As the world is swept up by a two fold crisis led by a global coronavirus pandemic and financial collapse, it is no wonder that America’s great president Franklin Roosevelt is on everyones’ mind. Faced with the collapse of the cultural, economic and social fabric of society after 4 years of depression, President Roosevelt launched…
The Art of Gaslighting
By Cynthia Chung For those who have not seen the 1944 psychological thriller “Gaslight” directed by George Cukor, I would highly recommend you do so since there is an invaluable lesson contained within, that is especially applicable to what I suspect many of us are experiencing nowadays. The story starts with a 14 year old…
A Study of Schiller’s Ghost Seer Part I
By Cynthia Chung The Ghost Seer first appeared in several instalments in Schiller’s publication journal Thalia from 1787 to 1789, and was later published as a three-volume book. It was the one of the most popular works of Schiller’s during his lifetime. People were attracted by the subject of mysticism, apparitions and the horrifying unknown….
A Study of Schiller’s Ghost Seer Part 2
by Cynthia Chung For Part 1 please refer here. Note to the reader: it is absolutely necessary that you first read Part 1 before proceeding to Part 2 for the lesson to have a complete overview and the reader a thorough understanding of what Schiller’s intention was for this very important and insightful drama. The…
The Coming Revolutions In Science Driven By The Chinese-Russian Alliance
A new set of revolutions in science is underway, driven by Russia and China’s alliance and most people have no clue. China recently announced that one of the largest cosmic radiation observatories will become functional by the end of 2019. This observatory, that will give humanity greater insight into the history of our universe is located in…
Fusion Power Has Become a National Priority for Russia. Will the West Follow?
At a July 9 speech to the 2nd Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, President Putin presented a brilliant intervention into the visionless anti-growth ethic pervasive in the west when he made Russia’s leadership in fusion energy a national priority. Speaking to 2500 representative from the public and private sector, President Putin laid out the paradox of…
V.I. Vernadsky and the American System in Russia
As the dust settled on the American Civil war in 1865, Russia took pride in the fact that this Eurasian nation turned the tide in favor of Lincoln’s cause of preserving the union and abolishing the institution of slavery. Czar Alexander II was also known as “The Great Liberator” for liberating the serfs in 1861…
The Art of Peace- The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence
The Rising Tide Foundation proudly presents the proceedings of the November 16 seminar held in Montreal Canada entitled “The Art of Peace: The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence” featuring six speakers tackling the multi-faceted New Silk Road from artistic, engineering, historical, philosophical and scientific standpoints. Presentation 1: A new epoch of cooperation…
The Edgar Poe You Never Knew: a Mere Writer of Horror or a Humanist Master of the Mind
by Cynthia Chung What say of it? what say CONSCIENCE grim, That spectre in my path? -Chamberlain’s Pharronida The purpose of this paper is to debunk the myth surrounding Poe; that he was just a mere writer of horror and that he had an unhealthy obsession with the mad and the morbid…since isn’t that all…
An Introduction to Friedrich Schiller: Theater Considered as a Moral Institution
by Cynthia Chung I know of only one secret to guarding man against depravity, and that is: to arm his heart against weakness. – Friedrich Schiller’s Theater Considered as a Moral Institution As within any period of time, the question is repeatedly asked “What is the Role of the Artist?” That is, what is the…
To what Purpose are We Drawn to Tragedy: A Study of Shakespeare’s Hamlet
RTF Symposium: Re-discovering the Infinite through Classical Art, on February 10th, 2019. In this class, Cynthia Chung discusses whether there is a purpose to tragedy beyond merely being tragic and whether this was the intention of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Along with a study of the play, two performances were compared and juxtaposed to what Shakespeare intended…
The New Silk Road Ushers in a Potential Renaissance for the Middle East
By Matthew Ehret With the transformation of the rules of the “Great Game” in the Middle East since 2015, a sweeping set of development/reconstruction programs led by China now have a chance to become hegemonic across the formerly hopeless, terrorist-infested region. This new positive dynamic is returning the Middle East to its historic role as…
The Corona Virus is Telling us: You Are One Human Race!
By Hussein Askary If there is anything positive about the outbreak of the Novel Corona (COVID-19) epidemic it is that we are being told that we are one human race. The level of connectivity and physical movement of humans and goods across the globe by land, sea and air has reached such density that the…
Classical Culture Finds its Defenders in the USA and China
By Matthew Ehret In the post WWII years two cultural revolutions swept both Asian and western civilisations appearing on the surface to have distinct characteristics, yet each resulting in profound moral cultural decay. In America and Europe, the rise of modernism in painting, music, philosophy and architecture were imposed upon academia and the arts which…
An Overview of the Bay of Pigs and its Relevance for Today
By Cynthia Chung “There is a kind of character in thy life, That to the observer doth thy history, fully unfold.” – William Shakespeare Once again we find ourselves in a situation of crisis, where the entire world holds its breath all at once and can only wait to see whether this volatile black cloud…
The Harmony Between Tianxia and Westphalia
Several weeks ago, the talented journalist Pepe Escobar wrote a widely circulated report entitled “All Under Heaven: China’s Challenge to the Westphalian System” which explained how China’s ascension to a position of global influence with the Belt and Road Initiative is ushering in a challenge to the western system of values which has been hegemonic…
The 15th Century Renaissance and the Space Program Today
by Cynthia Chung Today, a new system of alliances is emerging centered around China’s Belt and Road Initiative which has brought together over 125 nations into a new paradigm of cooperation and long term thinking unseen for many generations. With Italy’s recent joining in this new alliance, and the announcement of a Russia-China-European joint lunar…
A Pax Americana or A Republic If You Can Keep It?
By Cynthia Chung “Fortune thus blinds the minds of men when she does not wish them to resist her power.” – Livy It seems quite evident to many that the United States has been consumed by the same ambition and thus fate with that of the Roman Empire. That one of the most notorious periods…
Russia and the United States: The Forgotten History of a Brotherhood
by Cynthia Chung “A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it”. – Frederick Douglass (former slave who would later become a great American statesman and diplomat) It has always been an utmost necessity to exercise…
Study of the Heavens: a history of Chinese Astronomy
Transcript of a lecture given by Cynthia Chung at ‘The Universe, Creativity and You’ Symposium August 3, 2019. We live in a strange time. Many have forgotten the power of imagination and are instead bogged down with the reality of ‘practicality’. The reality of ‘the budget’, and the reality of ‘what is deemed useful and…
How Classical Painting Liberates us from the Shackles of the Senses
An exploration of Schiller’s Aesthetics as it pertains to political revolutions past and future By Matthew Ehret This article is based on a lecture given on Feb. 11, 2019 in Montreal Canada. German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) wrote his twenty six Letters on the Aesthetical Education of Man in 1794 in order to address this…
To What Purpose do We Seek the Beautiful?
Class by Cynthia Chung. We all have something that comes to mind when we are speaking of beauty. It is certain that almost everyone right now is thinking of something different from the person next to them about what is beautiful. Everyone seeks out beauty, But if we cannot explain why we think something is…
Why Must Aesthetics Govern A Society Worthy Of Political Freedom? Ask the CIA
In the mid-1990s, a series of exposés featured on the London Independent and elsewhere brought a dark secret to light. Many were startled by the revelation that the entire evolution of 20th century modern art was directed in large measure by the CIA! This not only included the direct financing of abstract painters like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko,…
A Fresh Look at Raphael’s Stanza della Segnatura
Everyone knows about Raphael Sanzio’s immortal mural entitled the School of Athens featuring an array of philosophers across the ages centred around the epistemological divide between the founder of the School of Athens named Plato (in motion, holding his Timaeus while pointing to the eternal realm of ideas) in a debate with the chief sophist…
Remembering John F. Kennedy’s Vision for the Future that Should Have Been
By Matthew Ehret “Man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe….” President Kennedy, 1961 Inaugural Address Where China and Russia are currently leading a…
Paul Robeson and the Battle for the Soul of America
By Matthew Ehret “Every artist, every scientist, every writer must decide now where he stands. The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice” Paul Robeson, 1937 America today stands at a crossroads. Where an entrenched oligarchy strives desperately to keep hold of those…
The Immortal Spirit of Coretta Scott King
By Matthew Ehret While many people are quick to acknowledge the vital role in world history played by the great Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., a too often overlooked figure is his fellow activist, partner and wife Coretta Scott King. Once King had fallen in the struggle against tyranny on April 4, 1968, Coretta was…
Alma Deutscher’s Plea for Harmony Strikes a Universal Chord
An incredible speech was given by the 14 year old composer Alma Deutscher upon receiving the European Culture Prize at the Vienna State Opera on October 20, 2019. At this prestigious ceremony, the young musician, whose works have sent shock waves through the musical world since she began composing at young age of 6 made…
The Power of Classical Culture in Shaping the Future: A History of China-African Relations driven by Cooperation and Beauty
Transcript of a lecture given by Cynthia Chung, co-founder of Rising Tide Foundation, on April 28, 2019 at a symposium held in Montreal Canada dealing with the unified growth of cultural optimism, beautiful art and real economic development as it is being manifested today with the New Silk Road in Asia, Africa and beyond (for…
How the Hudson River School of Canadian Painting was Derailed
At a historical inflection point during the American Civil War, it was uncertain what Canada would become… would we become an independent republic, or a part of Lincoln’s America or would we remain a Northern anti-American confederacy under British control? (Britain’s other confederacy did fail in 1865 after all). Nowhere was this battle over our…
Brunelleschi, Cusa and Kepler: The Makings of the Italian Renaissance
In this symposium, we look into how Brunelleschi, Cusa and Kepler played primary roles in shaping the Italian Renaissance. In the first class, given by Cynthia Chung, we investigate why the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore is so special. How did a dome spark a Renaissance? Why did the Florentines work on such…
The Spirit of Win-Win Cooperation: 15-19th Century Diplomatic Success of China
Although it is well known that China has become the world’s largest and fastest growing economy in the world- outpacing the USA since the unveiling of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, it is too often forgotten that this dominant position is not new, but merely a return to the “normal” state of world…
The Forgotten Jewish-Christian-Muslim Alliance and China’s Silk Road
By Matthew Ehret Today, I would like to go a little deeper into the longer wave of history shaping our presently confused age by taking a look at the forgotten Jewish Kingdom of Khazaria (7-11th century CE). Taking the time to investigate this important part of world history is additionally important as China’s New Silk…
The Plasma Universe and Max Planck’s Musical Space-Time Revisited
By Matthew Ehret Near the end of 2019, signals arrived to Earth from the Voyager 2 spacecraft which have shaken the foundations of modern physics, and brought into question what are the forces and principles shaping the space time of stars within galaxies (and implicitly galaxies within clusters of galaxies). The data which NASA scientists…
La Convivencia: A Time of Muslim, Christian, Jewish Coexistence
By Fred Haight This video on my visit to the southern part of Spain, known as Andalusia, is about 7 years old. I went there, because I was fascinated by the idea that Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together in the area peacefully, and, that under Muslim rule, Andalusia was way ahead of anywhere else…
RTF Symposium: “The Universe, Creativity and You”
Do we live in a world of scarcity and limits? Or do we live in a world of creative potential? Is humanity a closed system or an open system? These questions have animated the thinking of scientists and philosophers for thousands of years and strikes at the very heart of the nature of humanity and…
JFK Announces Moon Mission: An Inspiration for Today
By Nancy Spannaus This article originally appeared in the May 25, 2018 edition of American System now. We are proud to re-publish it here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. May 25, 2018—On this day in 1961, four months after he was inaugurated, President John F. Kennedy gave the United States its…
The Russian-China Polar Silk Road Emerges
Whether the Arctic will become a platform for cooperation or warfare has been a question often posed throughout the past 150 years. As early as 1875, a vision for Eurasian-American cooperation was becoming realized as leading Americans and Russians alike foresaw the construction of telegraph and even rail lines across the 100 km Bering Strait…
The Silk Road Roots of America and the American Roots of the New Silk Road
Upon reading this title, I can only imagine a reader asking: How could a young nation that only existed since 1776 be responsible for an idea which has its roots in a program that dates back over two millenia? Of course I am not implying that that America created the ancient Silk Road, but what…
RTF Book of the Month: Beethoven’s Letters
It is indeed very hard to come by anyone who has never heard of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time. However, despite this level of fame which has followed him, nearly 200 years after his death, there is little that is truly known about the man himself. For certain, there…
New Silk Road Prepares New Paradigm in Latin America
By Matthew Ehret Over the past three years, over 17 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations have signed onto the new operating framework of the Belt and Road Initiative which extends far beyond the limited China-to-Europe corridor which many presumed it to be when it was announced in 2013. With its focus on long term…
China’s Electricity Superhighway Inspires a Classical Musical Awakening in Brazil
By Matthew Ehret As China’s Belt and Road Initiative continues to lift millions out of poverty through long term investments into energy, water, transportation, education and science projects, a too often overlooked and yet incredibly important effect has been the explosion of cultural optimism and beautiful artistic expression found among the youth touched by the…
On Churchill’s ‘Sinews of Peace’
by Cynthia Chung This past Nov. 9th marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a pivotal point in modern history, since it also marked the fall of the Iron Curtain. As is well known the Iron Curtain speech was made by then Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, on March 5th,…
The Principle of National Sovereignty in an Era of ‘Regime Change’
by Patrick Ruckert Venezuela today brings to the forefront of discussion and debate the fundamental principle of national sovereignty. Its threat must not only raise a protest, but must also provide us the opportunity to define more precisely that principle of national sovereignty. No one has defined that principle better than America’s greatest Secretary of…
NASA and Roscosmos Leadership Unite in Call for Asteroid Defence: A Game Changer in Global Politics
From April 29-May 3, a unique five-day conference took place bringing together leading scientists, engineers and policy makers to discuss the important matter of mankind’s long term survival in a very hostile part of the galaxy. The 5th Annual Planetary Defense Conference in Baltimore Maryland was opened by a powerful keynote address by NASA administrator…
Symposium: Rediscovering the Infinite Through Classical Art
On Saturday February 9th, the Rising Tide Foundation hosted a symposium on the revival of classical culture in the arts. The event opened with a presentation on Shakespeare and the use of tragedy in elevating an audience’s knowledge of human nature in order to break free from tragic dynamics within us. Another lecture was delivered on the…
