Austin Hall Library

The Judgment of the Nations

The news these days of involvement in yet another American war has had a sobering effect on me. 

Notwithstanding the avowed end, war always tends to the deterioration of cultural standards. As Christopher Dawson acknowledged, it cannot be otherwise, "when all the power and resources of the modern state are organized for human destruction." He noted, the temptation to "howl with the wolves" is so overwhelmingly strong in war, since the only thing that will curb the focus of disorder is "mastering them [the enemy] by a violent effort of disciplined will." War, as a state of organized violence, is by its very nature opposed to the ideals of the moral virtues in a civilized culture. While it is true that there are things worse than war, and however necessary it may be in certain limited circumstances, it is nevertheless a great evil as a destructive element in society.

These are ideas underscored by Dawson in his brilliant The Judgment of the Nations, written in 1942. If he is right, America need not be concerned these days only with strained resources and the loss of lives. She should also be concerned with further thinning her cultural fabric, and further loosening her moral restraints.

Dawson’s great erudition, his command of history, and his profound understanding of human nature are evident in The Judgment of the Nations--an attempt to “bring civilization “back to the right road” by cultivating the spiritual foundations of society at an individual level. An omnivorous reader and gifted historian, after becoming acquainted with the work of Ernest Troeltsch in the early 20^th century, Dawson thereafter devoted himself entirely to the study of the relationship between religion and culture. A prolific author, he wrote numerous works, when taken together, are an attempt at nothing less than a world history. Like no other before or since, he convincingly argues that only a return to the traditions of historic Christianity will save civilization, for culture, having lost its spiritual roots, is dying.

A Terrible Glory

I have long been a reader of the history of the 7th Cavalry and its Western campaigns in the mid to late 19th century. Having lived near the Little Bighorn Battlefield, I have visited it and retraced the path of Custer's last battle on a number of occasions. I never tire of visiting the battlefield and I never tire of reading the latest written accounts of Custer's life and the events of the battle.

I recently stumbled across James Donovan's 2008 book, A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn--The Last Great Battle of the American West. Exhaustively researched and very well written, it is the first book with a fresh interpretation of the battle and the events leading up to it in a very long time. Donovan leaves no stone unturned (the endnotes alone cover 82 pages) and does a credible job of making a case that Custer was made a scapegoat by his direct command following the battle.

There are more technical works about the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but A Terrible Glory is an even-handed and very interesting narrative written from primary sources. It is the best and most comprehensive work I have read on this subject to date.

Another excellent treatment of this subject is Evan S. Connell's, Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn , which is a delightful read, if somewhat meandering in style. This book was made into a less interesting movie, filmed, in part, a block from my former home in Billings, Montana.

Lone Star Nation

Texas is the only member of the Union that was an independent Republic before it was a state.

The wild and rollicking true story of the founding of Texas, its struggle for independence as a sovereign nation and, ultimately, its annexation as the 28th state in the Union is more compelling reading than most novels. H.W. Brands' gripping Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence is a history of the Texas Revolution that is written in a clear narrative style that makes the key figures and events come to life. And a great history it is!

I recently read the riveting Lone Star Nation and was captivated by the detail and excellent character development in what seemed to be a very short 608 pages. For days after completing the book I recalled the vivid and colorful characters of Austin, Houston, Santa Anna, Travis, Rusk, Bowie, and Crockett. Brands is a university history professor who writes like no history professor I ever had in college. This is a book every reader of history will appreciate, whether from Texas or not.

Happy Fourth of July Reading

For those who want to avoid the heat and yet quietly celebrate the Fourth of July weekend, I recommend some undisturbed hours with Russell Kirk's The Roots of American Order.

Written on the eve of America's bicentenary, this stimulating book describes the foundational beliefs that have "nurtured the order of the soul and the order of the commonwealth of the United States."

Kirk begins with the Hebrew prophets and works his way through all of the most powerful influences on American society, and prefaces it all with these words: "Two centuries after the founding of the new nation called the United States of America, we need to renew our understanding of the beliefs and the laws which give form to American society. Our own society, like that of any other people, is held together by what is called an 'order'. The character of that order is the subject of this book. What is 'order'?"

Russell Kirk is a distinguished, but under appreciated, thinker and writer on the Western tradition, as well as the model of true "conservative" thought within that tradition.

God Bless the Daughters of the Republic of Texas

(Dawn at the Alamo, 1905, by Henry McArdle) On a recent visit to the Texas Hill Country and the beautiful city of San Antonio, I was able to tour the Alamo (View this photo and View this photo), site of the most famous battle of the Texas Revolution. For those unfamiliar with the Alamo and its history, it is the place where David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Travis, along with over 200 other patriots, gave their lives at dawn on March 6, 1836 in defense of Texas independence.

Alan C. Huffines' well-researched and monumental Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle is the ultimate reference work on the battle itself. For a great education on the historical background and history of the battle, read Huffines' book along with Alamo Sourcebook 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Alamo and the Texas Revolution. The latter provides about as much information as can be known in sourcebook form. Finally, the biographical work Three Roads to the Alamo: The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barrett Travis does a great job of highlighting and illuminating the lives and personalities of three Texas legends. The book is candid and spares no punches in separating myths from reality. 

The Alamo mission (church) building is now a Texas shrine within downtown San Antonio, the upkeep of which is undertaken and sustained by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). The DRT is an association of Texas women dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Texas pioneer families and soldiers of the Republic of Texas. Membership is open to women at least sixteen years of age who are personally acceptable to the association and who can prove lineal descent from men and women who rendered loyal service to Texas prior to its annexation by the United States in 1846.

Change Won't Make Us Happy; It Will Make Us Nostalgic

This image is by Shepard Fairey and it pointedly captures the visceral impression one gets when one thinks of the current presidential campaign of this candidate. The Obama campaign has been very effective at presenting him as the candidate of "change" and "progress", and it seems to have taken hold at a popular level.

This infatuation with progress reminds me a bit of the "progressivism", I previously mentioned here--a sort of liberation from the fading restraints of the past, the idea that things newer are better, and an uncritical devotion to the applied sciences.

In any event, this post is not about politics or the evils of scientism. It is a cautionary reminder that, while the idea of substantial change in any context may have its attractions, it is always a destabilizing force in society. In fact, "dismay at massive change," contends David Lowenthal in The Past is a Foreign Country, "stokes demand for heritage." History reminds us, it seems, that when change and national obsession with progress tend to disorient and dehumanize people, they seek shelter in history and memory. In times of disruption, according to Lowenthal, artifacts of the past appear like "remnants of stability" to those who seek reassurance.   

When change in society is needed (and it sometimes is), it should be kept in mind that people need reassuring images of tradition and the past. That is why so many resources, public and private, are directed toward historic preservation and reconstruction of icons of our country's origins. The past offers us havens of order, tradition, and stability that counter the depersonalization brought about by change and obsession with progress. 

Read Lowenthal and beware of vague appeals for change and any idea that progress, whether industrial, technological, or otherwise, is always a good thing. Perhaps each year, of the last twenty years of my life, I have become more efficient, while consequently becoming less free.

The Irony of it All

It is ironic, by the way, that the early chapters of St. Augustine's City of God had to be devoted to a defense against the charge that Christians were to blame for the fall of Rome in the early fifth century. As Lesslie Newbigin noted in The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, if there had been no Judeo-Christian worldview, the barbarians would still have invaded the classical world and sacked the City of Rome (ca. 410 A.D.). Everything that world achieved could have been swept away by the barbarian hordes--but it was not. The fact that it was not--that, instead, many of its greatest achievements were preserved for later generations--was because the great Christian thinkers of the first four centuries had developed a way of thinking that could safeguard what was priceless in the classical tradition.

In 410 A.D. and beyond, it must at times have seemed dark to St. Augustine as he recorded his thoughts in the midst of the collapse of a culture previously considered the greatest the world had ever known. At times he did so while his city was literally under siege. He did this not knowing that he sat on the cusp of a "golden age" of culture and Western civilization made possible by him and other Christian thinkers. From Augustine until the 18th century Western historians worked with a providential view of history.