This book is a collection of George Weigel’s essays written
over the last two decades. Their common
focus is on what caused the great hope present at the start of the Twentieth Century
to decay into wars, tens of millions killed, and the rising conviction that the
truths of mankind inscribed by the American Founders in the Declaration of
Independence are merely “irrational prejudice”.
This is a book of hope for those searching for God’s wisdom,
and perhaps an awakening for those wondering why others can’t see THEIR wisdom.
Weigel documents the decline of freedoms and associated
moral responsibilities to certain amoral freedoms defined and enforced by
government. At times the tragedy of the events
appears to overwhelm him:
It seems unlikely that
the West will form … the will to challenge the lies and propaganda of the
forces of disorder … if our culture continues to be eroded from within by skepticism
and relativism. (p67)
If the high culture of
the West continues to fritter its time away in the intellectual sandbox of
postmodern irrationalism, in which there is “your truth” and “my truth” but
nothing properly describable as “the truth”, the West will be unable to defend
itself. Why? Because the West won’t be able to give
reasons why its commitments to civility, tolerance, human rights, and the rule
of law are worth defending. (p82)
Decadence and
democracy cannot indefinitely coexist.
(p103)
But then Weigel begins to document words of hope. He shows the results of subsidiarity and
solidarity, as promoted by JPII, in Poland.
He defines and documents the causes of the decline in our culture:
The underlying moral
problem is … adults who have internalized a sense of entitlement that is wholly
disconnected from a sense of responsibility …. The question becomes what can
one get out of the state, not What am I contributing to the common good? … The
very idea of common good, which may demand personal sacrifice … has become the
temple of a new form of worship: the worship of the imperial autonomous Self,
which, in 1992, three justices of the U.S. Supreme Court celebrated as “the
right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe,
and the mystery of human life.” (p113)
In simple terms, My Truth vs Your Truth defines the battles
of our culture.
Mr. Weigel’s essay on A New Great Awakening defines specific
steps to re-build the culture’s moral
obligations and responsibilities, including the obligation to contribute to the
common good and the responsibility of living in solidarity with others,
especially those who find living their obligations and fulfilling their responsibilities
difficult. He notes The shortest route to the reclamation of
these truths is … turning to the God of the Bible in order to grasp the truth
about the human person. (p144)
Weigel promotes journalist Rod Dreher’s “Benedict Option”: Proponents
of the Benedict Option tell us, make the task ahead clear: abandon all hope for
a political solution to what is a civilizational crisis and turn toward the
construction of virtuous life in self-organized small communities. For it is there that the seeds of
civilizational rebirth will be planted. (p145)
The short game will
also challenge those who now suggest that efficient authoritarianism is the answer
to or public woes. The long game is, of
course, the more important and determinative game. The long game is the new Great Awakening: the
rebirth of the ideas about the human person, human community, and human destiny
that once formed the American experiment in ordered liberty. (p149)
The repairing of our culture begins with us. Weigel issues a great challenge to all
Christians, to once again build Christian communities. It is not totally starting over; it is
re-building on forgotten foundations. It
is giving hope to our neighbors who search for it. It is loving our neighbor.
And it needs to be a commitment, a firm focus of our life,
not just on Sundays, not “when we have time”, not only if they believe as we
believe. It says we will give some of
the most important things we have to give to our neighbor: time.
The order of our culture, of the world, is indeed a fragile
thing. We each can make a difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment