New English Review



For our donors from the UK:



Recent Publications by New English Review Authors
	The Literary Culture of France by J. E. G. Dixon
	Hamlet Made Simple and Other Essays by David P. Gontar
	Farewell Fear by Theodore Dalrymple
	The Eagle and The Bible: Lessons in Liberty from Holy Writ by Kenneth Hanson
	The West Speaks interviews by Jerry Gordon
	Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited: The History of a Controversy Emmet Scott
	Why the West is Best: A Muslim Apostate's Defense of Liberal Democracy Ibn Warraq
	Anything Goes by Theodore Dalrymple
	Karimi Hotel De Nidra Poller
	The Left is Seldom Right by Norman Berdichevsky
	Allah is Dead: Why Islam is Not a Religion by Rebecca Bynum
	Virgins? What Virgins?: And Other Essays by Ibn Warraq
	An Introduction to Danish Culture by Norman Berdichevsky
	The New Vichy Syndrome: by Theodore Dalrymple
	Jihad and Genocide by Richard L. Rubenstein
	Second Opinion by Theodore Dalrymple
	Not With a Bang But a Whimper: The Politics and Culture of Decline by Theodore Dalrymple
	In Praise of Prejudice: The Necessity of Preconceived Ideas by Theodore Dalrymple
	Defending The West: by Ibn Warraq
	Nations, Language and Citizenship: by Norman Berdichevsky
	Romancing Opiates by Theodore Dalrymple
	Which Koran? by Ibn Warraq
	Our Culture, What's Left of It by Theodore Dalrymple
	What The Koran Really Says by Ibn Warraq
	Life at the Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple
	The Origins of the Koran by Ibn Warraq
	Why I Am Not Muslim by Ibn Warraq
	Spanish Vignettes: An Offbeat Look Into Spain's Culture, Society & History by Norman Berdichevsky
	Leaving Islam Edited by Ibn Warraq
	The Danish-German Border Dispute, 1815-2001: Aspects of Cultural and Demographic Politics by Norman Berdichevsky
	What's Love Got to Do with It?: Emotions and Relationships in Pop Songs by Thomas J. Scheff

The Iconoclast

‹‹ More Early Childhood Indoctrination

A Musical Interlude: I Still Get A Thrill Thinking Of You (Hal Swain Band) ››

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Bomfoggery

"Bomfoggery" is a highly expressive word, not silly at all. I learned it from a friend, a supernumerary in Opus Dei who continues to overlook my little fault of atheism as I overlook his obvious little fault of believing – and how! – in God. Each of us forgives the other his trespasses and awaits patiently the sorting-out at the Last Judgment, and the Last Trump, or whatever it is that comes after Le Grand Trepas. What "bomfoggery" mocks is not the idea or ideal of the "brotherhood of man, fatherhood of God" but rather the hollow invocation of that idea, reduced to a commencement-speech banality.

In the United States, the most famous indulger in Bomfoggery was the priapic plutocrat, and non-Catholic, Nelson Rockefeller. The notion long ago became a fixed formula, thixotropically treacly, the rhetorical maple syrup on the pancakes at the pancake breakfast to which the politician dutifully shows up, amd where he says a few words about This Great Land Of Ours, and about the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God, and extends his hand to as many well-wishers as he can reach, asking each of them “hi, how ya doin’” before going in for the but-enough-about-everything-else-what-about-me kill: “I’m X, and I’d like your vote.”

Submit Your Comment

Posted on 05/14/2008 12:17 PM by Hugh Fitzgerald

Comments

No comments yet.

Most Recent Posts at The Iconoclast

18-May-2013
David Essing On The Calculations Of Israel, Syria, Russia, Iran 18-May-2013
Naturally, Israel Sensibly Prefers A Weakened Assad To Cling To Power, Just 18-May-2013
The Latest News From Yemen 18-May-2013
Moroccan jailed for Milan synagogue bomb plot 18-May-2013
In Afghanistan, The Sharia Is Upheld, And Women's Rights Denied 18-May-2013
Claude Lanzmann's Film On Benjamin Murmelstein 17-May-2013
In France, Families Receiving About $100,000 A Year In Support Will See A Reduction 17-May-2013
Dror Eydar On What's Wrong With "The Gatekeepers" 17-May-2013
Jordan Is Palestinian 17-May-2013
"Palestinians" In America Funding Their Jihad Using The Ways They Know Best 17-May-2013
The Atmospherics Of Islam - Conspiracy Theories, Aggression, Violence -- Explain The Syrian Outcome 17-May-2013
Who Will Be Master in Europe? 16-May-2013
A Musical Interlude: Thank Your Father (Scrappy Lambert) 16-May-2013
Now Playing At The MEMRI Cineplex 16-May-2013
Libyan Writer Mojahed Busify On Muslims In Europe, The Jizyah, And His Fond Hopes

Search The Iconoclast

Enter text, Go to search:

The Iconoclast Posts by Author

Ali Sina (1) Artemis Gordon Glidden (881) Bat Ye'or (4) Brian of London (11) Christina McIntosh (383) David Wemyss (1) Dexter Van Zile (72) DL Adams (21) Dr. Michael Welner (3) Emmet Scott (1) Esmerelda Weatherwax (6379) Fred Taub (1) G. Murphy Donovan (13) Geert Wilders (5) Geoffrey Clarfield (30) Hugh Fitzgerald (15338) Ibn Warraq (3) Jerry Gordon (1425) John Constantine (7) John M. Joyce (348) Jonathan Hausman (3) Kenneth Timmerman (3) Mark Anthony Signorelli (11) Mark Durie (2) Mary Jackson (5004) Matthew Hausman (1) NER (1351) Nicolai Sennels (1) Nidra Poller (21) Nonie Darwish (2) Norman Berdichevsky (60) Rebecca Bynum (5333) Richard Butrick (2) Richard L. Benkin (20) Richard L. Rubenstein (27) Robert Harris (30) Sam Bluefarb (1) Ted Belman (5) The Law (68) Theodore Dalrymple (336) Thomas J. Scheff (4) Walid Phares (5) z - all below inactive (7) z - Ares Demertzis (2) z - Andrew Bostom (74) z - Andy McCarthy (536) z - John Derbyshire (1013) z - Marisol Seibold (26) z - Mark Butterworth (49) z- Robert Bove (1189)

The Iconoclast Archives

2013
January February March April May 2012
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2011
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2010
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2009
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2008
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2007
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2006
January February March April May June July August September October November December

sun

mon

tue

wed

thu

fri

sat

RSS