Imagined and imaginary whales: Benedict Anderson, Salman Rushdie and George Orwell

George Orwell, anticipating many of the arguments made by Benedict Anderson in the “Patriotism and Racism” chapter of Imagined Communities, illuminated patriotism and nationalism as shifting aspects of a wider dialectical interplay between an identification with imagined communities and a loyalty to humanity. Orwell's essay “Inside the Whale” can be seen, contrary to Salman Rushdie's criticism that it advocates quietism, as an essay about imaginary homelands. In this reading the whale is a metaphor for a dialectical space created by a writer in order to gain purchase on the unceasing dialectic of history. Analysis of The Lion and the Unicorn in this article links Orwell's work with that of Anderson and Rushdie by exploring in his vision of a classless England the relationship between the personal imaginary homeland and the political imagined community

Setting fire to the Square

Submitted to the Boston Theological Institute for Certificate Completion in Religion and Conflict TransformationConsiderations of an historical event are hereafter understood through a Western Judeo Christian perspective of religious conflict transformation. The book burning that set fire to square on May 10, 1933, in Berlin was not an isolated phenomenon; rather it bled into the romance of war. Similar events occurred across Nazi Germany and well before the twentieth century. This paper addresses the book burning in Berlin’s Opernplatz for its relevance toward the development of a restorative leadership role in the modern university, the route of seminarians. Details of the academy show that, while educational initiative was once a resource for violence, reevaluation of knowledge ethics provides meaningful purpose in the task of cultural preservation. Literature is the product of great civilizations; and so by conserving the stories of Jewish authors in light of the Holocaust, we find a theological trauma witness to faith and destruction. Conflict transformation requires due acknowledgement of responsibility by all parties. In this case, after the fire extinguished, the responsibility is vested in active memory and forever questioning what remains for humanit

An Imperium of Rights: Consequences of our Cultural Revolution

The \u27empowerment of rights\u27, whether domestically or globally, presents itself in at least a double aspect: both as a cultural revolution and as a political strategy. The strategy pursued by cultural revolutionaries who equate liberalism with secularism is to turn the basic values of the West into weapons against it so that its inherent defense mechanisms will be rendered ineffective. This strategy is most apt to succeed by provoking crises of conscience through redefinitions of human rights that, in the end, lead to individual and institutional conversion. But, as Marcello Pera notes, political liberalism itself suffers from an \u27ethical deficit\u27. Torn from its religious roots, it lacks the requisite thickness of moral authority needed to protect the rights of persons and resist threats to the very existence of civil society. Thus have we come to confuse despotism with liberty and undercut our capacity for self-government

The National Intelligencer Validating Cowardice: How a Washington D.C. Newspaper Redefined Defeat into Republican Victory

The fall and burning of Washington D.C. without substantial resistance by the American army and militia was initially an obvious disgrace, however the widely read Washington based newspaper, The National Intelligencer, sought to rewrite this story of defeat into a narrative highlighting republican virtue. Utilizing preexisting stereotypes perpetuated in their paper of British soldiers acting immoral, the staff of The National Intelligencer articulated that the men defending Washington had to return to their individual homes on account of the impending barbarism and savagery of the British invaders, therefore vindicating the militiamen of their lack of resistance and praising their virtuous paternalism

Profiles in Patriotism: Muslims and the Civil War

While many minority groups have had their contributions and accomplishments during the Civil War recognized, one group of Americans has received little attention. Muslim Americans are rarely the focus of Civil War scholars and are typically viewed as a demographic relevant only to more modern history. This should not be the case. In fact, Muslim Americans have served in virtually every armed conflict in United States history and left their mark on every era, including the Civil War. A simple search using the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) reveals several names associated with Islam, including two Mahomets, two Hasans, three Rahmans, three Alis, 17 Saids, and 58 Hassans. In his Muslim Veterans of American Wars, Amir N. Muhammad theorized that as many as 292 Muslim last names appear in muster roles. Additionally, as many as 15% of African slaves brought to America are believed to have practiced Islam. While these summary statistics provide an overview of the scope of Muslim American involvement in the Civil War Era, their personal stories truly show their importance in shaping America

Educative Aspect of Multilingual Education

In this article the author considers the aims of multilingual education and opportunities of changing its content. The study emphasizes the value of developing the educative aspect of multilingual education in every lesson of foreign language. Due to the humanistic character of education, the main place is occupied by human values, that is why the author examines the educational aspect of multilingual education and the skills and values forming at school: patriotism; tolerance; communication ability; and language. Moreover, the forms and methods used in educational process of multilingual education are considered: patriotism; social solidarity; citizenship; family; work and creativity; traditional religions; science; art and literature; nature; and humanity. In addition, the study identifies the values instilled to students during foreign language lessons, such as: language; communication; beauty and correctness of speech. The article concludes with some examples of forming these values during educational process – different forms and methods of work in the classroom: verbal, reproductive methods, games, etc. Keywords: multilingual education, educational aspect, multilingual lesson

Patriotism and Character: Some Aristotelian Observations

This chapter defends an Aristotelian account of patriotism that differs from, and improves upon, the ‘extreme’ account of Aristotelian patriotism defended by Alasdair MacIntyre in a famous lecture. The virtue of patriotism is modeled on Aristotle’s account of the virtue of friendship; and the resulting account of patriotism falls between MacIntyre’s extreme patriotism and Marcia Baron’s moderate patriotism. The chapter illustrates how this plausible Aristotelian account of patriotism can avoid the dilemma that Baron has pressed against MacIntyre’s extreme account. It also illustrates why the virtue of patriotism cannot coexist with willful forms of ignorance. In its discussion of patriotism and ignorance the chapter draws on a recent study (2018) of the especially strong connection in the United States between patriotism and poverty