To add to your point about father's norming us, it brings to mind that Latin word for "father," which is "pater," serves as the base for our English word "pattern." A father serves as the pattern for how his children should live their lives. They serve as transmitters of tradition by their example.
And, in healthy societies, there are national fathers who do the same on a large scale. For instance, Abraham served as the pattern for the faithful follower of the LORD in Ancient Isreal, Aneaus served as the ideal Roman citizen to the Anceint Romans, etc. These cultures I mentioned lasted for centuries for as long as they followed the patterns laid by their fathers. But, it's interesting to notice that the Isrealites are taken into captivity by the Babylonians when they neglected following "the faith of their fathers" and that the Roman Empire in the West crumbled when the roles of Roman citizenship were disregarded.
Obviously, I think America, denigrating our fathers, both modern day and ancient, is in a very precarious position. That's my two cents on the matter, anyway.
This is good, Mr. Zelden. I appreciate that you wrestle with real things, rather than exclusively propagate a party line. I guess I shouldn’t suppose you are wrestling; maybe you are just diagnosing and positing alternatives. From what I gather, you are a teacher, formally so, not just by nature only. I intuit a very good one at that. (I’ve wondered before just what in the hell the chalkboard on your Twitter header is depicting.) I often enjoy your tweets, TGE (though I’m rather ambivalent about Dreher), and some of your Substack posts that you share. I’ve not yet subscribed, but may at some point bc the content deserves that respect.
Your post. Very dialectical. There is real stretch, real tension between the “plastic” life Ben is resisting, ultimately rebelling against, and what the pattern is or should be. In some ways, Ben is entirely right to see the fraudulent life style. But…even these “authority” figures speak a small measure of truth, though banal and with misplayed trust in cultural consumerism. It’s redolent of the conversations between Holden and Mr. Spencer and Holden and Mr. Antolini. Of course, Holden is waaay more spiritually “awake” or sensitive than Ben. This scene (below) from TG shows the opposite perspective of the chaos Ben embraces (understandable in some ways) and the “order” being reasonably proposed. I see both sides.
Btw, a quick rec and share, if I may: a genuinely beautiful and fave movie of mine that highlights much of the same you lament here, but offers an opposing “old-school” model or prescription (w/o being nutty rad-trad). You may enjoy it. It was the first film Gibson directed.
A great read, which brought to mind Philip Rieff, James Hunter, and the work of Peter Berger, all of whom I think need to be read widely. We cannot create a social order that erases all "givens" and expect for there to automatically be a positive outcome, but at the same time "norms/givens" can contribute to oppression and control. Finding a manageable negotiation between "givens" and "releases" is the radical challenge every society must figure out for itself, day in and day out...Anyway, great post!
" We do not know what we are for, so we do not know how to act." Man, this sentence in your article really sums up reality for so many of us right now. Life is so strange, but it's getting a whole lot more disorienting by the day. The pace of the deconstruction is so violent and dizzying I don't know what to hold on to. A very interesting article, I should go back and watch the Graduate again.
To add to your point about father's norming us, it brings to mind that Latin word for "father," which is "pater," serves as the base for our English word "pattern." A father serves as the pattern for how his children should live their lives. They serve as transmitters of tradition by their example.
And, in healthy societies, there are national fathers who do the same on a large scale. For instance, Abraham served as the pattern for the faithful follower of the LORD in Ancient Isreal, Aneaus served as the ideal Roman citizen to the Anceint Romans, etc. These cultures I mentioned lasted for centuries for as long as they followed the patterns laid by their fathers. But, it's interesting to notice that the Isrealites are taken into captivity by the Babylonians when they neglected following "the faith of their fathers" and that the Roman Empire in the West crumbled when the roles of Roman citizenship were disregarded.
Obviously, I think America, denigrating our fathers, both modern day and ancient, is in a very precarious position. That's my two cents on the matter, anyway.
This is good, Mr. Zelden. I appreciate that you wrestle with real things, rather than exclusively propagate a party line. I guess I shouldn’t suppose you are wrestling; maybe you are just diagnosing and positing alternatives. From what I gather, you are a teacher, formally so, not just by nature only. I intuit a very good one at that. (I’ve wondered before just what in the hell the chalkboard on your Twitter header is depicting.) I often enjoy your tweets, TGE (though I’m rather ambivalent about Dreher), and some of your Substack posts that you share. I’ve not yet subscribed, but may at some point bc the content deserves that respect.
Your post. Very dialectical. There is real stretch, real tension between the “plastic” life Ben is resisting, ultimately rebelling against, and what the pattern is or should be. In some ways, Ben is entirely right to see the fraudulent life style. But…even these “authority” figures speak a small measure of truth, though banal and with misplayed trust in cultural consumerism. It’s redolent of the conversations between Holden and Mr. Spencer and Holden and Mr. Antolini. Of course, Holden is waaay more spiritually “awake” or sensitive than Ben. This scene (below) from TG shows the opposite perspective of the chaos Ben embraces (understandable in some ways) and the “order” being reasonably proposed. I see both sides.
https://youtu.be/b6G4bPNBrJ0
Btw, a quick rec and share, if I may: a genuinely beautiful and fave movie of mine that highlights much of the same you lament here, but offers an opposing “old-school” model or prescription (w/o being nutty rad-trad). You may enjoy it. It was the first film Gibson directed.
https://youtu.be/0kLAuJIm79o
A great read, which brought to mind Philip Rieff, James Hunter, and the work of Peter Berger, all of whom I think need to be read widely. We cannot create a social order that erases all "givens" and expect for there to automatically be a positive outcome, but at the same time "norms/givens" can contribute to oppression and control. Finding a manageable negotiation between "givens" and "releases" is the radical challenge every society must figure out for itself, day in and day out...Anyway, great post!
" We do not know what we are for, so we do not know how to act." Man, this sentence in your article really sums up reality for so many of us right now. Life is so strange, but it's getting a whole lot more disorienting by the day. The pace of the deconstruction is so violent and dizzying I don't know what to hold on to. A very interesting article, I should go back and watch the Graduate again.