Just ahead of Part Twenty-Four of our current Tale for Our Time, a reminder that, as part of our weekend diversions at The Mark Steyn Club, we have a still newish weekly music show every Saturday. Hope you'll want to check that out.
G K Chesterton's 1914 novel is not really, as we discussed yesterday, "about" Islam. But it is remarkably prescient in its understanding of the pathologies that stalk the west today. Thus, in tonight's episode of The Flying Inn, set in the premises of a suddenly prosperous Lord Ivywood's Islamisation of England proceeds apace:
"The Prophet means what I was saying about the Ballot Paper Amendment Act," said Ivywood, casually. "It seems to be the alphabet of statesmanship to recognise now that the great oriental British Empire has become one corporate whole with the occidental one. Look at our universities, with their Mohammedan students; soon they may be a majority. Now are we," he went on, still more quietly, "are we to rule this country under the forms of representative government? I do not pretend to believe in democracy, as you know, but I think it would be extremely unsettling and incalculable to destroy representative government. If we are to give Moslem Britain representative government, we must not make the mistake we made about the Hindoos and military organization—which led to the Mutiny. We must not ask them to make a cross on their ballot papers; for though it seems a small thing, it may offend them. So I brought in a little bill to make it optional between the old-fashioned cross and an upward curved mark that might stand for a crescent—and as it's rather easier to make, I believe it will be generally adopted."
Well, better a crescent on a paper ballot than the "voting machines" that will be afflicting US swing states in November.
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear Part Twenty-Four of our tale simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
Thank you for all your enthusiastic comments about this latest Tale for Our Time. Joe Cressotti, a First Week Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, says:
Thanks, Mark, for the choice of this book and your reading it. I am loving listening to this tale. Your effort in doing all of the different voices and the songs is quite commendable. I don't know how you can do it; it must be like juggling a bunch of differently shaped objects. But it all comes off so well, and I'm very grateful.
This was a work of Chesterton's I had not read but now I am looking forward to revisiting it in the future--both on paper and in your audio book. As with all of Chesterton, there are so many levels to his writing. One really has to pay close attention to understand everything that he intends but the effort is always rewarded. Even if one misses aspects of philosophy, theology, history, etc., Chesterton's love of humanity comes out so clearly as does the moral arc of the story.
This truly is a tale for our time. Chesterton, like Patrick Dalroy, was the happiest of warriors and a model for us today. I just hope you have a good inn sign for your last photocopier in the woods.
Now that names like "The Saracen's Head" are "controversial", Joe, "The Last Photocopier" would make an excellent pub moniker.
If you've a friend who might be partial to our classic fiction outings, we've introduced a special Mark Steyn Club Gift Membership. You'll find more details here.
I'll see you back here tomorrow for Part Twenty-Five of The Flying Inn.
