By Scott Graber
It is Monday, early, and I’m just back from an early morning swim in the Sound. I’ve got my coffee — Eight O’Clock — and a blueberry infused English Muffin.
For the past few days I’ve been listening, over and over, to a 14 minute-long speech titled “How the Elite Rigged Society” by David Brooks.
I’m sure you know Brooks — he writes for The New York Times and frequently appears on the PBS program, News Hour.
Brooks begins his speech (in England) by saying that we have created a “meritocracy” (in the United States) wherein the “wealthy” get their sons and daughters into a small number of elite colleges. Brooks says these privileged issue from just 34 top tier universities get 54% of the better-paying, consequential jobs in America.
Within this cohort of privilege — a “caste” according to Brooks — there is an emphasis on self-focus and entitlement. All of which has “privatized morality” and destroyed the “moral order built into the universe.”
It is hard for me to know what Brooks means by the “moral order of the universe” but I would think that we’re talking about a body of belief that includes the Gospels, the teachings of Socrates, Plato, Erasmus. I would also think that Edmund Burke, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton would be part of the “order.” I would hope the more recent writings of Paul Tillich, Toni Morrison and James Baldwin would make the grade.
Brooks goes on to say that this caste has also abandoned it’s sense of any responsibility to bring along the poor, to heal or to help those born into your beaten-up, dog-on-a-chain-double-wide in Appalachia.
He also says we’re a divided country; we are “ruptured;” and a recent study done by The New York Times found that 64% of those responding believed that we are divided “beyond the ability of our political system to solve our current problems.”
In short a huge pessimism has replaced our normal, systemic optimism.
But then Brooks reminds us that in 1829 the United States elected Andrew Jackson splitting the country into two parts — New England vs. the South and West. The election of Jackson was largely a reaction to the growing influence of mill owners and the industrial growth of New England.
Likewise, in 1860, the United States was “ruptured” into two parts over the issue of slavery.
In the 1880s there was an economic crash (1882-1885) — yet another rupturing of our Republic which led to sweeping economic reforms led by Theodore Roosevelt.
All of which brings me to the Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, who says that people who know trauma and tragedy; individuals who hit rock bottom, are the same folks who often rise up and fix themselves.
Rohr says these broken people are given the opportunity to rethink their values; to again examine their concepts of the Divine; and while looking (for the goodness) within have the chance to start afresh.
But a problem with this recovery seems to be the fact that most of us never read Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus or the Roman philosopher Lucretius in the first place. When I started college (1963) I learned a lot about small unit tactics like envelopment; but nothing about the classical thinkers in Greece or Rome.
In olden days there were a few American colleges that taught languages like Greek, so that one might read the Greek philosophers in their native tongue. But these days — when the humanities are being treated like Leukemia — one rarely gets access to the minds of Erasmus or Luther much less Paul, Augustine or Aquinas.
And, as long as we’re being candid, if there is an Elin Hilderbrand romance (Endless Summer) lurking in the library one is unlikely to pick up Voltaire. So I suppose we have to settle for Tucker Carlson, Rachel Maddow and Bill Maher. And yes, on Sunday, The Church still translates Matthew and Mark and, of course, there is always YouTube (Premium) to fill in the gaps
But mostly, these days, we swim alone in a wine dark sea.
But lest you believe that all is lost I would point out another question posed in The New York Times poll,
“Do recent events signal the collapse of Democracy in the United States?”
Only 18% of those polled answered that question in the affirmative. In short, 82% of those polled believe our imperfect, up and down experiment in government is not over. Those 82% still think redemption and rebirth are possible, probable.
Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.
