While this blog is in part a way for me to vent and record my thinking on various matters, I do invite followers and kibitzers to comment. If you do, the usual rules apply. Essentially, if I dislike your post, it will disappear. This would occur mostly if it is offensive or abusive in language. The final decision is mine.
To give an idea of what i hope for, I offer this. It originally appeared in First Things. Carl Trueman, a professor in the Alva J. Calderwood School of Arts and Letters at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Spelled out his expectations for his upper-level humanities course thusly:
“I am over fifty. I no longer care what anyone except my wife
thinks about me. That particularly applies to anyone under the
age of thirty-five. You should therefore feel free to disagree
with me on anything I say because it is virtually impossible to
offend me. But I must also add that, old and closed-minded as I
am, I have no vested interest in holding an incorrect opinion
on anything. Therefore, if you think I am wrong on some
issue, be it historical, philosophical, or ethical, then you are
under a moral obligation to persuade me to change my mind.
But when you do so, please give me an argument, not some
emotional plea based on your feelings. After all, if you simply
feel I am wrong and I simply feel I am right, we’ll quickly find
ourselves at an impasse.”
I am of a similar mind, though I am certainly past that requisite fifty. By offering this item, I am stating that I will accept sensible argument based on fact and reason. As Professor Trueman states, emotions will not do. The hysteria of the times has made sensible discussion difficult if not impossible. I hope through this blog a small movement can be mad back to sensibility.
*The full article by Professor Trueman be found on the First Things website under the title, The New Gulags.
Pepper and Vinegar 