Where I stand

The other day I was trying to check the veracity of a report on some item or other and wanted to find out where the person stood on things in general. Fortunately his blog made it very easy. I realized that my blog is not so good in these matters: it is difficult to tell where I stand on a number of issues other than the fact that I am a bit of a foodie, love bullfighting and art and music, and a couple of other things. So, my project for the weekend is to post some things about me that will give you an idea of where I stand on some issues.

Since it is rather late, I will not write anything of substance right now, but keep reading. Throughout the weekend you will get my stands on architecture, technology, liturgy, art, music, politics, food, science, philosophy, etc.

Now, you might ask, "but, Keilholtz, isn't that the point of the whole blog?" Well, yes it is, but since I am an old fashioned Westerner who loves compartmentalizing things (back off, you holistic scoundrel!), I will give the concise Rough Guide to the Mind of Keilholtz. Easy to digest soundbites for rapid consumption. That way it is much easier to dismiss my arguments.

"Well, you know Keilholtz believes in 12 Tone Music! That should tell you enough."

I like to have this from others. Unlike the stated beliefs of many others, I like a good bit of factionalism and LOVE labels.

Kooky left-leaning tofu muncher!
Whacked-out right wing conspiracy buff!
Heretic!
Oh, I love that one: Heretic!
One more time: Heretic!

What I don't like are labels that are meaningless.

Neo-orthodox. Neo-conservative. It is time to restrict the use of the neo prefix to those who are temporaly disconnected from the movements that gave birth to the ideas. Thus a 2003 German racialist pagan can be properly called a neo-Nazi. This jerk would indeed profess a variant of Hitlerism, but is not really connected directly to the original movement. There is nothing to imply that he doesn't march in goosestep to it, though.

I object to neo being used in place of pseudo. Pseudo is a perfectly fine word. It implies fraud, it implies deception. "George Bush is a pseudo conservative" means that I do not find him to be a conservative, although he either proclaims himself to be one or is generally taken as one. "Fr. Greely is pseudo-orthodox."

If in 2000 years some lost tribe of people find the Catechism and try in their own way to recreate the Church in their isolation, then we can call them "neo-Catholics," implying that they are not really connected to the temporal (in this case it would be geographical, since the Catholic Church will be here as long as the Earth remains) mainstream. Until such poor creatures are found, let us stick to calling modernists, radical feminist nuns, rabid capitalist apologists, and their ilk by the time-honored name given to these folks. Ready. Let's all say it together: HERETICS!

Since I have already broken my promise not to start on this, let me go on the record to say that I am a vicious ultramontanist. I consider loyalty to the Holy Father the highest loyalty on Earth possible. By loyalty I don't mean agreeing to every single prudential judgement, but always giving the Holy Father the benefit of the doubt. We would do well to remember the Saints who, although persecuted by the Church and their orders for their supernatural experiences, humbly submitted to their persecution.

For those of us who cringe at Papal endorsement of the UN and the EU, which I do, we must work on the assumption that the Holy Father knows what he is doing, especially when we have a Pontiff like our current one. To those who ask, "what would you do if we had a Pope like John XXII?" I really don't know, and I hope that I never have to confront the situation.

So, there you go:

1. Dislike the use of the prefix "neo" to mean "pseudo"
2. Believes in obeying, respecting and honoring the Holy Father even when such obedience seems contrary to all logic.
3. Oh yeah, likes labels
4. Particularly likes shouting heresy. Probably makes Keilholtz think that he is the heir to Torquemada or something. He probably even pictures himself in that silly Monty Python skit about the Spanish Inquisition. Reactionary Kook!