"Modern architecture, modern art, modern sculpture, modern 'poetry', modern 'music' ... all show disdain for beauty, for balance, for harmony - maybe disdain for love of community, of humanity, of people. These rebels, these misfits, must 'do their thing'. ... if the world is uglified what is there to love for? The natural world is beautiful, is wonderful; just look a the autumn trees; do they not say something? And we have the bounty of colour vision to appreciate them. Why should the rebels continue with their uglification programmes, all too often at public expense? [comment at source].

Art

One Man's S***hole is a Leftie's Work of Art  (17 January 2018)

"The Left has the reverse of the Midas touch. Everything it touches turns to ordure, literally as well as metaphorically. Especially art. The Left began turning Western museums into 'up yours' celebrations of human excretory functions in 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution. That year, Marcel Duchamp exhibited a urinal titled Fountain..."

Architecture

Cowardly Conservatives Sack Housing Tsar Roger Scruton for Political Incorrectness  (10 April 2019)

"Professor Sir Roger Scruton, Britain's greatest living philosopher, has been sacked from his job as chairman of the government's Building Better Building Beautiful Commission, after making 'unacceptable' remarks on subjects including Islam, the Chinese and George Soros in an interview with a left-wing magazine. Among Scruton's remarks to the New Statesman were:..."

Government Declares End of Modernist 'Cult of Ugliness' in Architecture  (04 November 2016)

"A government minister has hot out at 'aesthetically worthless' public architecture in the UK, and has vowed during his tenure as a Minister of State to 'turn the tide' against Brutalism. ... 'There are signs that we're on the cusp of a popular revolt against this soulless cult, and we must do everything in our power to fuel the revolt'..."

Britain's Tower Blocks Should Be Bulldozed and Replaced with Streets of Traditional Terraced Housing  (24 January 2013)

"High-rise estates raise crime and are now 'no-go areas', think tank says; If you live in one you are more likely to have stress, mental health problems and a marriage break-up, researchers found; You could fit far more terraced homes in their footprint if they are demolished and improve life for Britons, Policy Exchange report claims."

Controversial Response to YouGov Survey Results That People Prefer Traditionally Designed Buildings  (27 October 2009)

"The architectural profession has responded to the results of the recent YouGov survey to determine whether people prefer contemporary or traditional buildings and this has now become controversial..."

YouGov Survey Published This Week Suggests People Prefer Traditionally Designed Buildings  (14 October 2009)

"In a YouGov survey to determine whether the public prefers traditional or contemporary buildings, 77% of respondents who selected a design, from a choice of 4, chose traditional architecture over contemporary styles..."

The Architect as Totalitarian  (Autumn 2009)

"Le Corbusier was to architecture what Pol Pot was to social reform. In one sense, he had less excuse for his activities than Pol Pot: for unlike the Cambodian, he possessed great talent, even genius. Unfortunately, he turned his gifts to destructive ends, and it is no coincidence that he willingly served both Stalin and Vichy. Like Pol Pot, he wanted to start from Year Zero: before me, nothing; after me, everything ... Hardly any town or city in Britain ... has not had its composition wrecked by architects and planners inspired [sic!] by his ideas..."

Sir Roger Scruton: 1944~2020

"Conservatives are people who love something actual and want to retain it" [Sir Roger Scruton].

Sir Roger Scruton: 1944~2020  (12 January 2020)

"Sir Roger Scruton died today at the age of 75. In an article for the 2019 Christmas issue of The Spectator, republished here, he looked back on his year..."

The Perfect Study - The Perfect Office - The Perfect Library!

Roger Scruton: A Man Who Seemed Bigger Than the Age  (12 January 2020) "Sir Roger Scruton ... was a man who appeared to know about absolutely everything, producing books on architecture, philosophy, beauty, music, religion and much more. In many ways ... he seemed bigger than the age ... on the big questions of his time Roger Scruton was right..." RIP Britain's Greatest Conservative Philosopher  (12 January 2020) "Britain has lost her greatest ... all-round-hero of the right. Like so many of the bravest and the best, he was a prophet almost without honour in his own country. In the Eastern European countries where he had fought for freedom under Communism, he was properly recognised as a hero:..."

Conservative Philosopher Roger Scruton Dies at 75  (12 January 2020)

"The Conservative philosopher and writer Sir Roger Scruton has died at the age of 75 following a six-month battle with cancer ... [he] published over 50 books on aesthetics, politics, and morals ... Sir Roger had lectured at Birkbeck College, University of London, from 1971 to 1992 and held academic positions at other universities in the UK and the US.  In 2000, he told The Guardian that he had become a conservative as a young man after witnessing the Paris Riots of 1968, describing the protestors as an 'unruly mob of self-indulgent middle-class hooligans. I was disgusted by it, and thought there must be a way back to the defence of western civilisation against these things. That's when I became a conservative. I knew I wanted to conserve things rather than pull them down' ... In 2016, he was knighted for his 'services to philosophy, teaching and public education. Sir Roger was known for his activism in Communist-controlled eastern Europe during the Cold War, and supported underground education networks. For his work in supporting dissidents in Czechoslovakia, he was awarded the Medal of Merit by the Czech government in 1998. In June 2019, Polish president Andrej Duda awarded Scruton the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his support of the anti-Communist struggle ... last month ... PM Viktor Orban awarded him the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary for the writer's dedication to freedom in Europe..."

VIDEO:  Roger Scruton: Why Beauty Matters  (2015)

"Documentary portraying the the British philosopher's essay in the neglecting of beauty by contemporary arts and life, as well as the urge to restore it according to its essence."

Videos and YouTubes

YOUTUBE:  Latest Atrocities in Modern Architecture  (24 April 2019)  [NB: Some bad language]

"They're about to ruin Notre Dame. We cannot let them"  /  Viewers' comments:  "Modern architecture is inherently globalist. It belongs nowhere, yet exists everywhere. It rejects tradition, beauty and local and national identity"  /  "Modern architecture is what you get when you give people who have no talent or artistic ability awards from birth. We're officially making no talent the new talent"  /  "Architects are not designing buildings but monuments to their own grandiose egos"  /  "Our modern architecture reflects a taught deep-seated hatred, resentment and guilt of ourselves. We are not proud of who we are ... self-loathing"  /  "The architecture of the 21st century is a monument to the decadence of our society"  /  "In clown world, we destroy our priceless heritage just for fun"  /  "The modern globalist architecture is no different from the Soviet architecture brutalism. Grey, monotony, depressive monstrosities reflecting the totalitarian failed society"  /  "Insanity rules once ideology replaces reality"  /  "Come to Poland, especially to Krakow, and see how an old city should look"  /  "We should all just flood the submissions for roof designs with pictures of the cathedral before the fire"

YOUTUBE:  Leftist Pygmies Take Down Roger Scruton  (12 April 2019)

Viewers' comments:  "'Idiocracy' is now reality"  /  "Our Fourth Estate has become a Fifth Column"  /  Political Correctness is the most dangerous threat the Western world has faced since the Cold war" /  "This is the inevitable result of Political Correctness, otherwise known as 'fear to speak the truth'. The country is now run by Leftist bullies"  /  "Well said sir. No doubt you will get banned for speaking the truth"  /  "Marxism chipping away at the very foundations of this country. Very sad times"  /  "This is the kind of willful ignorance and malevolence which now rules the world. 1984 is now complete"  /  "Truth seems to have become a bad word"  /  "Ignorance is now the only qualification required to get one into 'uni', and then to find a 'job' afterward. There is not one well-read person among the critics of Sir Roger Scruton"  /  "Much needed and well spoken commentary ... No more intellect in politics, no more independent media, no more room for debate. Just postmodern crazyness and emotional driven idiots that rule the institutions"

YOUTUBE:  No Place in Clown World for Roger Scruton  (10 April 2019)  [NB: Foul language at approx 3.00]

Viewers' comments:  "Very well said. Clown world elevates human garbage and puts it on a pedestal forcing all to worship it. The complete inversion of the natural order ... and all that is good"  /  "The Left hates [that] which is beautiful because it signifies superiority and not equality"  /  "As Plato says in the Republic, people who live their entire lives in a cave will persecute anyone who tells them about the light outside"  /  "Evil cannot stand beauty or truth"  /  "...the modern world, where egalitarianism reduces everything to the lowest common denominator"  /  "If you inspire people with aesthetic beauty and philosophical ideas, they begin to think for themselves. There is no place for that kind of dangerous behaviour in a world dominated by ... nihilistic control mechanisms"  /  "Someday we'll tear all the modern garbage down, and make our corner of the world beautiful again"

YOUTUBE:  Why Modern Architecture Sucks  (30 June 2017)

"We are being indoctrinated to accept ugliness as a form of beauty."

YOUTUBE:  The Truth About Popular Culture  (05 February 2017)

"Why is popular culture so incredibly vulgar?"

YOUTUBE:  The Truth About Popular Music  (25 February 2016)  [NB: Strong language]

"The music industry is brainwashing us into liking terrible songs."

VIDEO:  Roger Scruton: Why Beauty Matters  (2015)

"Documentary portraying the the British philosopher's essay in the neglecting of beauty by contemporary arts and life, as well as the urge to restore it according to its essence."

The Frankfurt School

"The Frankfurt School believed that as long as an individual had the belief - or even the hope of belief - that his divine gift of reason could solve the problems facing society, then that society would never reach the state of hopelessness and alienation that they considered necessary to provoke socialist revolution.

Their task, therefore, was as swiftly as possible to undermine the Judaeo-Christian legacy. To do this they called for the most negative destructive criticism possible of every sphere of life which would be designed to de-stabilize society and bring down what they saw as the 'oppressive' order. Their policies, they hoped, would spread like a virus - 'continuing the work of Western Marxists by other means' as one of their members noted.

To further the advance of their 'quiet' cultural revolution ... the [Frankfurt] School recommended (among other things):

(1) the creation of racism offences,
(2) continual change to create confusion,
(3) the teaching of sex and homosexuality to children,
(4) the undermining of schools' and teachers' authority,
(5) huge immigration to destroy identity,
(6) the promotion of excessive drinking,
(7) emptying of churches,
(8) an unreliable legal system with bias against victims of crime,
(9) dependency on the state or state benefits,
(10) control and dumbing down of media,
(11) encouraging the breakdown of the family.

One of the main ideas of the Frankfurt School was to exploit Freud's idea of 'pansexualism' - the search for pleasure, the exploitation of the differences between the sexes, the overthrowing of traditional relationships between men and women. To further their aims they would:

(a) attack the authority of the father, deny the specific roles of father and mother, and wrest away from families their rights as primary educators of their children,
(b) abolish differences in the education of boys and girls,
(c) abolish all forms of male dominance - hence the presence of women in the armed forces,
(d) declare women to be an 'oppressed class' and men as 'oppressors'."

Programmes of Treason

"There are eight levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a social state:

• Healthcare - Control healthcare and you control the people;

• Poverty - Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live;

• Debt - Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That wa6y you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty;

• Gun Control - Remove the ability to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state;

• Welfare - Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income);

• Education - Take control of that people read and listen to - take control of what children learn in school;

• Religion - Remove the belief in God from the Government and schools;

• Class Warfare - Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take from (tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor" [source].

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"
(Isaiah 5:20-21)

© Elizabeth McDonald     https://www.bayith.org     bayith@blueyonder.co.uk