“Who Knows Only His Own Generation Remains Always a Child.”
This very interesting and relevant quote by Dr. George Norlin, former president of the University of Colorado, is inscribed over the west entrance of the University’s library where I spent hundreds of hours deep in the library stacks studying late into the night. I have learned to navigate the depths of that library in the dark and with my eyes closed. But when it came to learning and understanding truth, my eyes were then, as they are now, wide open. Learners ask questions and challenge assumptions. Learners have a desire to understand alternative perspectives and become knowledgeable with both sides or perspectives of ideas and so called facts. One must understand another’s perspective to have a civil conversation let alone formidable debate. Why do so many college students today simply reciting the boring one-sided opinions and lectures their professors pedantically preach to them? What ever happened to critical thinking, epistemology and disciplined inquiry? What about the merits of considering alternative perspectives while seeking the truth? What is truth and how do we know what we know?
Recently, astronaut Scott Kelly posted a Tweet paraphrasing Winston Churchill. Below is the entire quote in context;
“In War: Resolution,
In Defeat: Defiance,
In Victory: Magnanimity
In Peace: Good Will.”
Kelly was attacked by some who considered the quote offensive. So, Kelly back peddles and apologizes. He says something to the effect, “I need to get educated”. Which brings me to the topic of this blog post, truth, grace and learning how to learn. While I find nothing offensive with this quote, I am actually inspired by it, I am trying to understand how it might be offensive to some people? That’s an honest question. You see, I believe, words matter. However, there’s no question the truth can bite. That is perhaps one reason why some people hide behind the safety of “political correctness” and postmodern relativism. It allows one to be wrong and still be right. We are experiencing a division in perception of reality. Fortunately, truth and grace are interconnected, you can’t have one without the other. What Kelly was responding to is the “pressure to conform” narrative, not truth and grace. The political correct narrative, I believe, is part of the social constructivist agenda to rewrite history, not correct it nor to seek the truth. “Who knows only his own generation remaining always a child.”
If we lose the truth about our history, we lose our liberty. It is happening now at universities across America. Political correctness has crushed the spirit of truth and free speech. This is why the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was so important to the Founders, it was first and foremost.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Why do so many people think history needs revision? Perhaps it is because, for hundreds of years, churches and universities were the center of the community. These were the places people gathered, church steeples marked the city centers. This is where people interacted with each other, learned from each other, shared stories and exchanged ideas, knowledge, goods and services in free markets. The city center or, market square were the very places truth and grace intersected as expressed through the First Amendment. This idea, no longer fits with the current spirit of the time (zeitgeist). Yes, there is a dark history of slavery. And slaveholding is a sin. Yet, many people falsely see religion as the source of legalism, bigotry and scientific ignorance. However, many more people, like me and perhaps you too, believe that faith in God expressly and implicitly guarantees individual liberty, justice and love. It is the very bases for social justice, human rights, democracy and equality; Jefferson referenced the Jewish and Christian God who made us free–“self evident”, he proclaimed as reflected in the Declaration of Independence. The Founders regarded religion as the duty of the independent and free individual to seek. The constitution assure this as an inalienable right and not a privilege to be tolerated. There’s a big difference.
Learning requires we enter a place I call the “epistemic gap”. This is a place between the known and unknown, the natural and supernatural. Stepping into the epistemic gap takes courage because it is more about learning than knowing. Cultivating a learning spirit requires humility. We acknowledge the sins of our past and present and ask for redemption. Part of this “epistemic” journey involves understanding self in relation with God and His creations. Thank God, we don’t all think alike. This is a gift, not a curse.
Grace and truth’s perfect union can be cultivated in a community of diverse experiences and worldviews. Truth and grace are integral and cannot be truly understood or experienced as an either/or concept. Truth without grace breeds self-righteousness and legalism. Grace without truth breeds deception and moral compromise. The key to true intellectual and spiritual growth is to integrate these two qualities into life and learn how to learn all over again.
This is an honest question; how is the above quote offensive? What are your thoughts?
