PoliPit Book Review

Below you will find something new to thePoliPit.  In an effort to expand our commentary on culture, we will occasionally post book and movie reviews evaluated through a Judeo/Christian perspective.  Jeff Cherry is a frequent contributor to thePoliPit and provides excellent insight and commentary.  His book review posted below is spot on and well written.

We intend to continue to provide political and social commentary, while offering our insight into the world of literature and movies.  Enjoy the added content.

R.R. Martin vs. R.R. Tolkien: One Ring Still Rules Them All

Earlier this year, when I still had my subscription to The New Yorker, I read an interesting piece about a “new” fantasy fiction writer. The article, written by Laura Miller dated April 11^th, 2011, was entitled “JUST WRITE IT!” and captioned “A fantasy writer and his impatient fans.” Ms. Miller’s subject for the article was the author George R.R. Martin and the work under discussion was the A Song of Ice and Fire saga that was originally intended to be a trilogy of books but has since become a more unwieldy project that may produce as many as seven separate volumes. The article was predominately about the trials and tribulations of being an author in the twenty-first century. She wrote about blogs and the demands that the reading public makes on authors who choose to engage them through the internet. It is a somewhat interesting piece and I would recommend it if you are an aspiring writer or a fan of contemporary fiction. I bring this article up because it was the reason that I decided to give Martin’s books a try. I am a fan of fantasy fiction and I am always on the lookout for something good in the genre. I was particularly enamored with a few lines in her article,

           “Tolkien created the genre of epic fantasy, and it is still dominated by his example. Martin is widely credited with taking such fiction in a more adult direction. David Benioff, who, with Dan Weiss, is an executive producer of the HBO series, (A Game of Thrones) told me that he had given up reading fantasy because ‘so many of the writers seemed to be a pale imitation of Tolkien. After a while, you don’t need to read another book about hobbits or hobbit-like creatures trying to destroy some evil artifact.’”  [Emphasis added]

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/11/110411fa_fact_miller#ixzz1eRMLwHpA  

     I have to admit that when the name Tolkien is thrown out I immediately sit up and take notice. After all, in the annals of fiction Tolkien is without a doubt the master. The man created entire worlds, cultures, races, and languages. Ms. Miller even goes on in her article to give several examples of how the two series, Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Rings and Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire are similar. I did have more than a little trepidation about the line “Martin is widely credited with taking such fiction in a more adult direction,” but I decided to give this saga a try. And I have to say it was much to my chagrin.

     I must state first of all that Martin’s saga is not finished. It currently stands at book number five, A Dance with Dragons, released, in America, in hardback on July 12^th, 2011. My reading of the series actually stops with book number four, A Feast for Crows, which was published in 2005. That is not a misprint, six years actually elapsed between books number four and five. So, obviously this review is not of the complete series and there is always the chance that the subsequent books could change their tone. However, I have decided to review the books I have read in this article.

     There are many possibilities when the statement is made that something is being taken in a more “adult direction.” It could mean that the plots are more intricate or that the characters are more complex. I knew that it would be difficult for Martin to actually be able to create more intricate plots than Tolkien. But I did think that he had a shot at creating more complex characters. Martin did neither. The more “adult direction” that was alluded to simply meant that he was going to attempt to shock and disgust his readers. Which is no small feat in today’s age, but he definitely gave it a try.

     In his A Saga of Ice and Fire Martin chooses to treat his readers to gratuitous killings and a liberal amount of sex. And the sex was not only superfluous; it was actually quite sick. Some of Martin’s vignettes include graphic renderings of rape, incest, and pedophilia. Let me be clear on what I mean when I write that Martin graphically renders instances of pedophilia. What I mean to relate is that many of the characters in his book are children and these children are put in highly sexualized situations.

     Now I know that these scenes could be defended by simply stating that Martin created a medieval world and children were often married off at early ages during this time period. It could also be stated that being as people did not live as long during that time children were not really children when they reached the age of twelve, thirteen, or fourteen. But that is really nothing more than mere chicanery. The first reason that I give for writing this is that not all of the instances of pedophilia are portrayed in the context of marriage. Frankly some of them are nothing more than rape and molestation scenes. Secondly, if this was a case of Martin wanting to be historically accurate in his fantasy fiction saga there would be no need to be so vivid in his descriptions of sex acts involving minor children.

     There are a myriad of other issues with Martin’s saga. In his attempt to give the reader a huge mixture of characters he repeats arch-types over and over again. For example, one of his characters the “Dog for hire,” this is actually a person, is bent only on chaos and destruction. This would not be so bad if there weren’t at least ten other characters that seem to be dedicated to the same proposition, one of which is the “Dog’s” older brother. He repeatedly kills off major characters and replaces them with carbon copies of the characters he just killed.  This brings up an interesting point about Martin, and it appears the proponents of his books, who seem to confuse complexity of character with a type of post-modern malaise that is really not complexity at all but more of a homage to nihilism. In other words, everyone is completely interchangeable and replaceable with everyone else. This is primarily brought to light in that many of Martin’s characters seem to just bounce off of one another in a sort of cosmic pinball machine where the score is not being kept. I think Martin began to see this at some point in his writing and so he attempts to bring in a treatise on religion and/or philosophy to give some order to his universe. There are no surprises here as he sets up the old dichotomy of an older pagan religion that is mystical and benign, albeit ineffectual, that is being usurped by a newer religion, that has a myriad of resurrections involved with it, which, of course, regrettably allows Martin to continue to recycle characters without even having to come up with new names. He alludes to other languages in the books but he has not developed them in any discernable way. He devotes line upon line to the physical descriptions of characters while giving little insight to their inner workings. In essence, this is the perfect twenty-first century fantasy fiction series. There is little meaningful plot, no loyalty to character, and an unreliable narrator.  

    The fact of the matter is that Martin’s public relations machine may think that his writing is an “adult” or “modern” version of Tolkien. But it is actually nothing more than a sensationalized and amoral saga that offers very little in the way of entertainment and virtually nothing that could be considered redeeming.

Agape Meter rating: Less than zero. 

Author:  Jeff Cherry

The Pilgrims

Thanksgiving, like many traditional observances, has lost much of its substance. Generations of water downed, revisionist, anti-religious, and pure selfish, apathetic attitudes has contributed to the debasement of our rich, God-fearing history, fundamental in the Thanksgiving observance.

Non-conformist, separatists Christians (not Muslims, Hindu's or some other twisted, melting pot of pluralistic peddled religious junk) finally had enough of the centralized, dictatorial, church politics in England. Instead of submitting to persecution, they turned the other cheek; and as they were coming back around they blackened the eyes of the state church of England. However, they didn't immediately set sail to the Americas; they went to Holland.

To quote a lyric from Steeler Wheels, the Pilgrims had "clowns to the left [of them] and jokers to the right". Behind this league of hardcore, non-conformists (people after my own heart) Christians was the persecution from the state church in England; but, in Holland they contended with hostile, anti-Christian influences threatening to corrupt their children (much like public schools in America I'm sure). So instead of organizing a "meet you at pole" gathering and then handing the minds of their children over to those hostile influences, they packed up their belongings and set out for a better life. Although they were thankful, it is us today who enjoy that better life -more so than they did- because of the religion of these Pilgrims, Christianity.

Thanksgiving, indeed, can be what we want it to be; we have that liberty. A time of thanksgiving can mean different things to each of us for various reasons. But, this holiday observance isn't just a time of thanksgiving; for that can occur at anytime. Common thankfulness should always be in our thoughts. This traditional American observance officially set aside in November is a special observance. It is a religious observance! On this day we not only reflect on the goodness of fellowship with friends, family and tasty, dead carcass, but we also honor the very people who made this possible. Most importantly, we honor the God of the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims were not perfect people at all. But, at least they busted out the windows of their glass houses from the inside before they hurled their stones outward. For all of their faults, they were admirable, conscientious, God fearing Christians. Each of us should aspire to emulate them if for only their multi-generational vision of a land where Christians can live out their faith with the latitude of liberty guided by the constraints of right and wrong. The framers of the U.S. constitution were nothing more than dwarfs standing on the shoulder of giants; the Pilgrims of the Christian faith.

Sadly, only remnants of the unshakable, God-centered vision that the Pilgrims shared with supreme clarity still exists in America today. Instead, like in the days of Noah, corrupt men and women, who did what was right in their own eyes (libertarianism is nothing new) have found every way possible to pervert money, power, politics, human relationships, education, and every other segment of life. In those days it became so intolerable that God destroyed all that lived on the land with the world wide flood (a scientifically proven fact reinterpreted through evolutionary thinking…see Jedna Vira’s article a few days ago); promising to never send a comparable flood again. He has kept His word and the rainbow is the reminder of His commitment. On this eve of Thanksgiving Day I have a great number of things to be thankful for, but I am most thankful that God keeps His word. Next time it is by fire.

Happy Thanksgiving.

A Whale of a Story

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2011/11/21/75-prehistoric-whales-found-in-chilean-desert/

Chile's Paleontological Museum of Caldera have released images of whale fossils embedded in the Atacama Desert near Copiapo, Chile, that they are dubbing 'one of the world's best-preserved graveyards of prehistoric whales'.

More than two million years ago, scores of whales congregating off the Pacific Coast of South America mysteriously met their end.

Experts are unsure whether they became disoriented and beached themselves; whether they were trapped in a lagoon by a landslide or a ferocious storm; or whether they died there over a period of a few millennia.

But, somehow, the 75 whales ended up right next to one another, many just several yards apart, entombed over the ages as the shallow sea floor was driven upward by geologic forces and transformed into the driest place on the planet.

“Experts” left out another possible explanation….A WORLDWIDE FLOOD.  Of course, a “ferocious storm” was offered as a possibility, but there could be no way a worldwide flood is responsible, right?  This explanation would carry too many ramifications that God-hating scientists could not tolerate.

“Scientists” cannot even agree on the age of the whale fossils.  I’ve heard everything from “a few millennia” to “7 – 8 million years.”  Where do they get these numbers?  I honestly think they just throw numbers out that sound consistent with evolution, evidence be damned.  Furthermore, someone explain to me how a huge whale becomes fossilized if they “died there over a period of a few millennia.”  Animals and plants that become fossils are quickly covered with sediment, otherwise they would slowly decompose and no evidence of its existence would be left to discover.

It almost seems as though the whales were deposited on that desert by some huge flood and then quickly covered with sediment as the flood waters receded.  Where have I heard an account like that?

The Truth in Song

This really doesn't need any explanation.

Elections Have Consequences

Mayor Greg Ballard won reelection and Dr. Frank Straub retained his place of prominence. Straub can continue his assault on the morale of the Indianapolis Metro Police, and try a few more of his brilliant doctorate ideas. Don’t fret though, all indications point to a Straub departure in the near future.

The more important result in this election was not that Ballard beat a Kennedy, it’s that the Democrats regained control of the City-County Council. By the way, did anyone bother to look at the number of votes the Libertarian council candidates received. The Republicans probably would have retained their council majority if they had been more conservative. Approximately 10,000 votes for a Libertarian candidate meant 10,000 fewer votes for a moderate Republican. Yet another example of why compromise never works out for a spineless politician.

I digress: The best possible outcome may have taken place on Tuesday. Ballard wins and the Dems retake the council. The local media immediately began to question, “Can Ballard and the council work together!?” Who cares!? I prefer that they don’t “work together” and we have 4 years of complete governmental inaction. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that Ballard won’t have a problem working with the Democrat-controlled City-County Council; because Mayor Ballard isn’t too far from being a Democrat himself. Let’s face it; if Marion County Republicans are conservative, then Obama is a centrist. Let’s hope Ballard and the Council Dems can’t agree on where to waste our money.

So much attention is given to the concept of “working together.” This concept usually means that conservatives must sacrifice their deeply held values for immoral liberal ones and liberals get to remain entrenched in their failed philosophies. I pray our local government becomes stagnant and ineffective, because when they are passing laws they are usually limiting our liberties and spending our money. So bring on the stalemate; it’s the best possible solution to our problems.

Election Day Indy! Ballard or Kennedy

The off year Election Day is here for Indianapolis! We can now get some relief from what blogger Pat Andrews at Had Enough Indy essentially refers to as a relative tolerance of lying. “Just as more salt is expected on potatoes but not ice cream”, Andrews asserts, so it is with politics. Although we are fundamentally polar opposites (and possibly applying our words and concepts differently) I think we are in agreement.

Let's take for example the above captured shot from a Ballard for Mayor commercial that has been running this last and final week. Notice the emphasized declining line representing a set of data values. It looks huge! If representing an actual loss, it certainly looks like a sharp decline from a more suggestively prosperous time. Now look along the bottom. Notice that there is no axis title or axis label for this gigantic, sharply declining data series. There is a reason it is blank. We are given the liberty to fill in the blank so long as we are guided by the emphasized data series line that is easiest to view.

But, worse yet and the real deception is in the vertical axis label on the left side. Look at the number values presented. The starting point value is 6.6 at the bottom and the data series (the declining line) begins at 8.0. This graph doesn't even represent a full 2 point move (whatever the value of each point is). Yet, the emphasized, blown up data series on the graph (that looks like a mountain) gives the appearance of a sharp decrease when in fact the true visual representation is very small.

Did you catch it when you saw the commercial? If not, why? Is it because we expect deception that we don’t actually see it when it is presented? Is it because we lack the education for spotting such deception?

We are each personally responsible for our decisions and the outcomes of those decisions. This responsibility is just not honored any more. Bad outcomes can always be attributed to something outside the sphere of our personal responsibility (or so one thinks). Because of this, apathy and willful ignorance are born and matured. The greatest political scapegoat is lack of knowledge (or feigned lack of knowledge- “it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is”). The problem is this: the knowledge is there, it is the use of that knowledge that is in error. We must use what we know wisely and fully investigate what we know and don’t know from an unchanging, principled method. Only then can we confidently support and elect leaders to operate imperfectly within an imperfect system.

I will leave you with my Election Day advice. Neither Ballard nor Kennedy is good for Indianapolis. Unfortunately, these are the candidates that the political establishment on both sides has given us. Four years is a long time. However, if Ballard is reelected we are guaranteed an eight year cycle of liberal governance before conservatives have the opportunity under the republican banner to rebuild with another candidate. If Kennedy is elected, we only have to deal with a four year cycle. With Kennedy conservatives will have another opportunity in four years.

I don’t think Marion County, Indiana is primed for a true conservative leader. But, over the next four years many changes at the national level are going to influence local politics. I can think of no better way to expose the folly of democratic liberalism in Marion County than to elect Melina Kennedy.

BRIDGE-ing the gap between Life and Death

Poor education, deficient nutrition, unsuitable clothing and inadequate love combine for great problems within our community; especially when elementary and middle school aged children are burdened with these issues. Who can help - the government? I’ve seen how well government programs work, especially with the “wonderful self-imposed” limits the liberals have placed on our government agencies’ abilities to partner with Christian organizations. I hardly think they are effective at helping. The good news is there are private, non-for-profit, Christ-based organizations out there that exist solely to provide the answers and ability to conquer the problems I’ve listed; and they do it without “stealing from the rich.” (Violating one of God’s commandments to implement another is neither honorable nor helpful.)

LifeBridge Community is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that instills a sense of hope in the lives of children and families living in poverty on the Southeast side of Indianapolis. Through Christ-centered, creative programming and nurturing relationships, we provide tools that empower children and families physically, academically, emotionally and spiritually to achieve a brighter future.

LifeBridge is one of the few organizations I know of that is trying to improve the whole-health of a child and the community by addressing the 3 most important areas; the mind (education from tutoring), the body (nutrition, food, clothing and exercise), and the spirit (through Christ’s redemptive message). Most of the kids involved in this program come from very low income homes and broken families. The CEO of LifeBridge, Mike Crosley, is a good friend and I greatly respect the work he is doing. Mike is living out the teachings of Christ and doing more to improve our community than a liberal activist or government agency could ever hope to do.

Study after study and poll after poll show the same results: People who said they were "very conservative" gave 4.5% of their income to charity, on average; "conservatives" gave 3.6%; "moderates" gave 3%; "liberals" gave 1.5%; and "very liberal" folks gave 1.2%. Liberals often wonder why conservatives, especially Christian Conservatives, are “anti-tax” and “anti-big government.” The simple answer is embedded in this truth: No one can do the work of Christ better than a Christian who is unrestrained by the government; whether the restraint is from burdensome taxes or burdensome regulations and laws. The desire to be taxed and governed less comes from a desire to be more selfless with ones resources and not a selfish desire like most liberals would have you believe. People will criticize me for linking charity and politics, but the painful truth is they are inextricably linked. Politics certainly affects the ability of an INDIVIDUAL to be charitable, especially when those politics result in an obtuse invasive government. If our readers take one thing away from this article, let it be this simple message: In spite of our foolish government, please continue to give your time, money and resources to organizations like LifeBridge Community. They are actually making a difference; I’ve seen it with my own eyes! Isn’t it amazing how God can use a small Christian organization like LifeBridge to change peoples’ lives for the better (from the inside-out); but large, over-funded, government programs that claim to be helpful only perpetuate the conditions of the poor? Continue to be charitable while you continue to try and change the broken and unhelpful government that currently exists.

Please support LifeBridge if you are able and willing.