Tea at Trianon: Their Secret Weapon

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Their Secret Weapon

From the Ruth Institute:

Proponents of genderless marriage managed to first tweak public opinion in large part through pushing a small cascade of individuals willing to “come out” to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and others. By identifying themselves to those they met in day to day life they helped make the gay agenda and genderless marriage more available and seemingly more plausible in public discourse. This process did not depend on arguments, but on emotion, as well as smearing marriage defenders as bigots. Others were emboldened to follow suit, with the media and Hollywood serving as facilitators.

Defenders of marriage need a campaign – reinforced and multiplied by outlets such as talk radio – that embolden all of us to speak up in everyday life.

Only through such awareness can we terminate our silence as a tool of the opposition. By supporting one another to breach the barricades of political correctness, we can ignite a cascade of truth that takes on a life of its own. (Read entire post.)

julygirl said...: I have come to believe this was able to come about because the culture in general does not consider Marriage as sacred. So many marriages, particularly from the Brides angle, are more about the extravaganda than the idea of taking holy vows.; January 3, 2013 at 9:10:00 AM EST