Picasso's Guernica captured on canvas the torment and horror of the human spirit being crushed by militaristic onslaught. It is a scene repeated time and time again, for as every fascist dictator knows, to rule you must first crush the spirit of the people. Thus, empires have sought to outlaw religious and cultural events since they provide a people with a spiritual resource - a wellspring from which to draw strength, courage, a remembrance of the past and a vision of the future. If the human spirit is exalted through means of ritual and celebration, it can create wonders. Indeed, for any great undertaking to succeed, you must first harness some aspect of the human spirit. Thus, when the native Americans of the South and West were crushed by the genocidal campaigns of the 19th century, they were subsequently forbidden to speak their language or perform their sacred ceremonies. Spirit matters.

So, it is a curious form of self-defeatism entrenched within the old guard Leftist of our time, that they insist upon outlawing or marginalizing sacred, spiritual or cultural events at political gatherings. The power to unify people comes not from political slogans or ideologies, but from spiritually uplifting ceremony, heart to heart communication and song. Chanting, "the people, united, will never be defeated" is empty and hollow because the reality is: the people are not united.

Read the entire essay here.

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