News from the Front Porch Republic
Greetings from the Porch,
I recently signed a contract with Zondervan Reflective for my next book, a Wendell-Berry-inspired effort to articulate what creaturely intelligence is and what it might be for. If you’re interested, I’ve posted the short description here.
- In this week's Water Dipper, I recommend essays about Richmond, Tiktok, and enchantment.
- Aaron Weinacht asks hard questions about how to live out the anti-Machine stance that Paul Kingsnorth articulates in his new book: "I agree with Kingsnorth wholeheartedly: It is long past time to cease praying for and to our false Gods of wealth, success, shiny new digital distractions, and perhaps even the respect of many peers and colleagues, friends and family. If nothing else, we should be grateful for our time and place for making the ersatz nature of false gods so crystal clear. This leads to a book whose tone is ultimately and justifiably hopeful."
- Emily Harrison cautions organizations from sports leagues to church camps against blithely posting pictures of child participants online: "In a world where the mental health crisis plaguing children and teenagers is widely accepted as being linked to social media and smartphone use, shouldn’t we begin putting restrictions on how often and for what purposes minors’ images appear online?"
- Jenna Robinson argues state universities should educate local citizens not global leaders: "The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is going to “solve the world’s greatest problems.” At least, that’s what its mission statement says. For a school that was originally established to serve the people of the state of North Carolina, that’s a big lift—and a significant departure from its original mission."
- Joe Duke reflects on President Trump's recent comments about his desire to prepare for heaven: "But if good deeds are the standard for entry into heaven, how good do you have to be? If we’re using the yardstick of exceptional behavior, wouldn’t each moral success lead to a greater assurance of heaven and lapses in integrity diminish our confidence? And because of the President’s world-wide influence, must he be held to a more meritorious standard to earn his salvation? After resolving the war between Ukraine and Russia, what kind of heroic goodness might continue to be required for his entrance into heaven?"
- Jon Schaff wonders if our political discourse will learn anything from Charlie Kirk's assassination: "My fear is that Kirk’s death will not cause us to reevaluate our rhetoric and political behavior. The early indications are that his murder is just another healthy quantity of vinegar on a gaping wound. Far from healing divisions, Kirk’s assassination has become a flashpoint in the culture war."
- Michial Farmer listens to songs about fires--of many varieties--this week.
This semester, I had my students in early American Literature read Milton’s Comus in preparation for reading Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s novel Hope Leslie. Milton’s account of virtue freed from external authority or protection and tempted in the woods inspired Sedgwick as she imagined how citizens in the new American republic might become capable of using their liberties well. “Comus” also serves as a touchstone for Wendell Berry, who writes about it several places, including in his essay “The Presence of Nature in the Natural World.” Here’s a pretty good distillation of Milton’s credo in the poem:
this I hold firm;
Vertue may be assail'd, but never hurt,
Surpriz'd by unjust force, but not enthrall'd,
Yea even that which mischief meant most harm,
Shall in the happy trial prove most glory.
But evil on it self shall back recoyl,
And mix no more with goodness, when at last
Gather'd like scum, and setl'd to it self
It shall be in eternal restless change
Self-fed, and self-consum'd; if this fail,
The pillar'd firmament is rott'nness,
And earths base built on stubble.
Thanks for spending some time with us on the Porch,
Jeff Bilbro