Readers who attended schools where history was taught may remember learning about the so-called ‘dark ages’, the saeculum obscurum, those centuries between the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Renaissance. In what was then a still embryonic Europe civil order had generally collapsed. The torch of western civilization was nearly extinguished. However, the flame was kept alive in monasteries where the light of learning was religiously passed from one generation to the next.
I remembered this history lesson recently when I heard a respected psychologist ask, “Is Catholicism in a life and death struggle with wokeism?”and, “Is wokeism the new civil religion?”. Such questions are disturbingly apt. Not only is orthodox religious observance on the decline in our nation, but the insistence on such practices as the use of gender-neutral pronouns, the proscription against free speech, and the prohibition against such words as father, mother, husband, wife and even parent. What the Gospel is to Catholicism cancel-culture is to wokeism. The infinitely variegated dignity of the imago Dei in the former is homogenized by the stamp of uniformity imposed by the latter. The two cannot co-exist.
Should we be concerned? Is the situation desperate? Clearly it is troubling. As citizens we should be alarmed that the Judeo-Christian foundation on which our nation is founded is being so insidiously eroded. But, the situation is not hopeless. The reason is the irrepressible tendency of kids to ask ‘why’.
Maybe for this reason the kingdom of Heaven is for the childlike. Kids are curious and want answers. Ask any mother whose youngster peppers her repeatedly with “Why, Mommy?” Consciously or otherwise kids want to learn. They want to understand. It isn’t until they are older when other distractions absorb their attention that incuriousness sets in. This isn’t necessarily a problem if the habit of incuriosity is at least bolstered by an ingrained ethical grounding. In previous generations, for instance, this incuriousness was not so problematic because there was something of a moral consensus in society (when prayer was still encouraged in public schools and the Ten Commandments still revered). Not so, today. The ethical consensus is gone. The laws of Nature no longer hold sway. Philosophy is considered useless. Relativism is regnant and its dogma is materialism. It seems no one is interested in asking why things are. The acolytes of wokeism seize the opportunity this ambient indifference presents. They recognize adults unused to critical thinking as ready targets for their deceitful proselytizing and easily dupe them with their false appeals to equality and compassion. One recalls the line in Hosea: “Thus a people without understanding comes to ruin” (Hos. 4:14).
In this regard Catholic schools are the modern-day monasteries. From one generation to the next they help young students learn how to learn and how to make the pursuit of truth a life-long endeavor. As oases of reason and faith Catholic schools are not just a defense against surging wokeism; they are also a beacon whose light penetrates the world darkened by a fallacy which is becoming our new civil religion.
We believe Truth sets and keeps us free. Such freedom is not only from the snares of sin but also from the chains of ignorance. That youngsters have open and curious minds which are being cultivated to seek Truth fortifies our conviction that wokeism will not prevail in this life and death struggle between the powers of darkness and the Power of Light.
Once again, Dana Robinson’s astute observations of culture underscore the resistance we face…and yet, he gives us signs of hope: “unless you become like little children.” Amen.