It is interesting that you do not mention Stanley Rosen among Leo Strauss's students. I would say he was philosophically the most gifted one. His student of sorts, Robert Pippin, practically singlehandedly revived Hegel in the US.
Coupla comments for you from a lapsed Catholic. If you're not familiar with the term, it means someone who was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school (until my sophomore year in college) and doesn't go to Mass every Sunday. I want to respond to "I just couldn’t persist in the charade of attending Mass with my kids when I just didn’t find the church especially worthy of reverence."
I've been lapsed since then, but I'm a retired public school Teacher Librarian and I currently work part-time in a Catholic school. When I am at a required school Mass, I sing in the choir (always find the music to be uplifting). And our pastor is pretty liberal and so is our parish. Teachers who are gay are not fired. We don't ban library books like "The Boy in the Dress" by David Walliams. Non-Catholic students and teachers - and lapsed Catholics like me - are welcome. I feel very at-home here.
Here is what I wanted to say to you about attending Mass with your kids: The Church iself is NOT worthy of reverence. It is an institution and like all institutions it gets diverted from its purpose. The teachings of Jesus, on the other hand, are worthy of reverence. I'm afraid you were with Catholics who praise the Church over Jesus' teachings. They are authoritarians. In my parish, the emphasis - led by our pastor - is on the teachings and walking the talk.
I thought your comment about finding spiritual longing in your late 20s to be of great interest to me. So, now that you've left what I would call Conservative Catholicism, what has happened to that longing? And your children? Are they part of a larger community?
Coming back to this late - not sure what I was doing when it came out.
I appreciate your detail on the Straussians: while I knew about Mansfield, Bloom, and Jaffa, and had read pieces aimed at lay audiences from a couple of others (Lawler, Manent, Arkes), I hadn't even heard of anyone in your "My Straussians" list.
Thanks for this interesting edition! I hope you make this a regular feature.
Thanks, Ken. I plan to. Maybe once a month or so. I could make it more frequent as my number of paying subscribers rises over time.
It is interesting that you do not mention Stanley Rosen among Leo Strauss's students. I would say he was philosophically the most gifted one. His student of sorts, Robert Pippin, practically singlehandedly revived Hegel in the US.
Thanks for doing this, Damon. I appreciate the effort required and your willingness to take on all comers. :)
Thanks for this. Personal and excellent writing.
Coupla comments for you from a lapsed Catholic. If you're not familiar with the term, it means someone who was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school (until my sophomore year in college) and doesn't go to Mass every Sunday. I want to respond to "I just couldn’t persist in the charade of attending Mass with my kids when I just didn’t find the church especially worthy of reverence."
I've been lapsed since then, but I'm a retired public school Teacher Librarian and I currently work part-time in a Catholic school. When I am at a required school Mass, I sing in the choir (always find the music to be uplifting). And our pastor is pretty liberal and so is our parish. Teachers who are gay are not fired. We don't ban library books like "The Boy in the Dress" by David Walliams. Non-Catholic students and teachers - and lapsed Catholics like me - are welcome. I feel very at-home here.
Here is what I wanted to say to you about attending Mass with your kids: The Church iself is NOT worthy of reverence. It is an institution and like all institutions it gets diverted from its purpose. The teachings of Jesus, on the other hand, are worthy of reverence. I'm afraid you were with Catholics who praise the Church over Jesus' teachings. They are authoritarians. In my parish, the emphasis - led by our pastor - is on the teachings and walking the talk.
I thought your comment about finding spiritual longing in your late 20s to be of great interest to me. So, now that you've left what I would call Conservative Catholicism, what has happened to that longing? And your children? Are they part of a larger community?
Re "non-partisan/open primaries" see https://www.fairvote.org/ranked_choice_voting.
Coming back to this late - not sure what I was doing when it came out.
I appreciate your detail on the Straussians: while I knew about Mansfield, Bloom, and Jaffa, and had read pieces aimed at lay audiences from a couple of others (Lawler, Manent, Arkes), I hadn't even heard of anyone in your "My Straussians" list.
Strong second to Mark Lilla as a future topic.