Olympics, Bad Martyrs, Fake Meat and More

This article is a hodgepodge of assorted topics, none of which is worth a full column, yet each deserves to be mentioned.  Is it wrong to boycott the Olympics?  Why is Trump the only president referred to as “former”?  Why does the Left venerate such bad people as martyrs?  Can the removal of some statues be justified?  Can fake meat make the world a better place?  Finally, what do you think of the chant “Let’s go, Brandon”?

Boycotting the Olympics

The Olympic games are thought to have begun in 776 B.C. at Olympia, Greece.  Although the city-states and kingdoms of ancient Greece had always fought each other, there was a peaceful truce at the time of the Olympics, at least to let people travel to the games.  The attendees were deemed pilgrims under the protection of Zeus.  The purpose was to gather hostile parties to contend against each other playfully without war.  The Olympics, therefore, are essentially diplomatic.  The games are meant to rise above politics, not be dragged down into it, but now, the Biden administration is threatening to boycott the Olympics in Beijing in 2022.  This would weaponize the event as an instrument of aggression.  Thus, the very heart of the Olympics would be removed.

Why is Trump the only “former” president?

No one says “former President Washington” or “former President Lincoln.”  Moreover, writers never refer to any recent president with the descriptive adjective “former” except Trump.  Obviously, it is a conscious or subconscious effort to distance the 45^th president from his office, emphasizing that he no longer occupies the White House.

The irony, nevertheless, is that of all the presidents of the United States, the word “former” suits Trump the least because he did, in fact, win the 2020 election.  I have seen enough proof of fraud to know that Donald Trump is still my president and that the present regime is illegitimate.  Biden can only be considered a president in the sense that Jefferson Davis was the president of a violent minority of rebels.  Still, even if Trump had lost the election, he will always be President Trump.

Is George Floyd a Martyr?

Recently, an icon was displayed at the Catholic University of American depicting what appeared to be a black Virgin Mary holding the dead body of George Floyd like the pieta of Michelangelo.  This is merely an interpretation, but it caused a controversy.  Some thought it to be sacrilegious or blasphemous.  Still, George Floyd is often portrayed, by professional artists and graffiti vandals, as a martyred saint.  Surely, Black Lives Matter venerates him as such.

During his life, though, Floyd did not give any evidence of being even in a state of grace.  He abused narcotics.  Indeed, the fentanyl in his bloodstream contributed largely to his death.  He robbed a store with a counterfeit $20 bill, and he also resisted arrest.  So, he compelled officers to use force against him.

It seems to me that Floyd committed suicide-by-cop, and that the unfortunate officer, Derek Chauvin, is serving a sentence for murder unjustly.  No one should presume that the policeman was racist.  He simply needed to overpower a big irrational man.  My guess is that Mr. Floyd never got through the pearly gates and is serving his sentence elsewhere.  Hence, he should not be canonized.  Neither should Daunte Wright, who was a criminal, or Breonna Taylor, an adulteress, be revered as holy martyrs.

Should any statues be removed?

Many statues have been erected to honor great people, particularly founding fathers, heroes of wars or symbols like the Statue of Liberty.  Commissioned artists make them beautiful while fortunes are invested or perhaps donated for the cause.  With great skill workers build a solid foundation and hoist the statue into place.  Ceremonies are held to unveil the monument, and for generations, they serve as landmarks and edifying tributes to those who endured terrible trials, sacrificing themselves for our country.

Recently, however, statues have been desecrated with painted slogans or torn down by angry mobs that attempt to justify themselves with dim excuses.  Usually, the accusation of racism is what incites such destruction.  Even the Father of our Country, George Washington, is attacked because he owned slaves, but that does not mean that a person who lived centuries ago was evil.  If so, then Abraham, our Father in Faith, the chosen one of God, would be evil, but that’s absurd.  People today must not condemn past individuals by taking them out of their historical context and judging them by new standards.

Hence, it’s a tragedy to see heroes of the Confederacy attacked, even a good man like Robert E. Lee.  Now, the once glorious Monument Avenue in Richmond has fallen to ruin to the glee of savages, but the Civil War was not all about race.  The south fought vigorously for states’ rights.  Now that socialism is threatening to centralize all power in the federal government, fighting for states’ rights is again a good cause.

Can fake meat make the world a better place?

Bill Gates has bought 242,000 acres of farmland, evidently, to control the source of food.  It sounds devious, but he sincerely believes that he can help to save the planet by forcing us to buy cheap fake meat because real meat will be too expensive.  We are told that synthetic beef is the solution to reducing methane emissions.  Consequently, Gates is also investing fortunes in the fake meat industry, so he’ll become richer and more powerful.

It is bad enough that people overly anxious about the climate want to replace our muscle cars with electric cars, but to replace our steaks with a substance developed from soybeans or fungus is intolerable.  What is really fake and synthetic is the phony moral thinking behind such plans.

Let’s Go Brandon!

When crowds at football and baseball games started cheering “F**k Joe Biden,” I was slightly amused, but largely aghast at the vulgarity.  The F-word is a reference to the marital act, which is the sacred means by which human life made in the image of God enters the world.  I was pleased, therefore, when the incident at the racetrack led to the adoption of the chant “Let’s go, Brandon!”

The cleaner phrase is still merely a code for its dirty relative, but there is enough distance between them that one could interpret the latter simply as “To hell with the policies of Biden.”  To that, I would lend my voice.