NOVAE MILITIAE

In this case, I don't care if it's the ACLU, or the Rutherford Institute, or the Crusaders, or the Montana Militia. Someone had to whack down these silly-ass feminist poodles. Glad someone did.

Teen's sword picture can go in yearbook.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island's education commissioner ordered a high school on Friday to publish a yearbook photo showing a teenage medieval enthusiast with a sword.

Portsmouth High School authorities can regulate editorial content in the yearbook, but they acted unreasonably by rejecting Patrick Agin's photo, hearing officer Paul Pontarelli wrote in a ruling approved by Education Commissioner Peter McWalters.

Agin, a 17-year-old fan of the Middle Ages, wore chain mail and slung a prop sword over his shoulder for his senior portrait at Portsmouth High School . School officials said the picture violated a zero-tolerance policy on weapons and rejected the picture for the yearbook.

The Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Algin's family, has argued that the school has allowed students to pose for more than a decade with props that show their interests, including musical instruments and horses.

Portsmouth Schools Superintendent Susan Lusi did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday night. In the ruling, state education officials wrote that school officials offered to publish Agin's photo if it was part of a paid yearbook advertisement.

"Tolerance for weapons can be purchased," Pontarelli wrote. "This is illogical."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070120/ap_on_re_us/yearbook_lawsuit

The boy's name is Patrick Agin. His victory can be credited, I guess, to "Agin's court". (Wink.)

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/007105.html

Yep, this is it in a nutshell.  And it's been like this, as near as I can tell, ever since the French Revolution, where the radicals sought to bring down the ancien regime.  We've seen subsequent outbreaks of the assault in such events as the Bolshevik Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, and the cold war between the liberal-left and traditionalism that is being waged today, of which Auster speaks. 

One of the commenters to Auster's blog entry is "Alan R.", and I think his remarks deserve special attention:

Here are some additional reasons for the increase in the liberal attacks on Christianity.

First of all, liberalism was deliberately designed to defeat Christianity, because Christianity has been the most important part of the West’s identity for more than a thousand years now. True, the West contains various important pagan elements (Greek, Roman, Norse, etc), but these elements are not comprehensive and ubiquitous, as Christianity was. Indeed, as far as I know, the various nations of the West were (except for the U.S.) officially “Christian nations” prior to roughly World War I, and even the U.S. has always been an unofficially Christian nation. Therefore, those wishing to make a fundamental change in society recognized that enemy #1 is Christianity.

Furthermore, the liberal campaign to change the West may be likened to a large army invading a huge nation. (Think of the Japanese invasion of China in WWII, or the invasions of Russia by Napoleon or Hitler.) The invaders have occupied a large territory, but vast regions remain unconquered, and the high command of the invading army recognizes that resistance is stiffening. True, the invaders are still advancing, but the more perceptive officers recognize that if current trends continue, the advance could be halted or even (God forbid!) pushed back. Thus, although liberals are the (unofficial) rulers of America, their more astute strategists recognize that their rate of advance into enemy territory is slowing down, and the enemy is gaining strength. Thus the need to rally the troops with lurid stories of Christian partisan fighters being on the brink of taking over the country, when, in fact, conservatism and Christianity have less real power than they ever have.

Also, as you pointed out in a slightly different context, atheism can never be the basis of an actually independent, properly functioning society. Therefore, although atheism must be countered publically and intellectually, and although it has the potential to seduce away some bright young people, explicit atheism is, I intuit, not a major threat to the West. The major threat (aside from Islam!) is liberalism, which, although it is philosophically premised on atheism (which makes man the supreme being, and thus leads to all of the folly of liberalism), is generally not explicitly atheistic.

Conservatism and Christianity in fact do have less real power than they ever have, but as Alan R. also notes, "the resistance is stiffening."  And that is an encouraging thought, to quote Gandalf.  I see signs of this stiffening resistance everywhere, and that gives me hope.  My hope and prayer is that the aforementioned cold war doesn't ever "go loud," but we need to be prepared for that eventuality.  And that is part of the reason for this particular blog.

Not that there aren't others.  The resistance isn't stiffening only here at Novae Militiae.  Have a look around.