Thursday, December 4, 2008

Rod Dreher on Wendell Berry

"Crunchy Con" Rod Dreher talks about why Berry is more relevant than ever:

The root of our collective crisis is as old as humanity itself: We've been
overcome by a colossal sense of pride, which entails the Luciferian belief that
we can be as gods. "The problem with us is not only prodigal extravagance," [Berry]
writes. "but also an assumed limitlessness. We have obscured the issue by
refusing to see that limitlessness is a godly trait."

In the months and years to come, we all will have to learn the meaning
of limits. Wendell Berry is no dour scold who preaches a joyless austerity. To
the contrary, he tells us that what we truly seek in life is not comfort, but
meaning – and that you don't have to live a life of rigorous asceticism to find
it. Rather, we only need to order our lives around the ancient idea that
happiness depends on virtue – virtue lived in community. We can only be
fulfilled by living within the bounds prescribed by our nature, and in fidelity
not to our selfish desires but to the greater good of our families, friends and
communities.

Full article here.

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