radicalism

[subzero]

Quote: “People are just beginning to realize how deep-seated the evil is. That is why we must be Catholic Radicals, we must get down to the roots. That is what radicalism is-- the word means getting down to the roots.” Dorothy Day explaining Peter Maurin in his, Easy Essays.

What do Catholics think of this? America has a pragmatic, practical and anti-intellectual tradition that has brought some great things on the material plane, but it’s spirituality suffers as a result, in my opinion. I am often called “radical” or even “insane,” but I don’t think radical solutions are bad or “insane.”

 

[estesbob]

Quote: “People are just beginning to realize how deep-seated the evil is. That is why we must be Catholic Radicals, we must get down to the roots. That is what radicalism is-- the word means getting down to the roots.” Dorothy Day explaining Peter Maurin in his, Easy Essays.

What do Catholics think of this? America has a pragmatic, practical and anti-intellectual tradition that has brought some great things on the material plane, but it’s spirituality suffers as a result, in my opinion. I am often called “radical” or even “insane,” but I don’t think radical solutions are bad or “insane.”

What “solutions” do you suggest?

 

[govav8er]

Quote: “People are just beginning to realize how deep-seated the evil is. That is why we must be Catholic Radicals, we must get down to the roots. That is what radicalism is-- the word means getting down to the roots.” Dorothy Day explaining Peter Maurin in his, Easy Essays.

What do Catholics think of this? America has a pragmatic, practical and anti-intellectual tradition that has brought some great things on the material plane, but it’s spirituality suffers as a result, in my opinion. I am often called “radical” or even “insane,” but I don’t think radical solutions are bad or “insane.”

I am not sure about the premise of America’s tradition being pragmatic, practical, (and then you mention) anti-intellectual. That’s like saying. “That guy is a really smart dummy.”

As for the idea of being “radicals” in the way that the term is being used in Easy Essays, I think it explains how the Saints lived their faith. We need to do that. I pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen me in order to live as He wills.

Last point, we should not make the mistake of equating intelligence with wisdom, which may be where you were going with the comment. But I can only guess.

 

[Contarini]

I am not sure about the premise of America’s tradition being pragmatic, practical, (and then you mention) anti-intellectual. That’s like saying. “That guy is a really smart dummy.”

Or King James VI/I of Scotland/England, who was supposedly “the wisest fool in Christendom”! (In his case it meant the opposite: that he was an intellectual but not very effective practically.)

I see no contradiction. “Intellectual” isn’t the only way of being smart. It carries a connotation of abstract or verbal intelligence, as opposed to practical ingenuity.

Edwin

 

[subzero]

Or King James VI/I of Scotland/England, who was supposedly “the wisest fool in Christendom”! (In his case it meant the opposite: that he was an intellectual but not very effective practically.)

I see no contradiction. “Intellectual” isn’t the only way of being smart. It carries a connotation of abstract or verbal intelligence, as opposed to practical ingenuity.

Yeah, that’s basically it Edwin. There are all different types of intelligence. During the U.S.-Mexican War 1846-1848, which I studied, British correspondence were sometimes very surprised that American Junior officers didn’t talk about what this conflict meant in the larger scheme of things but almost always focused on practical concerns. Yet, they knew the American’s were very clever on a technical level and used this expertise to literally outgun their Mexican counterparts. But this cleverness, if not balanced by big picture thinking is like inventing ladders and not knowing where to go with them.

There is a satire that I thought very funny about the American mind written by Sinclair Lewis called “Babbitt.” Because I’ve always felt out of place in America, I found the dry sarcasm of this book very amusing, but also very insightful. Sinclair Lewis loved America very much, but he could see the darkness of it too (which is, if you think about it, true love). If America doesn’t do this, it is doomed.

So, I started this post not to offer any cheap “radical” solutions on the internet, but just a chance for other people to express similar feelings of loneliness or rejection because of this American disdain for “radical” solutions. My own mother basically called me a fool the other day because I don’t vote. “You know I’m a monarchist mom and I hate politics,” I replied. But my mother is a practical, hard-driving business woman and could only look at me scornfully: “Poor little fool…he’s so impractical!”

 

[Not_Sure_1]

nothing wrong with being radical, as long as you’re on the right side.