I was raised in a very Catholic home, where we prayed the Rosary together and went to Mass every Sunday. Nonetheless after being introduced to physics I dropped any belief in a God. Still I continue to think of Jesus sayings and hope to live by them. Married almost 50 years - my son was not baptized nor churched in any way. Still he seems to have absorbed my moral beliefs and even my prudery.
Re religion, I still admire those dedicated to good works (such as the Catholic Worker types). Jesus' teachings are stilll worthy even today.
Thanks for sharing your background, these experiences, and the wisdom lessons you derived from them. I think that so many of the stressors in our current social environment could be mitigated substantially if more of our fellow "travelers" on this journey would accept, as you have related, that life is complex in many ways, that who we are today has been formed and influenced by a multitude of factors (only some of which we have invited, controlled, or even recognized at the time), and that everyone else is also multi-dimensional in that respect. By employing patience and generosity of spirit in our interaction with others, perhaps we can help rebuild the social capital that has been squandered over the past decades by reductionist fundamentalist tribal mindsets and identity-based exclusive behaviors of all kinds. This is often frustrating in practice, but we need to realize that such efforts are an ongoing requirement (like protecting democracy and building an equitable society), not a "one-and-done" task. Seeing each individual as a whole person to the extent possible is a necessary, but not sufficient condition, for progress with our families, friendships, colleagues, and communities. May more people evaluate their own life experiences in the wonderful, insightful way you have done.
It's a tough balance though, right? Because some of these ideas and beliefs are really harmful and must be called out, and yet I do think we are called to try to find the person buried in there (except for the sociopathic folks). I'm never sure how to proceed on these tightropes but this fact of my life is something that focuses my attention.
I agree completely. One's outreach should never come at the expense of one's mental or physical health nor should it indicate support (even by silence) of overtly harmful policies. (I actually thought of including that qualifier when drafting the comment, but it was getting long! I agree that it is too important to assume that it would be understood implicitly.)
Your Holocaust denying professor, who believed many other conspiracies yet saw the potential in you, so reminds me of this quote by Alexander Solzhenitsyn:
"If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
And this is why life is so hard sometimes!
Although the line is much clearer in some cases then others! Think current leader of Alexander Solzhenitsyn' birthplace or former leader of your country, just to name a few.
And also, a little side note regarding your German professor, my parents grew up in Nazi Germany (I was also born and grew up in Germany, but have lived the last 35 years in Australia) and if you wanted to survive then, you pretty much had to attend Hitler Youth. So his comment that he wasn't there by choice is probably not something out of the ordinary. However, there was certainly those who enjoyed it and stood 100% behind Nazi ideology.
Having been coerced into going to hitler youth (at least to show up every once in a while) however did not stop my mother a few years later to feed the locally interned Jews in her town under thread of her own life!
Beautiful and important. We must hold each other accountable for our beliefs and actions, but we should also show each other some grace and patience, knowing how weird and complicated and contradictory a human person can be.
Arthur C Brooks’ newsletter in The Atlantic this week (How to Build a Life) cites 5 lessons from the Dalai Lama he tried to the follow, the third of which is “Change Places”. He summarizes this as
“if someone is bothering you, think deeply about their troubles. Then, he advises, “consider the kindness of all living beings.”
My academic experience was somewhat the opposite- the college government professor I remember the most was a flaming liberal, which young militant conservative Josh disagreed with vigorously.
But a lot of the lessons stuck with me because I was a 'confront the ideas and counter them with your own' sort of guy, and of course over time you revisit and say "Ah, that's what he was talking about."
Professionally, two of the great mentors of my professional life turned out to be bastards of very bastardy variety (both credibly accused of sexual assault ultimately.)
Both of them did a lot of good in their careers, as in people are alive and intact today because of the work they did. They had that manic dedication to craft that makes a person really, really good at what they do, and broadly respected to the point of worshipfulness, which fed fragile, insecure egos that blew into god complexes. For my part I can credit the good, but the bad is really, really bad. It's tragic that innocents had to suffer for the fragility of men who had no reason to be so damned insecure.
(And yes, the insecurity in both cases is a substantial part of what drove them to the capacities they achieved. But there are other ways to get motivated toward mastery.)
This is lovely. I'm reminded of a high school teacher, a mentor to me, who had been an America Firster -- isolationist verging on pro-Hitler -- in the 1930s. I knew this from my mother who had served on the same teaching staff with her. Even in the much postwar moment when I encountered her, this teacher brought along some pretty awful assumptions about how society ought to be ordered. Yet she successfully nurtured me in a love of the study of history -- because she cared. Wonder if this says something about the discipline, as well as the people...
One of my former bosses was a great mentor and greatly contributed to my professional success. Sadly, he became a rabid Trumper but I tried to stay in touch and had friendly debates. I finally called it quit when he told me half way into Trump’s term (after all the Muslim ban and separation of families at the border) that he still believed in the guy and someone needed to do something about the country. I don’t want to be presumptuous but have an idea what that something was.
I was fortunate not to have too many nutbags on the road to my profession...but I will say as a veteran and a liberal who works in the farm to fork food movement...I see the same kind of people. And they are very complicated
I just went to your archives and saw that putting together all of your essays would be quite the tome. Heavy and scholarly, as the definition says. Will you ever have the time to organize and release your work in separate volumes?
Hi Fran, thanks! yeah, I imported two other blogs into this one, years and years of posts (varying quality, really)...I use this format to try out ideas and may use bits and pieces or even whole posts in published work, but no plans to put them into a book. I do hope to go through and winnow out some of the not great posts and clean up some of the others. but yeah, read at your own risk :)
I was raised in a very Catholic home, where we prayed the Rosary together and went to Mass every Sunday. Nonetheless after being introduced to physics I dropped any belief in a God. Still I continue to think of Jesus sayings and hope to live by them. Married almost 50 years - my son was not baptized nor churched in any way. Still he seems to have absorbed my moral beliefs and even my prudery.
Re religion, I still admire those dedicated to good works (such as the Catholic Worker types). Jesus' teachings are stilll worthy even today.
Thanks for sharing your background, these experiences, and the wisdom lessons you derived from them. I think that so many of the stressors in our current social environment could be mitigated substantially if more of our fellow "travelers" on this journey would accept, as you have related, that life is complex in many ways, that who we are today has been formed and influenced by a multitude of factors (only some of which we have invited, controlled, or even recognized at the time), and that everyone else is also multi-dimensional in that respect. By employing patience and generosity of spirit in our interaction with others, perhaps we can help rebuild the social capital that has been squandered over the past decades by reductionist fundamentalist tribal mindsets and identity-based exclusive behaviors of all kinds. This is often frustrating in practice, but we need to realize that such efforts are an ongoing requirement (like protecting democracy and building an equitable society), not a "one-and-done" task. Seeing each individual as a whole person to the extent possible is a necessary, but not sufficient condition, for progress with our families, friendships, colleagues, and communities. May more people evaluate their own life experiences in the wonderful, insightful way you have done.
It's a tough balance though, right? Because some of these ideas and beliefs are really harmful and must be called out, and yet I do think we are called to try to find the person buried in there (except for the sociopathic folks). I'm never sure how to proceed on these tightropes but this fact of my life is something that focuses my attention.
I agree completely. One's outreach should never come at the expense of one's mental or physical health nor should it indicate support (even by silence) of overtly harmful policies. (I actually thought of including that qualifier when drafting the comment, but it was getting long! I agree that it is too important to assume that it would be understood implicitly.)
Well said Rod.
This is such a lovely summation. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this story, Holly.
Your Holocaust denying professor, who believed many other conspiracies yet saw the potential in you, so reminds me of this quote by Alexander Solzhenitsyn:
"If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
And this is why life is so hard sometimes!
Although the line is much clearer in some cases then others! Think current leader of Alexander Solzhenitsyn' birthplace or former leader of your country, just to name a few.
That's a brilliant quote. So so true.
And also, a little side note regarding your German professor, my parents grew up in Nazi Germany (I was also born and grew up in Germany, but have lived the last 35 years in Australia) and if you wanted to survive then, you pretty much had to attend Hitler Youth. So his comment that he wasn't there by choice is probably not something out of the ordinary. However, there was certainly those who enjoyed it and stood 100% behind Nazi ideology.
Having been coerced into going to hitler youth (at least to show up every once in a while) however did not stop my mother a few years later to feed the locally interned Jews in her town under thread of her own life!
I only doubt his claim based on his character. :)
Beautiful and important. We must hold each other accountable for our beliefs and actions, but we should also show each other some grace and patience, knowing how weird and complicated and contradictory a human person can be.
Arthur C Brooks’ newsletter in The Atlantic this week (How to Build a Life) cites 5 lessons from the Dalai Lama he tried to the follow, the third of which is “Change Places”. He summarizes this as
“if someone is bothering you, think deeply about their troubles. Then, he advises, “consider the kindness of all living beings.”
My academic experience was somewhat the opposite- the college government professor I remember the most was a flaming liberal, which young militant conservative Josh disagreed with vigorously.
But a lot of the lessons stuck with me because I was a 'confront the ideas and counter them with your own' sort of guy, and of course over time you revisit and say "Ah, that's what he was talking about."
Professionally, two of the great mentors of my professional life turned out to be bastards of very bastardy variety (both credibly accused of sexual assault ultimately.)
Both of them did a lot of good in their careers, as in people are alive and intact today because of the work they did. They had that manic dedication to craft that makes a person really, really good at what they do, and broadly respected to the point of worshipfulness, which fed fragile, insecure egos that blew into god complexes. For my part I can credit the good, but the bad is really, really bad. It's tragic that innocents had to suffer for the fragility of men who had no reason to be so damned insecure.
(And yes, the insecurity in both cases is a substantial part of what drove them to the capacities they achieved. But there are other ways to get motivated toward mastery.)
This is lovely. I'm reminded of a high school teacher, a mentor to me, who had been an America Firster -- isolationist verging on pro-Hitler -- in the 1930s. I knew this from my mother who had served on the same teaching staff with her. Even in the much postwar moment when I encountered her, this teacher brought along some pretty awful assumptions about how society ought to be ordered. Yet she successfully nurtured me in a love of the study of history -- because she cared. Wonder if this says something about the discipline, as well as the people...
One of my former bosses was a great mentor and greatly contributed to my professional success. Sadly, he became a rabid Trumper but I tried to stay in touch and had friendly debates. I finally called it quit when he told me half way into Trump’s term (after all the Muslim ban and separation of families at the border) that he still believed in the guy and someone needed to do something about the country. I don’t want to be presumptuous but have an idea what that something was.
You are such a good writer.
I was fortunate not to have too many nutbags on the road to my profession...but I will say as a veteran and a liberal who works in the farm to fork food movement...I see the same kind of people. And they are very complicated
I just went to your archives and saw that putting together all of your essays would be quite the tome. Heavy and scholarly, as the definition says. Will you ever have the time to organize and release your work in separate volumes?
Hi Fran, thanks! yeah, I imported two other blogs into this one, years and years of posts (varying quality, really)...I use this format to try out ideas and may use bits and pieces or even whole posts in published work, but no plans to put them into a book. I do hope to go through and winnow out some of the not great posts and clean up some of the others. but yeah, read at your own risk :)
The Baptismal Covenant expressed in the BCP requires that believers seek Christ in all persons. Good on you for actually doing so. Keep on seeking!
What Rod Marvin said, yes!
The drawing: Our dear Catherine seems almost as pleased with her stallion as he is with himself.