The London Zoo has opened a new exhibit. It is a herd of homo sapiens. The point of putting people in the zoo is allegedly to “demonstrate the basic nature of man as an animal and examine the impact that Homo sapiens have on the rest of the animal kingdom.”
This is what children are now being taught: That we are just animals. This is true biologically, but that is not the point of the message being sent. And it ignores the truth that we have stepped beyond nature to become conscious, moral beings, the only ones in the known universe. The increasing attempts to knock us off the pedestal of “exceptionalism,” are terribly misguided. If we perceive ourselves as mere animals, that is indeed how we will act.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
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