While We’re At It

♦ Writing about Richard Weaver this month brought me back to his delightful autobiographical essay, “Up From Liberalism.” He details his “conversion to the poetic and ethical vision of life” in a memorable paragraph:

I recall very sharply how, in the Autumn of 1939, as I was driving one afternoon across the monotonous prairies of Texas to begin my third year [of teaching at Texas A&M], it came to me like a revelation that I did not have to go back to this job, which had become distasteful, and that I did not have to go on professing the clichés of liberalism, which were becoming meaningless to me. I saw that my opinions had been formed out of a timorous regard for what was supposed to be intellectually respectable, and that I had always been looking over my shoulder to find out what certain others, whose concern with truth I was beginning to believe to be not very intense, were doing or thinking. It is a great experience to wake up at a critical juncture to the fact that one does have a free will, and that giving up the worship of false idols is a quite practicable proceeding.

To which I will add an important nugget of Weaver’s moral wisdom: “It is good for everyone to ally himself at one time with the defeated and to look at the ‘progress’ of history through the eyes of those who were left behind.” To do so brings a richer, more complete sense of the fullness of the human condition because “lost causes and impossible loyalties” are gateways to freedom. They allow us to wriggle free from the iron grip of prevailing measures of success and worth, to counter “the pragmatic verdict of the world.”

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♦ In Weaver’s spirit, I am presently reading (on the recommendation of Curtis Yarvin, underscored by Matthew Rose) The Eastern Front, the wartime memoirs of Léon Degrelle, a romantic Belgian nationalist who volunteered to fight the Soviets as part of a Walloon detachment of the German Wehrmacht’s Waffen SS. His ambition was to defeat godless communism, redeem Belgium, and purify his soul with suffering and sacrifice. To fight with the Nazis as the highest moral and spiritual calling: It’s hard to imagine a cause more lost and a loyalty more impossible.

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♦ Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the Egyptian government has deployed soldiers and armored vehicles to prevent Palestinian refugees from entering that country. As pressure has grown, Egypt has built a compound with towering concrete walls to contain any spillover of refugees. Their intent is to maintain a sealed border between Gaza and Egypt. Meanwhile, in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico . . .

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♦ Speaking of discordant realities. Progressives call for a ceasefire in Gaza. There have been casualties in the hundred thousands in Ukraine. Not a peep about a ceasefire in that conflict.

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♦ Analysis of survey data indicates that progressive “wisdom” about sexual experience and premarital cohabitation as important steps to take before entering into the marriage covenant turns out to be false. As the Institute for Family Studies puts it, “Overall, we found that ‘sexually inexperienced’ individuals, or those who have only had sex with their spouse, are most likely to be flourishing in marriage. These ‘sexually inexperienced’ individuals report the highest levels of relationship satisfaction, relationship stability, sexual satisfaction, and emotional closeness with their spouses.” Conversely, those who have had ten or more sexual partners report significantly lower marital satisfaction, and they suffer higher rates of divorce. For the full report, see “The Myth of Sexual Experience,” composed by the Institute for Family Studies and published by BYU’s Wheatley Institute.

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♦ Nondenominational Protestant churches have grown in recent decades. In the early 1970s, less than 3 percent of American adults attended nondenominational churches. Since 2000, the percentage has increased steeply. At this point, 13 percent of American adults describe themselves as nondenominational Christians. Meanwhile, Protestant denominations have lost members. The shift reflects the broader loss of trust in institutions of all sorts, from marriage to the military. People still “do church,” but they conceive of their institutional affiliations in more fluid ways. One sees something similar in Catholicism. Two generations ago, it was taken for granted that you attended the parish in your neighborhood. In recent decades, more and more Catholics have chosen their parishes.

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♦ Thomas McKenna reports that euthanasia proponents are preparing to sue St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia (“Pro-Euthanasia Activists to Sue Catholic Hospital in Canada,” National Review, February 3, 2024). The transgression: refusal to provide “assistance in dying,” the Canadian euphemism for the medical killing of patients. From Canadian law professor Daphne Gilbert: “It would be my hope the case would pave the way for ending the ability of religion to dictate health care.” Her ambition is to compel Catholic institutions to adhere to every dictate of the progressive magisterium. “Religious institutions would either have to decide to get out of the business of offering medical care—and it could be taken over by the province—or these institutions would have to align their care with the Constitution, even if it opposes their values.” Diversity, but only among the like-minded. Inclusion, but only of those who are “inclusive.” George Orwell would not be surprised.

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♦ Undergraduate enrollment appears to be in the steepest decline on record. Between 2019 and 2022, enrollment fell by 8 percent. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the downward trend is continuing. It can be explained by demographic decline. Colleges are facing a smaller cohort of eighteen-year-olds. But that’s only part of the explanation. The sharp fall also reflects a decline in the number of high school graduates who are deciding to go to college. It’s hard to know how to interpret this trend. Are young people making prudent judgments about the value of higher education? More than 25 percent of students who start college end up dropping out. Others finish their degrees but take jobs that do not require a B.A. For them, college turns out to be an expensive prospect with little financial payoff. Whatever we make of the trend, we can be sure that university administrators are having sleepless nights. Fewer students mean less tuition revenue, a formula for bankruptcy.

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♦ The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that frozen embryos are human persons subject to the protection of the law. The decision has roiled the assisted fertility industry, which some estimate currently has more than a million embryos in storage. Abortion proponents insist that a fertilized egg, which, if given the opportunity, possesses everything necessary to develop into a newborn child, is not a person. But surely they should worry about the commodification of the human genome. What kind of society develops a reserve supply of embryos—human material available for adults to use as they see fit?

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♦ Image is calling it quits. Founded thirty-five years ago by Gregory Wolfe (author of a number of essays in First Things over the years), the journal has sought to nourish our impoverished artistic and literary scene “by demonstrating the vitality of contemporary art and literature invigorated by religious faith.” We appreciate the many years of quiet Christian witness and regret the journal’s passing.

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♦ Thirty-plus Harvard students went on a hunger strike to pressure the university to divest from Israel, joining a similar effort by students at Brown. They refused to eat for twelve hours. Not exactly Bobby Sands, an IRA member in a British prison who died after more than sixty days on hunger strike. To go along with their grade inflation, these Ivy Leaguers are subject to protest inflation: Ten minutes of hunger at Harvard and Brown equals an entire day.

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♦ I dwelt upon the desecration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral above. The counter-response is consecration. Poetry consecrates language, shaping it to serve the unending human task of speaking truly about the world, our inner lives, and God. I am proud of our long history of publishing poetry. And I’m pleased to announce that we will expand our commitment to serving the Muses. In 2024 First Things will launch an annual poetry prize, endowed through the generosity of the Tim & Judy Rudderow Foundation. We will award $2,000 to the winning poet and $1,000 to the runner-up. Entrants are asked to submit two original poems that are attentive to the demands of form. Poems should not exceed forty lines, and they must be unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere. Submissions will open in May. The winners will be announced in August. We will of course publish the prizewinning poems in our pages.

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♦ It’s with a heavy heart that I must report the passing of Fr. Larry Bailey. A Lutheran pastor for many decades, Larry, along with Richard John Neuhaus, was a founder of the Community of Christ in the City, an ecumenical Christian sodality. In 1979 the Community purchased 338 East 19th Street, a modest town house that long ago had been cut up into small apartments. Both RJN and Larry lived for the rest of their lives in the modest abode, along with a steady stream of young people, who in one way or another were seeking a Christian vocation. Larry was famously the cook at the many dinners Richard hosted. After First Things got going, our junior fellows became members of the Community, which fell under Larry’s leadership after RJN’s death in 2009. I enjoyed Larry’s hospitality on many evenings, which often began with the recitation of evening office from the Lutheran Book of Worship and ended with after-dinner drinks. A man of deep faith, Larry touched many lives. I’m grateful to have known him. May he rest in peace.

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♦   Paul Wilson heads the Northern Colorado Front Range ROFTers group. They are looking for new members. Contact Paul to join: paulwilson4872[at]gmail.com.

William Dillingham seeks to form a ROFTers group in North Dakota. Become a founding member by contacting him: roft_greatplains[at]outlook.com.

C. R. Wiley of Battle Ground, Washington is trying to form a ROFTers group. He can be reached by email: crwiley62[at]msn.com.