It is funny to me how much of my love of history actually was spawned by Heavy Metal music. I learned of Coleridge's great poem, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, from the Iron Maiden song of the same name. My interest in the Titanic actually came through a song by the band Metal Church who did a song called Rest in Pieces (April 15, 1912) about the Titanic.
Today marks the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the poor ship that was supposed to be unsinkable. I remember watching James Cameron's Marxist film about the boat and hating all the social commentary and the ridiculous love story, but loving the imagery of the ship and the collision and sinking of the boat.
I also listened relatively recently to George Grant's stunning lecture "Why the Scots?" from his Modernity lectures done by Gileskirk. In it he explained that the men who staffed the boat had a solid grounding in the legend and history of seamanship inherited from Scotland. The rule of the sea, "Women and children first" was a lived commitment to them. How utterly ridiculous such a notion would sound to us today. I teach young girls who are offended when chivalry rears its head in the school. They feel looked down upon, not elevated. How backwards we have become. Over 1,500 people died in the wee hours of the morning.
This post feels a little rambled to me, but I just wanted to commemorate the Titanic today. There are very few times in history where chivalry and Christian virtue are able to show themselves so objectively as on the deck of the Titanic as men watched their beloved wives and children float to safety while they sunk into the icy Atlantic ocean.
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