Whatever else it
did, the election of 2016 reignited the culture wars in the United States. That
likely means they had never really gone away in the first place, and were
simmering below the surface, ready to erupt when a catalyst came along.
Where you find
your own place in these wars will likely determine your response to Out
of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture by Anthony
Esolen. A professor of English at Providence College in Rhode Island,
Esolen takes a rather dark view of contemporary American culture. And he
defines culture broadly – politics, the arts, relationships, education, faith
and religion, and even our definitions of beauty and truth.
It’s difficult
to argue with him.
The book was
written before the election, but it’s as if Esolen anticipated “fake news” and “alternative
facts,” otherwise known as lying (or “misspeaking,” the clumsy word invented to
cover making false statements). That’s his first critique of American culture –
we lie about everything, and we believe what fits our own pre-existing or
preconceived beliefs.
Esolen goes on.
We’ve lost any concept of the idea of beauty. Public education, and higher
education, are disasters. Our ideas of manhood and womanhood have been turned
on their heads, if not obliterated. Our understanding of both work and play are
seriously lacking, and those lacks have consequences. And out ideas of
community participation and involvement are talking to our friends (people of
like mind) on Facebook.
“So we need to
clear out the garbage, admit our errors, and rebuild,” he writes. “When your
only choices are repentance or oblivion, you repent.” Of course, we have entire
industries that depend upon those errors continuing, regardless of the cliff
they may be taking us toward.
This is an easy
book to read and a difficult book to digest and accept. He speaks hard words,
words that will produce outrage, especially among those who might classify
themselves as progressive left.
On schools: “…the
schools we have built are monstrosities that reflect the government we have
built, a government that has taken in an all-eating life of its own.”
On the current
crop of students disrupting universities: “It is also something of a mistake to
point at the students and laugh at them for being weaklings. The students hold
the hammer and they know it. …In our world of inversions, power is granted to
people who claim that they have no power and who resent the greatness of their
own forebears. They do not seek ‘safety.’ They seek to destroy. The strong man
is bound and gagged, and the pistol is pointed at his head – the seat of reason
itself.”
In fact, Esolen
argues that high education no longer occurs at most of our colleges and
universities. It’s difficult to defend higher education when you take a look at
what’s being taught in English and the so-called social sciences.
His solutions are radical. Some aspects of the culture will simply need to be allowed to
collapse, while alternatives are developed and nurtured. Some of what he
proposes may be politically difficult if not impossible.
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| Anthony Esolen |
In 2016, Esolen spoke out against what he called Providence
College’s “totalitarian diversity cult” in Crisis Magazine
and sparked protests
and demands for his punishment. The president of the college, a
Catholic priest, affirmed his right to academic freedom but publicly criticized
his stand on the college’s diversity efforts.
In Out of the Ashes,
Esolen looks at culture holistically. It’s not simply a case of one aspect or
one area being sick, but all of them. And each affects the others.
The book deserves serious consideration. It is a serious
book making its case for fundamental, radical, disruptive change.
Photograph by Brigitte Tohm via Upsplash.
Used with permission.
