Last month while I was hiking in the mountains, I had this idea of doing an “old things and new things” sequence, with a thematically paired series of essays. I liked the obvious, perhaps even moronic, simplicity of the format, which spoke to the purpose of Christendom Reborn. I’m trying here to find a sweet, dynamic space where tradition meets innovation and discovery. Why not just embrace that in a very straightforward way?
I’ve enjoyed it! Over the past month I’ve written about great books and traditional sexual morals (old things!), then about free markets and feminism. In between we had America Week, which is appropriate too perhaps since the United States also combines the traditional and the new in some unique ways. Clearly there’s much more to be explored here! But hopefully I’ve succeeded in marking out a certain territory, showing how I go about seeking that dynamic, traditional-but-not hidebound space.
This week also included a brief discussion of my friend Erika Bachiochi’s Sex-Realist Feminism, and the story of how I originally got into the orbit of the left-of-center America magazine. It was a wacky series of events. The life of a writer is strange.
Recapping the Conversation
The conversation about Christian feminism is still actively rolling, so feel free to drop in and participate! To entice you, I’ll drop in a sampling of quotes. From my mother, Merina Smith, on the expansion of opportunities for women:
Friedan’s life was probably not so meaningless and trivial as she made out in order to make her point, but there was definitely a problem for women who needed to support their families. When my Mom started teaching in the early 60s for example, she was paid less than male teachers because they were supporting families, except that she also was supporting a family. When I was growing up the big three (low-paid) professions for women were teacher, nurse and secretary. There is nothing wrong with these professions, but that is waaaay too limiting given the considerable talents and desires of women. So feminism has done a lot of good.
There’s more to that reflection, by the way, and well worth reading.
From David Upham on the realities of sex-based “social assignment”:
What of the alleged “assignments”? Neither maternity nor paternity is assigned or imposed on female and male--it’s natural, true, and facilitating such a human good, so necessary to human flourishing, is more important than teaching literacy. The encouragement, facilitation means much. 1. Of course it will be expected that women become familiar with work that allows for pregnancy and proximity to babies soon therafter. 2. Of course it’s more important for the male to play an equal role in the household which requires that he do more of the acquisition further from the house. 3. Finally--and this is missed--friendship. There is a big need for single-sex conversations, intimacy, so in a fishing community, the boy who really would prefer to sit and tend the nets, and not go out with the fathers all day is properly encouraged to suck it up, and so too with the girl who’d prefer to fish and not tend nets.
Tamara Salazar opines:
Abortion rates will get better when we put policies in place that support families. We say we are pro-family, and yet do not support families with our policy-making. We should be ashamed.
And there’s more! Lively discussion of all of these points on Christendom Reborn this week.
Finally, a comment from Reepicheep, on my Tuesday post on markets:
The wicked nation is characterized as a place where “fraud and oppression does not depart from the marketplace.” Unfortunately, by the time that has happened, the fraud and oppression has already consumed the magistrate, who was supposed to be setting the good example for the merchants and the hoi polloi. At this stage, “the market” and the magistrate have just become the Beast with two backs.
So, a good reason to oppose government intervention in markets isn’t necessarily “we aren’t getting conned by merchants, leave us alone!” more likely, it’s triage; we are just trying to halve the conning, if possible, since the magistrate’s answers to the merchant’s injustice usually amplifies the oppression, or merely guarantees its perpetuity, since the magistrate has an income stream to protect based upon pretending to protect the people.
That sounds to me like left-libertarian talk to me, but you can see the response when I asked about it.
Looking Ahead
I have a lot of ideas for the rest of the summer: a week on other world religions (about which I’ve said almost nothing so far), one on “philosophy’s toolkit” (what good stuff does Christian philosophy offer that we can still use?), and some deeper looks into the political theology of the Middle Ages. Next week though, I may do some essays on American traditionalists. Recent events involving the SSPX have stirred up discussion of that topic, so it might be a good time to dive in and answer questions like: Do I think liturgical traditionalism has value for other Christians? (Yes. Very much so.) Have I ever personally attended a Mass at an SSPX chapel? (Yes. A few times, actually.) Do I have advice for modern women considering entering such a community? (I do, in fact!) Come back next Thursday to hear more. Or just subscribe, and get the story in your inbox!
Have a great weekend, all.