Posted under Christianity & Conservatism & Culture War & TEA Parties
At the recent League of the South National Conference in Alabama (see video here), I talked about the Tea Party’s utter failure to conduct and carry out a real campaign for liberty. Indeed, as I pointed out in my talk, the Tea Party is little more than a tool of the Republican party and the National Security state. One example: politicians the Tea Party helped elect have supported legislation that expands and consolidates the central government’s power over us, such as the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing And Protection Act, which gives the government the authority to monitor all online communications in the name of national security. That’s a helluva way to protect our rights.
Big, centralized government with no limits to its power is the greatest threat to liberty. It is therefore suicidal to support unconstitutional power grabs by that government. However, if we endorse that government’s claims to legitimacy, and even go as far as revering it as divinely sanctioned, we have undermined any attempt at limiting that government’s power.
Many supposedly conservative web sites have featured the art of Jon McNaughton. The authors of those sites see McNaughton’s work as patriotic statements against Obama’s agenda, and as supporting conservative opposition.
They’re wrong. McNaughton’s paintings are syrupy, pro big-government propaganda, pure and simple. It’s as if Norman Rockwell collaborated with Leni Riefenstahl.
Take a look at McNaughton’s “One Nation Under God.” The title alone should be a red flag for advocates of small government! (By the way, you can click on the picture at McNaughton’s site and verify my comments.) The Founding Fathers, famous Americans, and prominent US presidents stand in DC with a Mormon Jesus, the painting’s central figure. The image implies the federal government is an extension of the Christian faith, or at least the Mormon Christian faith. Worse, the painting is an endorsement of an all-powerful federal government as a force of liberation.
Notice the figures standing behind the Mormon Jesus. In addition to soldiers from all American wars, you’ll spot Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ulysses S. Grant, and not just one, but two Union foot soldiers from the War To Prevent Southern Independence, one Black, one White. The White Union soldier has his hands over his face, apparently in the anguished realization that, in the artist’s words, “This is the only war in American history where American fought against American and brother against brother. [Not true! Remember the American Revolution?] Hopefully it will never happen again.” The “Great Emancipator” is shown on bended knee near Jesus. And the number of Confederate heroes? Zero.
The heavens have their say, too. Notice there are 50 stars over the US Capitol building.
That’s some scary symbolism, folks. So let’s call McNaughton’s art what it is: big-government propaganda.
RedPhillips on 01 Aug 2012 at 4:38 pm #
I take it Jon is Mormon?
HarrisonBergeron2 on 01 Aug 2012 at 4:46 pm #
RedPhillips,
Yes. Mormonism is a recurring theme in his other works.
Sean Scallon on 01 Aug 2012 at 5:15 pm #
“That’s some scary symbolism, folks. So let’s call McNaughton’s art what it is: big-government propaganda.”
I agree and it’s pretty sickening. I like to think of God as being bigger than the United States but apparently some people can’t handle that concept.
Only in American could one come up with a religion like Mormonism.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 01 Aug 2012 at 5:18 pm #
Sean Scallon,
Sickening it is. And I’m afraid that the merging of God and government will eventually lead us to the replacement of God with Caesar.
RedPhillips on 01 Aug 2012 at 9:08 pm #
Mormonism actually has a type of Americanism as part of its official theology. The sad part is that a lot of evangelicals have theologized Americanism in a way that is similar to Mormonism. Of course, they are not aware they are doing so. I addressed this some in my reply re. Chuck Baldwin. Evangelical deference toward Israel is not just about the theological importance they ascribe to Israel. It is also about the pseudo theological importance they ascribe to America.
roho on 02 Aug 2012 at 12:24 am #
The Tea Party is like a hijacked train with the passengers having no idea where they are going?……….But assuming that the coductor does?
thaddeus on 02 Aug 2012 at 2:21 am #
I have a lot of admiration for Mormonism for being able to preserve a degree of cultural small-c conservative values among its population — more so than any other religious group in the U.S.
But their worship of a powerful federal government is incomprehensible, given their own history. The U.S. federal government was rather oppressive towards Mormonism in the early days of the LDS faith, and in fact, the Mormon wagon train to Utah represented the early Mormons’ attempt to get the heck AWAY from the U.S. government.
So their own history should teach them that an all-powerful state can turn on them at any time.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 02 Aug 2012 at 2:25 am #
Red Phillips,
And if Romney doesn’t totally blow it as a candidate, he might fuse Mormon and evangelical political power into an unstoppable alliance.
Scary thought, really.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 02 Aug 2012 at 2:26 am #
roho,
Well, they THINK they know where they’re going – in fact, they’re sure THE’YRE the ones in charge.
You might say they have a few surprises in store …
HarrisonBergeron2 on 02 Aug 2012 at 2:28 am #
thaddeus,
Yeah, you’d thing they would. But I’m sure they’d respond with, ‘We have to have a strong central government to protect our liberty.’
Feltan on 02 Aug 2012 at 7:06 pm #
I had seen this painting before. I confess I didn’t know the Mormon connection, but I viewed it in a completely different light.
If our rights come to us from God, is there not embedded in our founding documents some linkage to Judeo-Christian heritage? That’s how I saw the painting — as a source of God given rights.
I will also confess that I am no art critic, so perhaps I am being a simpleton — but I just don’t see all the negative connotations being discussed here.
Regards,
Feltan
thaddeus on 02 Aug 2012 at 8:35 pm #
And there’s where the problems begin, leading directly to the U.S. being governed from Tel Aviv, willing to let its sons (and, amazingly, its daughters) die for Jewish world hegemony.
Feltan on 03 Aug 2012 at 12:45 am #
thaddeus,
Going straight from God given rights right to Jewish world hegemony is, in my opinion, a rather long leap.
Regards,
Feltan
thaddeus on 03 Aug 2012 at 1:13 pm #
I agree, Feltan.
The trouble is, the evangelicals make exactly that leap, all the time, and shape U.S. foreign policy around it.
Feltan on 03 Aug 2012 at 3:01 pm #
thaddeus,
Got it. I understand what you’re aiming at.
I don’t think I have enough background on this to agree or disagree. I’ve always thought backing Israel over the Palestinians was a good policy, but not based on religious reasons.
For all its many faults, Israel is really the closest thing to a Jeffersonian democracy in the mideast. Despite disagreements, I think that they are at least rationale — you can deal with them. Usually. (Note: I am not an Israeli fan-boy, just trying to be pragmatic.)
On the other hand, Arabs and specifically Palestinians have always seemed — to me at least — to have the same negotiating stance as a frothing rabid dog. Hence, I have always thought the mideast peace movements were a sad joke — you can’t broker a peace with a participant that wants total victory at any cost.
Regards,
Feltan
Jon McNaughton on 03 Aug 2012 at 10:47 pm #
I found this commentary on my work by accident. That was an interesting critique of my painting and intentions. Have you read what I wrote through out my website? The focus of my work is to promote the Constitution and the reduction of big government and to return to the Christian values that have made our country great. Often people bring their own interpretations to the painting, but you should do a little homework before you preach to the world. It seems that most of your readers are conservatives. How can we hope to win this battle against liberalism when some choose to fight among themselves. And as far as the talk of Mormons…if you are going to blame Mormonism for painting a picture of Jesus holding the Constitution as some weird Mormon idea I’ll shirley accept that. (Not a Mormon Jesus by the way.)
RedPhillips on 04 Aug 2012 at 2:10 am #
Mr. McNaughton, thanks for responding. If you support the Constitution why do you often include Lincoln, who trampled it, in your paintings?
BrockTownsend on 04 Aug 2012 at 2:41 am #
You connected all the dots that I didn’t. Posted.
thaddeus on 04 Aug 2012 at 2:34 pm #
Feltan:
I’m going to assume good faith that you’re not one of the Israeli commentators who are paid to post on Alt Right web sites in order to oh-so-subtly, slyly twist all commentaries in Israel’s favour. (This is something that actually happens, by the way — see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LofScCiJT4c ).
What does it matter if Israel is a democracy or not? We see what good “democracy” has done the U.S.
What does it matter if Israel is “rational”? Their “rationality” simply translates into clever self-interest that gets the U.S. to spend billions of dollars and sacrifice tens of thousands of lives starting and fighting wars to take out any Middle Eastern state that could act as a limit on Israeli power. I’d be happy to see Israel less “rational,” less “democratic,” as long as they were less omnipotent in controlling U.S. foreign policy.
“Rational”? Yes, Israel is rationally self-serving. So was Stalin.
Why should we spend billions of dollars and sacrifice thousands of lives to let Israel do whatever it wants?
At the very least, on the level of self-interest, we should give Israel zero money, and never fight a single war in the Middle East, because those wars are all fought on Israel’s behalf.
On the other hand, if we do wish to think in terms of morality and want to interfere in nations overseas (and I do not think we should do so at all), then we should intervene in favour of the Palestinians, on humanitarian ground.
Mike on 04 Aug 2012 at 3:04 pm #
Mr. McNaughton,
I’m surprised by your statement that I have misinterpreted your intentions in painting “One Nation Under God.” You’ll notice I provided a link to your site so readers can verify my comments.
How can there be any doubt that you are glorifying a big, centralized government that justifies its actions as a global force of liberation? What else could be inferred when one sees Jesus in DC with Abe Lincoln?
And there can also be no doubt that the republic of republics the Founders established has mutated into a murderous empire. Those who defend and promote that empire are not conservatives, but Neocons, ex-Trotskyites who use the language of conservatism to promote their leftist, big-government aims.
How could a conservative who believes in small government defend such a regime?
Finally, I believe Mormonism is relevant because of its tenet that the Constitution, and the central government it created, are “divinely inspired” on a par with the Bible. For example, from the Book of Mormon:
“And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood (D&C 101:80).”
Again, the notion that the rogue regime in DC is a divinely sanctioned entity only legitimizes that regime’s unlimited power over us, which it uses to spy on us and imprison us while waging mass murder overseas.
If that’s your idea of promoting liberty, I think I’ll pass.
Feltan on 04 Aug 2012 at 3:45 pm #
thaddeus,
I assure you I am not an Israeli commentator. I had no idea that there was an effort to influence certain websites.
I think we have hijacked this thread somewhat, so I will keep my comments brief, and suspect we will pick this topic up again in another more pertinent post.
The wars in the middle east, while they have benfited Israel, were not in my opinion waged at the behest of Israel. With or without Israel, the U.S. would have largely done the same things. In pure American fashion, anything worth doing — like retaliating after 9/11 — is worth grossly overdoing.
Regards,
Feltan
John Robert Mallernee on 04 Aug 2012 at 5:34 pm #
Greetings:
I saw this article at the FREE NORTH CAROLINA web site, and clicked on over here, curious about the comments.
It’s interesting to see that the artist, Jon McNaughton, also saw the article, and boldly responded with his own comment.
This painting, “ONE NATION UNDER GOD”, is presently my computer’s desktop wallpaper, and a collection of Jon McNaughton’s paintings can be seen in the archives of my personal web site, “OUR ETERNAL STRUGGLE”.
I am a convert in The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints.
Yes, it is indeed a basic teaching within our faith that the Constitution of the United States of America is a sacred, divinely inspired document, written by men whom God raised up specifically for that purpose.
The Book of Mormon teaches us that America is the “Promised Land”, a land blessed above all other lands, a land of liberty where no king shall rule.
The Book of Mormon points out that we have these blessings of liberty and prosperity only so long as we worship the God of this land, who is Jesus, the Christ.
But, if we turn away from the God of this land, who is Jesus, the Christ, then we will forfeit our blessings, and this land will be given to a people who are more worthy than we are.
My great great great grandfather served in the Confederate Army, and I agree that Abraham Lincoln was responsible for waging an unnecessary war, and for engineering so much lasting destruction of our Constitution and our republic.
And no, I will NOT be voting for Mitt Romney, even if he is a fellow member of my church, for he is part of that elite cabal that will merely continue to perpetuate the same ol’, same ol’ status quo, which has destroyed, and is destroying our nation, our society, our traditions, our homes, and our families.
Since our choices are evidently going to be limited to Barack Hussein Obama (a.k.a. Barry Soetoro, a.k.a. Bari Malik Shabazz, a.k.a. Steve Dunham, or whoever he is) or Mitt Romney, then how shall we vote?
Frankly, I don’t have an answer for that.
I just know I refuse to vote for either one of those guys, because neither of them will be true to their sacred, publicly sworn oath to support and defend our divinely inspired Constitution of the United States of America.
Thank you.
John Robert Mallernee
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Gulfport, Mississippi 39507
theCL Report: The Role of the Sucker on 06 Aug 2012 at 6:04 am #
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