The Manichaean Mind of Mark Noll and Fr. Neuhaus
October 27, 2004
In the latest issue of First Things Fr. Richard John Neuhaus reprises Mark Noll's myopic, ahistorically minded, one-sided rant of the previous issue against the "fundamentalist" boobs at Baylor University who oppose "progress." In case you missed it, you can read my commentary on that matter (and Andy Black's article in tNP) here and here.For all their presumed commitment to "communities of tradition," Neuhaus and Noll reveal themselves to be animated by the gnostic spirit of "we know better" that applies itself to impositional top-down assertions of political and cultural control by institutional regimes and movements that care not a whit for real communities, real traditions, and real people who have their own ideas about what is or is not good for them. This explains a great deal about Neuhaus's equally manichaean partisanship for the thorough failure of neoconservatism, as well as Noll's proclivity for politically emasculated idealism that terminates in an apathetic withdrawal from the impending election. And now (most tragically!), the same retirement of the mind, will and spirit has been declared by that once great proponent of communities of tradition, Alasdair MacIntyre.
In the Baylor situation, whose "position" is "right" is not half as important as who has the right to decide. A community established by a dubious (at the least!) act of self-determination cannot be expected to persevere over time with integrity.
At any rate, these are dark times indeed when friends turn foe or at least go belly up or hand in hand with our real enemies.
This is The Manichaean Mind of Mark Noll and Fr. Neuhaus in The Japery, a part of The New Pantagruel. Previously: On Politics as Tragedy | Next: Arguments Against Single-Issue Voting Lack Nuance, Honesty, and Guts | TrackBack (1)