- Feb 5, 2002
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Simone Weil, the Jewish philosopher and mystic who died young but influenced many of the best Christian minds of the last century, once wrote that “the destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.” History is a record of the past. History matters for a nation in the same way memory matters for a person. Memory is the foundation of identity. A man without memory is a man without identity; a man whose identity can be redefined, and his future redirected, by manipulative others. And this explains, in an oddly logical way, why Americans elected an eccentric narcissist as president in 2016. It explains why 74 million of them voted (but failed) to re-elect him in 2020. Donald Trump’s flaws are legion. But he channeled a widespread fear that America, as traditionally remembered and understood, is being stolen by a gang of thieves.
The anxiety is warranted. When a heavily armed FBI team raids the home of a pro-life activist like Matt Houck for a sidewalk “crime” that he didn’t commit, and of which he was found innocent, there’s a problem. When FBI analysts and agents target Catholic churches as the breeding ground for potential terrorists, there’s a problem. When the DOJ regards unhappy school parents as a domestic threat, there’s a problem . . . and White House appeals for national unity start to have an ugly scent. In effect, the “patriotism” of our current leadership class boils down to the freedom of everyone else to shut up and do what they’re told. Which is why Timothy Goeglein’s new book, Toward a More Perfect Union, is not just useful, but exceptionally well-timed and important.
Continued below.
www.firstthings.com
The anxiety is warranted. When a heavily armed FBI team raids the home of a pro-life activist like Matt Houck for a sidewalk “crime” that he didn’t commit, and of which he was found innocent, there’s a problem. When FBI analysts and agents target Catholic churches as the breeding ground for potential terrorists, there’s a problem. When the DOJ regards unhappy school parents as a domestic threat, there’s a problem . . . and White House appeals for national unity start to have an ugly scent. In effect, the “patriotism” of our current leadership class boils down to the freedom of everyone else to shut up and do what they’re told. Which is why Timothy Goeglein’s new book, Toward a More Perfect Union, is not just useful, but exceptionally well-timed and important.
Continued below.
Men Without Memories | Francis X. Maier
In effect, the “patriotism” of our current leadership class boils down to the freedom of everyone else to shut up and do what they’re told.
www.firstthings.com
