There’s been a bit too much doom floating around in my soul lately. I admit it is predominately from listening to podcasts, reading books, or just aimlessly surfing around. Now that the kids are able to function nearly completely on their own, it has afforded me time to visit authors and material that I have either never read before or greatly wished I had consumed back in the dark ages of schooling. Let’s just say I am making up for a lot of lost time.
I have literally had crash courses in philosophy, psychology, anthropology, religion, game theory, neurology, and literature these past four years. My eldest tells me I have almost reached “big brain” status. He’s very kind, and I love him. After consuming all of this material, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and maybe even a bit depressed. Although it’s been most fascinating learning about the brain from Dr. Iain McGilchrist or dopamine addictions from Dr. Anna Lembke or even how to be antifragile in his book of that name by Mr. Taleb, it’s left me feeling a bit blah. I liken it to Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That’s a long title, but I suppose it needed that name as opposed to “That Damn Apple Tree”. I feel as though I know too much now, my eyes have been opened to all the plagues of the mind and soul of humanity. Unfortunately, I have no outlet to spread the weight of such knowledge. Knowing things just for the sake of knowing things can be a weighty occupation that does not pay in accordance with all you have chosen to carry in your mind.
Recently I finished “Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West” by Andrew Wilson. I felt horrible after closing the last page. It was a bitter pill with a feeling of inability to recover from what we have done to our world with 1776 being the impetus for much of the chaos we find ourselves in today. I picked up some copies of books he mentioned along the way just to brush up on his historical references. Many of them I was already familiar with, but a few were not on the syllabus for one pursuing a Musical Theatre Major.
With all this dissatisfaction of listening to and reading those who make a living at teaching, writing, and speaking, I just needed to find something that had a ray of hope. Was there anything out there that wasn’t someone’s ode to self, something that didn’t have the word “F-ck” in the title, or something that wasn’t yet another repackaging of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”? The answer is yes. I decided to read “How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for Five Modern Crises” by
. I just finished it today. The following is a brief observation, as I highly recommend you read it too.Sweet relief. This was the most comprehensive book jammed with history, philosophy, religion, politics, et al. that I have come across in a while. There have been other authors who have lumped these topics together, but not quite in a succinct way that allows some of us (who have not had the privilege or pleasure to spend time reading vast amounts of each discipline) to consume this information before the age of 50 (because we’re busy cleaning the house, raising kids, working a job or two, you know, not part of the intellectual academic class). I’m not bitter. Better late than never.
Anyhow, this was a master class in about 250 pages time. Perfect. It was that 30k foot view when it comes to looking down on everything one has learned in all disciplines as a (somewhat) complete puzzle.
Speaking of a 30k foot view, one of my favorite museums is the WWI museum in Kansas City. I highly recommend everyone go. There is a room where a list of events per month and per year are on large plagues that come down from the ceiling. It’s a snapshot of everything happening around the world all at once. Stravinsky, George Bernard Shaw, Margaret Sanger, the invention of sanitary pads, stainless steel - all things that were once compartmentalized people, inventions, scores, and events were now put into global perspective. It blew my (simple) mind. Well, Klavan’s book had a similar effect. All of this isolated information was suddenly arranged in a beautiful time line better than my artsy-fartsy one I had to make in my 7th grade history class. (It was very artistic, thus leaving very little room for the actual history part. I probably got a C-.)
I’ll tell you, there were moments I was skeptical, in that I didn’t want to think I had invested this much time in consuming yet another knowledge acquisition without having some direction as to what to do with it. The end was just what the doctor ordered. I felt closure. I felt like all was not lost. There was something to keep working for. Our little communities, our friends, our local restaurants, dog runs, parks, schools, pools, what have you, are all worthy of you spending time investing in them. Do not abandon your neighbors. The political and cultural elite are purposefully investing in splitting communities apart to acquire power. If you don’t agree, I suggest you just read the book. Spencer has put his finger on the pulse of humanity. It’s heartbeat is erratic and sometimes just barely there. But he diagnoses the issues and offers the prescription.
Although, under the circumstances, I am still floating in the “glass is half full” mentality, but there is hope. As a Christian, there is always hope, and that I do not forget no matter how bad things get. This book was a breath of fresh air. Go get yourself a copy and let me know what you think.