The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary
It is perfectly possible, even likely, thaat the reader whose face would be saved by the genre in the pages of my biography already knows more about Boris Pasternak than the one incontrovertible fact that he wrote the book on which a major motion picture called Doctor Zhivago was based. Similarly, Nietzsche would have had the ready advantage of addressing a literary audience wholly receptive to the angry disclaimer that the Superman comic is only loosely based on his Zarathustra. But information, however complete, is not the same as the explanation of feeling which I have been reckless enough to...
Join Dr. Fleming on this special “Dialogues with a Young Latin Teacher” episode featuring Eleanor Lacy. Original Air Date: November 15, 2016 Show Run Time: 31 minutes Show Guest(s): Eleanor Lacy Show Host(s): Dr. Thomas Fleming The Fleming Foundation · Latin, Episode 7 The Fleming Foundation Presents Latin℗ is a Production of the Fleming Foundation. Copyright 2016. All Rights are Reserved.
What does it mean to be an American? Major debates over legislation and proposed constitutional amendments raise the question. Without stretching a point too much, it is easy to see the American identity as the underlying question on the immigration issue, the Equal Rights Amendment, and perhaps even in the debate over abortion. It comes out very clear in discussion of the English Language Amendment sponsored last year by Senator Huddleston of Kentucky and supported by U.S. English, a group headed by former Senator and linguist S.I. Hayakawa. The amendment would make explicit a fact of life obvious to anyone that...
In the new millennium, the Americans acting badly are at heart spoiled children who have never learned what it would mean to grow up. 100 years ago, this type was already developing, and Booth Tarkington describes some of these characters in his fiction—the Penrod stories, Little Orvie, and, most effectively, the character of Georgie Minafer in The Magnificent Ambersons. Georgie was a spoiled rich kid, who despised his social inferiors as riff-raff, but hard times eventually taught him how to be a man. Georgie had been spoiled by a doting mother and aunt, but most boys had to undergo the...
I’m gloating over how the Electoral College worked as it’s supposed to, as designed by the Founding Fathers: It kept California from being relevant. Was California in 1787-89 part of Spain? No matter. The Founders had a dream in Philadelphia and saw how disastrous this state would become. Leftists of all stripes now are screaming, as they did in 2000, about how the EC is “undemocratic.” Screeched a letter to the Washington Post, “The Electoral College, an undemocratic vestige, distorted the election by giving battleground state voters more weight and smaller states disproportionate representation.” Thank you for making my...
An Entirely Unnecessary but Fortunately Brief Preface A man who presumes to share stories of his life with strangers, so I have always thought, has probably mistaken his self conceit for a general opinion of his own importance. In celebrating his own experiences he is also telling his fellow men, “Forget about your petty little lives and make way for the Great Panjandrum!” I agree with Samuel Johnson, that every man’s life is worthy of a biography, but the great Cham said nothing of autobiography. I might think “How wonderful if we could read the memoirs of Miltiades or a...
Trump’s victory came as a surprise in Europe, far more than in the US. The major TV channels for months presented him as paranoid. In a country like Greece, plagued by illegal immigration and targeted for centuries by Islamic expansionism, Trump’s views on these issues were presented as eccentric and extreme. Any discussion on the US elections ended with the conclusion that Trump will be crushed in the ballot and the World will continue its course towards the “progressive paradise.” Particularly perverse was the spectacle of leftist Greek (in other words White Christian) political analysts gleefully reveling in the crush that awaits...
My social media feed is erupting with Trump supporters already panicking that Donald Trump is selling us out. The appointment of Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff seems to be of particular concern to many. My advice to my fellow Trump supporters is to take a couple of deep breaths and relax. Remember that the MSM is deliberately trying to sow discord among us and harm the Trump Administration before it even begins. Don’t take the bait. At least give this all some time to work itself out before you hit the panic button. I know...
Sometime late last Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, I lost 100 dollars. In September, at a fundraising banquet for Saint Michael’s Abbey, well fueled by a couple of gin-and-tonics, I bet a delightful lady named Bernadette that Hilary would win the election. She backed Trump. The loser would pay 100 dollars to the Abbey. Never have I been so happy to lose a bet. (I hope the confreres spend it on gin.) The anguished looks on the sanctimonious visages of Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow were worth every single penny. Watching the map grow redder as the evening wore...
Three recent pieces, two from America and one Italian, cite the work of the humble president of this little organization, in other words me. The first American–in the geographical sense–piece is by Peter Brimelow on his highly esteemed website VDare: http://www.vdare.com/articles/the-american-conservative-movement-has-ended-the-american-right-goes-on ...
