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…
Author: mattehret
Beyond the Lines: Keats’ “Ode on Indolence”
By David Gosselin The question has been raised by many critics, academics, scientists, and artists, “What is Creativity?” In the spring of 1819, the poet John Keats experienced one of the greatest bursts of creativity in the history of art and science. When fully considered, the astounding poetic achievements of the spring of 1819 parallel…
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…
Tomorrow’s Arctic: Theatre of War or Cooperation? The Real Story Behind the Alaska Purchase
By Matthew Ehret Today, the Arctic has increasingly become identified as a domain of great prosperity and cooperation amongst world civilizations on the one side and a domain of confrontation and war on the other. In 2007, the Russian government first voiced its support for the construction of the Bering Strait rail tunnel connecting the Americas with…
How to Overcome Today’s Crisis: A Lesson from 1933
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…
Why Today’s Crisis forces a Re-Evaluation of “Value”
By Matthew Ehret Today’s international crisis has caused the world to confront a major blind spot in thinking which has gone unchecked for far too long: The belief that money holds intrinsic value. Not only has the reality of insufficient medical infrastructure across European and American nations cause a sudden alarm (despite the trend occurring…
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…
Khazaria and the Forgotten Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Confucian Alliance
Today’s age of geopolitics has made it difficult for many people to appreciate the cooperative traditions in history that gave rise to the great discoveries and progress of humanity’s collective experience. From the ancient Silk Road uniting the east with the west in trade and cultural exchange for hundreds of years to the 7-9th century…
Life at the End of an Empire: St. Augustine’s Fight to Save Platonic Christianity
During the course of the 76 years that Augustine of Hippo lived (354-430 AD), the world experienced a process of unprecedented turbulence, as the Roman Empire which had emerged out of the prior Republic in 27 BC was in the midst of collapse. By 410 AD, the man who was to later to be sanctified…
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…
