In short piece for The American Scholar , William Deresiewicz reflects on the holy words of a (supposedly) secular culture . These are words, Deresiewicz suggests, that are “possessed of something like magical powers, a kind of ideological open sesame .” He lists freedom , equality , and justice as examples. Of course, one could argue that some of these words have a long history in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but that criticism aside, what are some other “holy” secular words? Clunky as it is, open-mindedness is certainly one.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Dreadful Christ of Pär Lagerkvist
It’s dangerous to meet a god,” says the disgraced Pythia in Pär Lagerkvist’s The Sibyl. Her observation…
The Possibility of Possibility
"Might could” is a Southern expression meaning “maybe I could” or “I might be able to,” conveying…
The False Promise of No Contact
Around the time nineteen-year-old Alice began cutting ties with her family, she announced on social media that…
