Remember the "wit and wisdom" books?

Sonny Liston

Sometimes I bring my Lutheran magazine to the diner with me. I dine alone so I feel it's good to have something to occupy my attention while I'm waiting for my order. The October issue was the newest one I could locate. Oh, here's an item about suggested reading: "The Wit of Martin Luther." 

Instantly I remembered a Mad Magazine satirical item from my youth. At the time of the satire, the "wit and wisdom" theme for biographies had probably been a little overdone. "The Wit and Wisdom of. . ." 

Whenever something became a little, well, hackneyed, that's where Mad Magazine could enter the picture. It was the magazine for the indulged baby boom generation that decided to poke fun at the many symbols of affluence and comfort that our parents had given us. 

Mad's parody of the "wit/wisdom" theme had inappropriate choices. "Funny Sonny," a book about the wit of Sonny Liston the boxer. "Wit and wisdom" was in the subtitle. In reality this fellow was a bad dude - not just a matter of image. Howard Cosell talked about that, referring to the boxer as a "bad apple." 

Did Liston throw his famous fight with Cassius Clay? I remember as that fight approached, it was a major topic on the school bus I rode. I'm sure you know that Clay later became Muhammad Ali. 

Clay/Ali of course won. Liston? The Mad Magazine piece showed Liston with his handler standing a few feet away from one of the boxer's defeated opponents, a guy who looked all beat up but was smiling, because of course, Liston projected his wit. 

Another subject for the faux biography was Robert Shelton, Imperial Wizard of the KKK. And so the book title referred to his "discriminating" humor! You get the idea. 

Many years have passed, so maybe "wit and wisdom" has lost its cliche-ish effect. It's fresh again? So maybe it is, and now we see the little puff piece for the book by the late scholar Eric W. Gritsch: "The Wit of Martin Luther." It grabbed my attention. That's because a part of me has felt uncomfortable with the "Lutherans" term for a rather long time. 

There are several Lutheran churches in and around Morris. Don't young people get a little alienated seeing such divisions within a faith that ought to be bonding? I mean, divisions within the Lutheran Church itself? 

Martin Luther lived in such long-ago times, maybe we should depart from giving so much attention to him. He dealt with issues we cannot relate to now. The whole context of life was different then. Throw off the shackles of the Catholic Church? Maybe that was a good idea at the time. But if we are to equate tyranny with the Catholic Church, how do we reconcile this with the continued existence of both Catholic and Lutheran churches in our communities? 

Are Lutherans supposed to resent Catholics? I doubt that young people would want to think a whole lot about that. It's an incentive, perhaps, for joining the ranks of the "nones." Those are the people with no religious association. Maybe they have reached some spiritual conclusions in their own minds. Way to go. It's the "organized" thing that becomes contentious. And religion is a place where one ought to find solitude. If not, what then is the point? 

I would like not to see another picture of Martin Luther in his brown robe the rest of my life. His anti-semitism was so intense, his language contributed to the holocaust of the mid-20th century. 

I have been around. I have in fact been around the world. I attended college. I have never seen, nor have I ever had it explained to me, why I should hate Jewish people. Oh, maybe they "stick with each other" too much? That's a trait that might be shown by many groups within the population. 

Jews have a trait of valuing education, then they work hard to advance themselves. And this is a sin in America? Don't the local Apostolics believe in hard work to advance themselves? And yes, to be rewarded financially - a goal that is pretty universal, isn't it? 

My mother told me Jews were a "pure" race and this contributed to their intelligence. And they are to be faulted for that?

My late first cousin Paul converted to Judaism near the end of his life. He had a Jewish funeral. It made me reflect on these matters more. Nothing would please me more than to get in a conversation with some "Jewish intellectuals" and hold my own! 

I'm quite sure it was Jewish intellectuals who were the bedrock for Mad Magazine. Jews are masters of parody humor. They have a way of interpreting things that is incisive, to the extent it can bother non-intellectuals. 

That type of resentment was crystallized in a taped conversation between Billy Graham and Richard Nixon. I don't see why these two and their whole ilk should have been distressed by Jewish creators having out-sized influence in our popular entertainment culture. My generation when young ate up so much of that fare, thought it was great. So I am effusive complimenting the minds behind that. Kids were sharper than their elders in "seeing through" everything, of understanding the parody or subtle suggestions. We were the ones who consumed Mad Magazine (with our parents' money of course). 

Even the cartoon "Bullwinkle" reflected the Jewish intellectuals' perceptiveness. Oh yes it did. "Bullwinkle is a dope," remember? So until I am shown otherwise, I will be admiring of the Jewish people as a whole. Enough to become like my cousin Paul? Probably not. I'd be more likely to join the "nones." 

Sticking with the "Lutheran" tag? You might say I do so "under protest." The Internet allows us to easily research Luther's anti-semitism. Years ago I heard vague comments about this. Then, after having a Martin Luther "impersonator" appear at my church one Sunday (complete with the damn brown robe and funny hat), I realized I might tap the world wide web to get some clarity. I had no idea about the horrors that awaited me. 

I checked further and found that Lutheran scholars of today try to dismiss this as Martin Luther getting "old and grouchy." I find that a total reach. 

As a logistical matter, it would be tough to erase the "Lutheran" name from a whole major denomination of Christianity. Think of the letterheads that would have to be changed and all that stuff. 

When you consider how "liberal" the ELCA has become, there's a chance that a prominent conservative politician or two could give a major address laying bare the severity of Luther's anti-semitism. Donald Trump is the one who brags about how "good he was to Israel." If anything, I side with the Palestinians. 

Trump is back to where he was at the start of the 2016 campaign. He is now being rejected by so many conservatives, just like he was then. But here's the deal: once his name starts appearing on GOP primary ballots, who is going to beat him? Give me a name. Of course Trump would win. And how in hell is America going to extricate itself from this endless nightmare?

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com