art, including fantasy fiction that bear his stamp even if the book/TV show/movie isn't written for a "religious" reason. The book Exile by R.A. Salvatore, TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and film trilogy Lord of the Rings show the good of self-sacrificing relationships like in Genesis 2.

Drizzt Do'Urden  is the protagonist of R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy written in the early 1990s. It is set in the Forgotten Realms, which is a popular Dungeon and Dragons campaign setting. Drizzt is a dark elf who is trained to be a powerful warrior for his clan Do'Urden, which is dedicated to becoming the most powerful clan no matter the cost and observes pagan rites, like human sacrifice. However, Drizzt is taught by his mentor Zaknafein to respect life and not slaughter innocent creatures, like light elves or deep gnomes. He leaves the house of Do'Urden after refusing to kill a light elf child and becomes an exile in the dark pits of the Underdark.

While in the Underdark, Drizzt battles within himself. He has two personalities: the hunter, a character that seeks only to survive in his dark environment. This personality allows him to subsist in the Underdark and defeat monsters like a basilisk. The other personality is Drizzt, a creature of conscience and character who wants to live a moral life. The creature of conscience overcomes when Drizzt surrenders to the deep gnomes. However, he's spared from execution by Belwar, who Drizzt let live after a dark elf raid.

Belwar lost his hands in that battle, but the deep gnome reaction to this shows the self-sacrificial nature of their society. Instead of casting him out like a beggar, the gnomes build Belwar two special hands: one shaped like a hammer and one like a battleaxe. This allows Belwar to continue in his role as miner and fighter. Drizzt falls in love with the companionship and selflessness of the gnome society. He even reenacts his battle with the basilisk for the young gnomes and goes on patrol with the gnomes when an evil dark elf is spotted... The dark elves' "friendship is born out of mutual profit" whereas the gnomes' relationship are "based on the strengths of community" and are great examples for Christian community.

Another example of self-sacrifice is found in the famous cult TV show  Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). Buffy Summers is appointed the Slayer, a young girl whose task is to defend the world from vampires and other supernatural entities. She lives in Sunnydale, CA as a normal high school student and is helped by Rupert Giles, the Watcher, whose job is to help and protect the Slayer.

But before Buffy, there were other slayers. Spike, a violent vampire with a heart of gold, has killed two slayers in the past century and arrives in Sunnydale during the second season episode "School Hard" ready to find and kill the new Slayer. He has easily defeated the previous Slayers because they worked alone. However, Buffy has friends who support her despite her dangerous lifestyle.

For example, in the season one finale, Buffy's friends Xander Harris (the school loser/goofball/virgin) and Angel (a 241 year old "good" vampire that struggles with his blood lust) revive her when the Master (vampire leader) kills her. Xander and Angel both have feelings for Bufffy, and Xander makes many jokes at Angel's expense. Also, while walking in the graveyard, Angel tells Buffy that he is jealous that Xander gets to be with her during the day because he's human. However, when  Buffy flatlines, Angel fights off the vampires while Xander does mouth to mouth CPR to revive her. (What movie does this remind you of?) To fight evil, Xander and Angel put aside their problems to protect Buffy even though Angel is a vampire and Xander is on the bottom of the totem pole in popularity.

Buffy's other "companions" include Willow Rosenberg (the school nerd and computer whiz) and Cordelia Chase (popular, rich cheerleader). Many students take advantage of Willow as a tutor in their classes, and she humbly helps them. Willow's only friend is the goofball Xander, renowned for his horrendous pickup lines. Instead of shunning Willow, Buffy befriends her even though it means she moves down the "social ladder." Buffy trusts Willow and relies on her computer abilities to help research "mysterious deaths." Cordelia is the most popular girl in school, but she feels like she's alone in a crowd. But after Buffy, Xander, and Willow save her life from vampires, she joins their group even joining them at the graveyard  after cheerleader camp and making stakes for Buffy. Throughout the series, Cordelia understands that to be a true friend, one can't expect anything in return, and she hangs out with Buffy, Xander, and Willow even though they are unpopular. The vampire Spike sums up the value of self-sacrificing companionship with this one-liner, " A slayer with friends and family. That as sure as hell wasn't on the brochure." Buffy succeeds where other Slayers have failed because she has a close community of friends and mentors to help her fight evil.

A final example of self-sacrificing friendship is Gandalf the Grey in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf is a Maia (basically an angel), has an Elf ring, and is one of the most powerful wizards in Middle Earth. But he decides to allow Frodo Baggins, a small, weak hobbit, wield the One Ring. He gives Frodo guidance and urges him to not go alone but pick trustworthy companions. In the book, he recommends Aragorn, who is Frodo's guide to Rivendell and defends him from the Black Riders.

But in the Mines of Moria he gives the greatest gift any true friend can give: his life. Gandalf alone holds off the Balrog, so that the Fellowship (including Frodo) can escape and continue in their quest to destroy the Ring. He breaks the bridge underneath to defeat the Balrog and falls into the abyss. Even though Frodo is much weaker than him, Gandalf befriends him, instructs him, and sacrifices his own life for Frodo. This is true agape love, and Gandalf can be seen as a Christ figure, sacrificing himself for the salvation of the many and rising again stronger and more powerful (Gandalf the White).

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:16 (NASB)

Marvel Superhero Island

Marvel Superhero Island (MSI) is a great little nook in Islands of Adventures, but it seems overcrowded. Something tells me that the builders tried to fit most of the Marvel Universe on two streets in New York. And where are the Avengers and Xavier mansions?

A cool, random thing about MSI is that there are characters everywhere! This fact hit me immediately upon entering, and I took tons of pictures/tons of pictures were taken of me. (They will be on Facebook soon) For example, when you walk in, there's a small replica of the Baxter Building, disguised as a cafe. I got a picture with the Fantastic Four sign and "driving" the Fantasticar (an obvious publicity tie-in to the 2007 possible blockbuster Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer).

Walking down Stan Lee Boulevard (winning), I bumped into the Green Goblin. How many times in your life have you walked down a street named after a famous comic book creator and ran into an uber-famous comic book villain. Actually, in a former life, I have walked down Bob Kane Court and met the Joker and Catwoman (not Halle Berry). Being the knowledgeable comics fan that I am, I asked Gobby if he was Norman or Harry Osborn. OK, so what self-respecting supervillain would give away his secret identity to some random ginger kid. But he was totally in-character and in a sneering voice, answered, " I'm the Green Goblin." I got a picture and partially redeemed myself by telling him to "Go kick Spider-Man's butt for me" ironically before getting on Spider-Man's ride.

Speaking of Spidey, the first and sadly the last ride I went on at Islands of Adventure, was the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. The pre-ride area goes through the back rooms of the Daily Bugle. There, you see that J. Jonah Jameson (JJJ) has files on every person or thing in the Marvel Universe, and that Aunt May and Mary Jane have left voicemails for Peter Parker (who is the webmaster for the Daily Bugle like in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics). This ride is the personification of awesome.

You're strapped into special "Scoop" cars by some random guy that reminds me of The Man in Black in X-Men: First Class, given 3D glasses, and told "not screw this up" by JJJ. Immediately, Spider-Man pops into your sight and tells you things are dangerous. You see the Statue of Liberty down and Hobgoblin and Dr. Octopus cackling away. Electro is definitely the scariest baddie, and his electric generator "spins" your car around. Scream (a Venom/Spider-Woman hybrid) looks really good in 3D, and Hydroman gets you wet but not soaking. Hobgoblin and Doc Ock stretch the limits of the 3D projector and do some great fire effects, but the best part of the ride is when you drop to your impending doom...

After going on this stunning motion simulator ride, I rode Dr. Doom's Fearfall alone. The pre-ride loading zone is nothing to write home about, but you pass Fogwell's Gym and Murdoch and Nelson's Law Offices on the way (obvious Daredevil references). I actually had literal fear before riding because a wasp was buzzing on my harness but thankfully moved on to another rider. Dr. Doom starts out with a bang after a ton of build-up and features a 300 ft. drop, but then it transforms into a Tower of Terror ripoff. Great view though.

While exiting through Kingpin's Arcade (no X-Men vs. Street Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom in sight), I saw several X-Men characters. I ran up to Rogue, started chatting and realized there was an actual line for her. Embarrassed, I walked over to the Incredible Hulk coaster which is probably the best ride in MSI. The pre-ride area is big and green, like the Hulk. The coaster itself starts out slow and then boom! 0-40 in two seconds is no lie. This is a wonderfully engineered steel coaster that belongs at Six Flags or Cedar Point. I really felt like I was Wolverine holding on for dear life while battling Hulk and Wendigo in Canada (Incredible Hulk 181). The ride dips, turns, and goes upside down several times. I've never been a huge fan of Hulk's comics, but I'm definitely a huge fan of his ride.

So, I finally got in with the X-Men. Rogue looked like she was 50 and didn't have a Southern accent, but Storm was great. She giggled when I asked her if she was going to bring the mohawk back and really carried herself regally. Wolverine had the longest line and shortest attention span, but what do you expect. I got to touch his adamantium claws and call him "bub." But Cyclops was the best. He made me repent of all my Cyclops jokes that I sometimes use on straight-laced people. It also made me feel sorry that Toad beat him in X-Men, he was stuffed in a fridge in X2, and was killed off in X-Men: The Last Stand. He thought my red-tinted sunglasses were cool, and we had a nice " bro chat" about Jean Grey and shared a hug. My picture with him will be my profile pic on Facebook.

It's not every day that you meet four X-Men. However, in MSI, there was some definite anti-mutant bias. Storm gets stuck with a tea cup ride lamer than Disney's with an implausible story to match. The epicness of MSI meant that I spent some $$$ at the "Comics Shop." Having recently read Civil War on Marvel Digital Comics, I picked up the first graphic novel of the "Death of Captain America" arc. I also bought a Loki action figure from the Thor movie because he's my favorite Marvel villain.

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice."- Wolverine

First Impressions: Universal Orlando

When I first saw the spires of Universal, my heart fluttered. Colored posters with characters like Shrek, ET, and Spider-Man (the Ultimate version) warmly welcomed me in. I passed several vendors from restaurants like Moe's and Bubba Gump's to a dinky, little cart that had an uncanny X-Men shirt that said "The future is here" and had a wonderfully rendered image of the real "X-Men: First Class."

After passing the large Billabong and Universal Studios stores, I caught a glimpse of Hard Rock Cafe. It looked like a crumbling Roman coliseum with high its high spires separated from me by a dark gulf of water. Mick Jagger would be proud...

Right now (three days ago), I'm lounging and writing in a leather backed chair at the Royal Pacific Hotel. It's a weird mixture of Polynesian and Southeast Asian architectural motifs. Two handsome Buddhas flank the entranceway that is the personification of nirvana. The covers on my bed evoke bamboo reeds, and the window in my room looks out on a beautifully manicured garden.

This is just a teaser for my upcoming blog series on my trip to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Here's the schedule:
Part 1: Marvel Superhero Island
Part 2: Islands of Adventure
Part 3: Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Part 4: Universal Studios
Part 5: Food

"Excelsior!"- Stan Lee

Dawn and Dusk (Original Poem)

A stream of silvery light
Trails in the gloomy night.
I fought for truth, fought for right,
But struggle has sapped all my might.
Morning star burning in the sky like coal,
Burrow through the heavens like a mole
My celestial journey has just begun.
Until I'm consumed by the sun...
Burned by heat, doused in flame
Apollo's rays sting my brain.
I long for rocky mountains,
Snowcapped peaks, bubbling fountains.
I bask in the light of the virgin moon.
Her glow fades in the dark tomb.
Specters of night haunt my soul,
Apparitionsof silver and gold
My dreaming mind is lost in love.
Then sleep came over me like a drug.

The Pilgrim's Matrix: Two Viewpoints Create One Hero

                (This is an early concept paper for my senior thesis on the military hero)

The military hero is one of the most enduring archetypes in fiction, stretching from the early

epics of Gilgamesh and Homer to modern films like Avatar and Iron Man. There are many kinds of heroes from the one-man army (e.g. Achilles, Wolverine) to the war leader (e.g. Aeneas, Maximus, Benjamin Martin from The Patriot). Another type of military hero that fights his or her personal “war” against crime or corruption is the masked vigilante, like Batman or Rorschach from Watchmen.

But not all military heroes do battle in the physical realm. Spiritual warriors are wracked by temptations and inner struggles. They may seem only like a pawn in the scheme of a greater narrative, but their journey to enlightenment and freedom transcend the whole conflict. Two examples of this kind of hero are Christian from John Bunyan’s religious allegory Pilgrim’s Progress and Neo from the Matrix trilogy, which was written, directed, and produced by the Wachowskis (one of them might be a woman now).

 Pilgrim’s Progress records the journey of Christian from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, and how he grows spiritually despite many dangers. The Matrix films tell the story of Neo, a computer hacker, who learns the true nature of reality from mysterious crew of the Nebuchadnezzar and travels through the Matrix and the real world, learning about himself and the reality he lives in as the series progresses.

The Matrix films and Pilgrim’s Progress share a common hero archetype, but their author and directors, respectively, have very different influences and life experiences.

               John Bunyan was born to an Anglican tinker in 1628 but abandoned his faith while fighting for Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War. His experiences during the war and the beauty of the Bedfordshire countryside were major influences on Pilgrim’s Progress, which Bunyan wrote in jail and published in 1678 (Jokinen 2). Bunyan’s conversion to Christianity (recorded in his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners) inspired him to write Pilgrim’s Progress as a vivid allegory of the gospel, drawing from the Bible and his own personal experiences.

                On the other hand, Larry (sometimes Lana) and Andy Wachowski are sibling directors who are famous for directing, writing, and producing the Matrix trilogy. In addition to these films, they wrote and produced the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel V for Vendetta and are currently writing, producing, and directing Cloud Atlas, an adaptation of the award winning sci fi novel (IMDB). The Wachowskis are big fans of kung fu movies and reality-bending anime like Ghost in the Shell and Akira (Wachowskis 1). This is where much of the action scenes in The Matrix come from.

                According to a fan interview, the Wachowskis’ religion is “non-denominational”,  and the Matrix movies contains hints of many faiths, both Eastern and Western. For example, the war between humans and machines is like Gnosticism’s dualist body/soul conflict. Also, Trinity and Zion are Biblical references, and Neo’s status as the One parallels Gautama Siddharta’s status as the “Enlightened Buddha” in Buddhism (Henry 1).

                Therefore, in contrast with Bunyan’s fairly straightforward  Protestant allegory, the Matrix saga is a smorgasbord of world religions, kung fu, and dystopia á la Blade Runner or the 1982 arcade game Robotron 2084. But the Christian allegory and the cyberpunk flick share the common archetype of the spiritual warrior

.

                Both Christian and Neo come from desolate places. After Neo is unplugged from the Matrix, he sees the reality of planet Earth, which is the barren Desert of the Real, governed by insatiable machines. Christian’s life is no different, and his home is the “wilderness of the world”, the aptly named city of Destruction (Bunyan 10). However, Christian is told the truth about his condition about his condition by Evangelist, who commands him to “run far from his own door” (18). Likewise, Neo is given commands on a computer and telephone by the unseen Morpheus to learn about the reality of his condition.

                Christian trusts Evangelist, even when his neighbors Obstinate and Pliable try to dissuade. Also, Neo trusts Morpheus and follows the “white rabbit” even though it leads him to a loud night club and causes him to be late the next day for work.  Neo continues to be harried and tempted by Agent Smith, who offers him a normal life in the Matrix for information about Morpheus. Finally, Neo is told the truth of his condition as a slave to the machine and swallows the red pill “to see how far the rabbit trail leads” (The Matrix). This is similar to Pilgrim’s Progress when Evangelist tells Christian that Mr. Worldly Wise’s promise of easy burden removal and a normal life is a lie (Bunyan 57). Also, the Interpreter shows Christian a man in a cage, symbolizing a slave to Satan, which is like Morpheus revealing the human condition of slavery to the machines to Neo in the “real world.”

*SPOILER ALERT* (If you haven’t seen The Matrix, you might not want to read this)

                But the clearest parallel between Neo and Christian is their respective salvations. When he is supposedly “killed” by Agent Smith, Neo is revived by Trinity’s kiss and realizes his true potential as the One by moving faster than Smith and going directly into Smith’s programming. He can also fly and move freely between the Matrix and “real world.” Christian also experiences salvation when he “dies” as Graceless and becomes Christian. He is given clean white clothes (like Neo’s clean black trench coat and sunglasses) and his burden is removed, freeing him. For example, Christian climbs the Hill of Difficulty without a problem.

                Neo and Christian endure similar struggles in their respective movies and book, and both have salvation experiences. Therefore, in this case, the archetype of a spiritual warrior has not changed much at base level in 300 years, despite divergent worldviews of authors and modern technology and fighting techniques.

                “I know kung fu”- Neo (The Matrix)

Summer Blog Ideas and Philosophy

Because of *cough* high school, I've been unable to post any blog posts this past month. However, one of my goals this summer is to put in fresh, varied content daily. So I've made a system of different types of articles that will be posted this summer and hopefully into posterity.

Quotable- I will post a quote from a famous person, book, movie, TV show, or video game and analyze it. The meaning will be expounded but also placed in context for its larger meaning to society at large. Feel free to disagree or flame, but no trolling please ;)

Archive- I will go into the Microsoft Word database on my computer or old notebooks, journals etc. and publish a paper, story, or poem. This is mostly a selfish endeavor because I need RAM for college, but you might enjoy some of my older stuff...

TV Themes- This summer, my goal is to watch Dr. Who (new series), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guild,  and Star Trek: The New Generation from start to finish. These posts will consist of my reflections and reactions to these shows and characters and will be followed by a "season recap" post about the deeper themes in the shows. When I catch up on Dr. Who and Guild, there will be new episode reviews up regularly.

Comic Corner- Because there's no school, I will indulge my love for the "funnies." Books read and analyzed will include Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Chris Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men and the original Wolverine miniseries by Claremont and Frank Miller. I may also focus in on specific characters' appearances, so if there's a comic series, creator, or character you want on the blog, fire me a comment. The goal of these posts will be to show that comics aren't just for kids and are the mythology for Americans in the 20th/21st century.

Book Nook (Kindle)- Another type of blog post will be about the book(s) I'm currently reading. When it comes to literature, I have major attention span issues and bounce around from books of different genres too much. I'm currently finishing a Civil War non-fiction book and will kick off the summer with the quadruple threat of C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man, Bulfinch's Mythology, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Tale of Two Cities (for my book club).

These are just some of the many types of content on my blog with cheesy rhyming or alliterative names. Others will include Film Fantasies, Poetry Garden, and various posts on items of personal interest like my trip to...