
This is anecdotal, but worth retelling. A trustworthy FOSHS (Friend of Secondhand Smoke) sent me this email about what happened when his 4-year-old nephew saw some people digging with shovels in the mountains:
Just got back from camping up at Donner Lake with my extended family. We were pulling into rent some jet skis and canoes when all of the sudden my four year old nephew starts screaming to my brother about some CA Conservation Corps workers digging with some shovels and wheel barrows. “Daddy, daddy, look, they are hurting the earth. They aren’t supposed to do that.” I think he added the words, “They are hurting the earth!” again. I asked him where he got that. He goes to an Episcopalian Preschool down near where he lives in [town deleted]. That was a stunner.
Good grief. That poor kid is being indoctrinated. I would be interested if any other readers have similar stories.
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.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…