By Olivia Pierson
[First published on Incite 12/2/19]

When everything is racist, nothing is racist. The term “racist” has now lost any credible meaning that it once may have had, simply because it is trotted out more mercilessly than short skirts on desperate fat girls.

It is impossible to describe how absurd it is to watch Americans play out their manufactured outrage over someone who dresses up in “blackface.”  Americans, black or white, who regard this practice as some form of despicable racism have completely lost their sense of judgment.

When I think about Shakespearean actors, such as Laurence Olivier, who had to smear their faces in black makeup to pull off a convincing performance of Othello, I wonder if the Renaissance’s most insightful playwright could’ve imagined how this one might pan out over time? I think not.

​Al Jolson, who was once labeled “The World’s Greatest Entertainer”, regularly performed in blackface, bringing jazz and blues to a wider American audience. It was never done as any kind of put-down or insult to black Americans. It was pure talent and fun-loving on full display – and Americans, both black and white loved it all.

To hear the so-called sin of appearing in blackface stigmatised over and over again in both left and right media outlets, as if it is some kind of shockingly evil practice, is nothing short of laughable.  Who, aside from empty yapping heads and virtue-signalling simpletons, could possibly take this nonsense so seriously?

The glorious world of opera will truly be in dire straits when Japanese folk start becoming hysterical over Western female sopranos donning ‘yellowface’ to play Puccini’s heroine Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterly or the three little maids in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado.  Any racially hypersensitive Orientals on the hunt to take offense could really have a field day with opera. Just think of Puccini’s Turandot, whose Chinese heroine is detached, cold and cruel with a penchant for torture – and whose three advisors are named Ping, Pang and Pong.  The stereotypes in this wondrous work of art are so classically run-of-the-mill that I’m surprised it hasn’t been banned from ever being performed again in the West (I know that is debated from time to time). 

The formidable and deeply patriotic black American soprano, Leontyne Price (now 92), wore whiteface in order to play the role of Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly), as most women must do if a convincing portrayal of a 15 year old geisha is to be achieved.  After the Ethiopian princess in Verdi’s Aida became her signature role, Price famously said, “My skin was my costume”.  This quote of hers has been cited in popular culture by many writers. But much less has been made of her most recent in-depth interview, where an 84 year old Price was asked about her 1961 debut at the Metropolitan Opera where she opened the season as Leonora in Il Trovatore:  

“I can’t even put that into words, my dear,” she answered. “Triumph sounds stagnant to me… because it means you got somewhere and you stopped there. I felt so totally American, that’s the only way I can describe it, so richly American.  My country… and I know I’ve had a lot of successes and everything, my country gave me this opportunity and this space and I was thrilled beyond belief…and I deliberately was happy that it was not my most beloved role [Aida] for many, many significant reasons, it was Il Trovatore, because that stretched being an American to me, farther than making anything an accepted debut. I felt I had conquered the world that night because my country gave me that space and I claimed it – and I will never, ever, ever forget it!”

Significantly, despite Price hailing from humble beginnings in Laurel, Mississippi and living through the much vaunted racial upheavals of the 20th Century, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement, she was not one to even think of playing any kind of victim card, for it was simply beneath her.  (This probably explains why a black woman of such outstanding achievement and fame was never invited onto the Oprah Winfrey Show.)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it’s high time that this adage was remembered again. Borrowing ideas, tastes, styles, images, clothing and words from other cultures is nothing but the natural flow of human influence which affects us all. That includes blackface, whiteface, redface, yellowface and paleface, but the only people who appear to have egg on their face are the outraged, hypersensitive twits trying to make other people feel guilty about something altogether harmless.

If this silly argument about blackface is now the arena where people flock together to decry racism, either they are collectively off-their-faces or it is entirely safe to assume that real racism is now just something in the rearview mirror, like black slavery.  We should chalk this up to progress folks. 

If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer" ​ ​​​​​​​​

By Olivia Pierson
[First published on Incite 7/2/19]

The only antidote to the left’s toxic hatred of Western culture is for lovers of liberty to keep extolling the virtues of our civilisation and always renew our pride in them.  
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In his State of the Union address today, President Trump administered this antidote with the skill of a cultural physician – and the cultural nihilists of the left squirmed uncomfortably in their seats (especially Nancy Pelosi, who seemed to have a distressing problem with her dentures again). 

President Trump’s address could only ever have been delivered by a powerful Western man who oozes the confidence that only comes from knowing that what one is confident in, is the very best thing to be confident about. It’s not a lie, a fudge, or an exaggeration, no sir. It’s the real thing, the genuine article, better than Coke and Levi's.

“Victory is not winning for our party,” the president said patriotically, “victory is winning for our country.” He then spoke about American pride in two upcoming anniversaries: 

The first is the 75th anniversary of the allied liberation of Europe in WWII, that which General Dwight Eisenhower called, “the great crusade.” D-Day, 1944, 15,000 young American men jumped from the sky and 60,000 more stormed in from the sea at Normandy to save our civilisation from tyranny.  Three of these seasoned veterans – proud and festooned in medals – were sitting in the congressional gallery and the president publicly introduced them to America: Private First Class Joseph Riley, Staff Sergeant Erving Walker — and Sergeant Herman Zeitchik. The crowd went wild. 

The second upcoming anniversary the president is anticipating is the 50th year marking the Apollo 11 Mission, where “brave, young pilots flew a quarter of a million miles through space to plant the American flag on the face of the moon.” The president reintroduced the planter of that flag, Buzz Aldrin, to America – and Buzz stood up and saluted his president.

After reminding us that the 20th Century saw America save freedom, President Trump also observed that “nothing can compete with America.” He encouraged Americans to,

“Step boldly and bravely into the next chapter of this great American adventure and create a new standard of living for the 21st Century. An amazing quality of life is within reach for all our citizens…Tonight I ask you to choose greatness.”

The president then went on to underscore the achievements of his administration in just two years: the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, the lowest levels ever recorded of Hispanic-American, Asian-American and Black-American unemployment, the 157 million people now in the work force and the 5 million people who have managed to get off food stamps. He pointed out that they had eliminated the death tax on small businesses, ranches and family farms. 
 
He mentioned how much manufacturing was returning to America because of his administration’s dramatic cutting of regulations and taxes. He stated that, “we have unleashed a revolution in energy – the United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world.” But the clincher statement about the economy from the president which really stirred the audience was this: “After 24 months of rapid progress, our economy is the envy of the world, our military is the most powerful on the earth, by far, and America is again winning each and every day. Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong!”  

Apart from the Democrat die-hard haters, most of the house leapt to their feet, clapping and began to chant “U.S.A! U.S.A!”  President Trump beamed with delight and said, “That sounds so good.”  

And it sure did.

The president informed listeners that America wholeheartedly supports the new Venezuelan president, Juan Guiado and opposes the usurper Maduro, for driving his country into the “abject poverty and despair” of socialism.  He noted that socialist policies are openly being pushed by some in America, and said this: 

"Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence – not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country."

About the contentious threat to civilisation which is the Southern border issue, the president brought up this appalling double standard in play when it comes to those who push hardest for open borders:
  
"Tonight, I’m asking you to defend the very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and our country. No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration. Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders, while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards. Meanwhile, working-class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal immigration, reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools, hospitals that are so crowded you can’t get in, increased crime, and a depleted social safety net. Tolerance for illegal immigration is not compassionate, it is actually very cruel.”

We learned on the campaign trail that a spontaneous, human touch is one of the many talents President Trump possesses, bringing with it an extraordinary level of fun, humour and depth. True to this big-hearted style, there was a very strong emotional side to this unusual SOTU address, with the presence of Gold Star and Angel families, the little girl Grace Eline, who raised 40 thousand dollars for child cancer after being diagnosed with brain cancer herself at 9 years of age. There was the Synagogue shooting survivor Judah Samet of Pittsburgh, who turned 81 today.  When the president mentioned this, the whole room spontaneously broke into song, singing “happy birthday to you.”  The president gently quipped off-the-cuff, “they wouldn’t do that for me Judah.”

But there was more to Judah Samet’s presence in that Congress.  The president retold how when Judah was a young boy he and his family were taken out of their concentration camp and bundled onto a train.  Suddenly it came to a halt. “A soldier appeared. Judah’s family braced for the worst. Then, his father cried out with joy, “it’s the Americans!”

President Trump drew attention to another holocaust survivor who was sitting in the gallery as he spoke. Joshua Kaufmann was liberated by the Americans from Dachau. As a small boy he watched the Americans roll in with tanks: “To me the American soldiers were proof that God exists, and they came down from the sky. They came down from heaven.” 

Sitting next to Joshua Kaufman in the gallery was the venerable, timeworn Sergeant Herman Zeitchik, whom the president had introduced us to at the beginning of his address.  Herman happened to be one of the Americans sent in 75 years ago to liberate the Dachau death camp, including Joshua Kaufman.  Kaufman held Zeitchik’s hand as they stood together in the gallery, their eyes glistening while President Trump and the whole of Congress applauded this poignant moment.

Heroes are real and it is glorious to see them honoured.

The president finished this exceptional address with these revitalising words:

“When American soldiers set out beneath the dark skies over the English channel in the early hours of D-day, 1944, they were just young men of 18 and 19, hurtling on fragile landing craft toward the most momentous battle in the history of war. They did not know if they would survive the hour. They did not know if they would grow old. But they knew that America had to prevail. Their cause was this nation, and generations yet unborn. Why did they do it? They did it for America — they did it for us. Everything that has come since — our triumph over communism, our giant leaps of science and discovery, our unrivalled progress toward equality and justice — all of it is possible thanks to the blood and tears and courage and vision of the Americans who came before.
 
Think of this Capitol — think of this very chamber, where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads and the highways, to defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, to face down an evil empire. Here tonight, we have legislators from across this magnificent republic. You have come from the rocky shores of Maine and the volcanic peaks of Hawaii, from the snowy woods of Wisconsin and the red deserts of Arizona, from the green farms of Kentucky and the golden beaches of California. Together, we represent the most extraordinary nation in all of history.

What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered? I ask the men and women of this Congress, look at the opportunities before us. Our most thrilling achievements are still ahead. Our most exciting journeys still await. Our biggest victories are still to come. We have not yet begun to dream. 

We must choose whether we are defined by our differences — or whether we dare to transcend them. We must choose whether we will squander our inheritance — or whether we will proudly declare that we are Americans. We do the incredible. We defy the impossible. We conquer the unknown. This is the time to re-ignite the American imagination. This is the time to search for the tallest summit, and set our sights on the brightest star.

This is the time to rekindle the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that link us together as citizens, as neighbours, as patriots. This is our future — our fate — and our choice to make. I am asking you to choose greatness. No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together. We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America’s destiny — that one nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world! Thank you. God bless you, God bless America. Thank you very much.”

Beautifully spoken Mr. President!

This reaffirmation of cultural prestige is exactly the right antidote to the virulent contagion that the left have spread throughout Western culture.  Bold, strong, just and thoughtful with an esteemed confidence in its own greatness – this is the America we want to see prevail; this is the America we want to see in command. 

If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer" ​ ​​​​​​​