“Time like an ever rolling stream bears all its sons away,” wrote the Englishman, Isaac Watts, in 1719. (1)
We feel the rolling of the years, personally and collectively. Every voice of wisdom (and folly) is borne away, leaving behind echoes, fingerprints, footprints, and pathways. We follow in the wake, debating the best winding trail to take.
In various ways we Americans are celebrating our country’s 250th birthday this year. In our home library we have a section of books on American history. I also have a set of classics that I inherited from my father published for the Classics Club back in the 1940s. Pulling off the shelves a set of books, I have beside me three classics from the series: William Bradford’s History of Plymouth (Of Plymouth Colony), Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, and Plato’s Five Great Dialogues.
Why did I include Plato in my stack? Russell Kirk explains in his great, modern classic, The Roots of American Order, first published in 1974.(2)
Worth reading.
Kirk traces our roots to four great representative cities: Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, and London. While Jerusalem represents America’s nourishment from Moses and the Hebrews, Athens represents the legacy from Greece, thus Plato. Add to these Rome’s lessons first as a republic before becoming an empire, and then London’s legacy from the days of the Magna Carta. These sturdy roots deepen the indelible marks of human striving for order. Kirk explains that “the ‘inner order of the soul’ and the ‘outer order’ of society [are] intimately linked.” (3). Do you hear the underlying heartbeat of the idea of self-government?
To better understand the roots of America as an “idea” (versus an ethnicity or mere region), Kirk shows the basis of America lies in its presuppositional perspectives on order. I resonate with this deeply since my only published book, A Traveler’s Guide through Suffering and Joy, is shaped by “order,” that is “cosmos.” Cosmos means order: how things work and are governed, so that we can come to terms with reality. We need our feet planted on the firm foundation of what is true; this is “order” or “cosmos.” Order precedes us. Order humbles us and frees us. It can simplify our lives by revealing what is truly important. The rest (internal and external disorder) is anxiety-churning chatter.
To enhance our 250th birthday celebration, I offer you some American thoughts to feed your soul. No chatter. Just slow-releasing nutrition.
Journey North Character 