July 28, 2024 (EIRNS)—The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics may scar the memory of anyone who witnessed it, but perhaps it will go down in history as a turning point. There, floating down the Seine, was the vulgar, naked attack on Christianity—but, more specifically, on the beautiful, engaging and poignant moment captured by Leonardo da Vinci, his “Last Supper.” Beyond punk rock, beyond “Pussy Riot,” the intentional shock of a drag queen in the position of Christ, with a scattering of drag queens around the table as various apostles. But, of course, why stop there, when a naked fellow portraying Dionysios can sing to the assembled, and the former French Queen Marie Antoinette can appear after her visit to the guillotine, carrying her head in her arm.
Yesterday, Schiller Institute founder and chairwoman Helga Zepp-LaRouche, a guest speaker at panel in Italy on “The Ghost of Sovereignism Is Once Again Haunting Europe,” concluded a well-received presentation, in a different fashion:
“Lastly, I think we need a cultural Renaissance. I heard some speakers yesterday and today saying we need a Greek-Roman-Christian foundation, and I fully agree with that. I would even go a step beyond and say we need a classical Renaissance of the best tradition of Europe (applause): the Greek classics, the contribution of Dante, Petrarca, of the Golden Renaissance in Italy, the German classical period from Bach to Beethoven, from Lessing to Schiller; these are so important ideas and our young people have totally forgotten them. So, we have to revive that and make it real.
“Furthermore, we need a dialogue between the best tradition of Europe and the best tradition of China, India, Africa, Latin America, because only if we understand the other culture, we can discover the beauty of the poetry, of the music, and we start to love these other countries and that is the best medicine against any kind of chauvinism and wrongly understood nationalism (applause).
“I have not heard Ursula von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz, Annalena Baerbock or any of these people, ever speak about any beautiful idea of Europe. That is why they are completely unfit to save Europe at this point (applause).
“We are a minority right now, but we have a vision. I have a vision how the world can be. We are at this point, this close to thermonuclear war and the annihilation of civilization. But we are also this far away from making the jump to create the new world economic order where all countries can live in a win-win situation. Soon it will become apparent that Europe has no chance: We either go with NATO down the road to destruction, or we join the Global Majority towards a beautiful future, and we must make that clear to people.”
The shocking vulgarity of the Olympics’ desecration of da Vinci’s “Last Supper”—meant to poison the culture’s ennoblement by one of its unforgettable treasures—perhaps encapsulates, as well as anyone could do so, the horrors of the last nine months of the death and starvation in Gaza—not to mention, e.g., the Congo, Sudan or Haiti—or the senseless deaths in Ukraine. In watching the bizarre state of mind of the designers of the Olympic opening ceremony, one can fairly be said to be looking into the minds of von der Leyen, Scholz, Baerbock, etc., or, one might add, Netanyahu and the raving assembly in the U.S. Congress that roared its approval of his demagoguery last week.
The beautiful possibility of societies united to eliminate poverty and to post great, transforming projects for the present generation and the next, has been on the table, placed there, amongst others, by Lyndon LaRouche’s intellectual and moral courage, by China’s offer to the world of their poverty-eliminating Belt and Road projects and Zepp-LaRouche’s optimistic strategic clarity.
As it is said, ’tis better to light a candle than to curse the darkness … or to have to endure an opening day celebration at the Olympics.
