The Day the Enlightenment Went Out (Garry Wills loses it)

The New York Times ^ | November 4, 2004 | Garry Wills

[Grampa Dave]

That picture is now one of my all time favorites.

God Bless our President!

[siunevada]

Just did an Amazon.com search of Wills' books--

Thought of a new one: he's Catholic like Don Corleone is Catholic.

[Mr. Silverback]

He seemed to envy America its Enlightenment heritage.

Yes, the Enlightenment heritage...perhaps he envies the part where they didn't have pointy-headed twits telling everyone how to think.

One of the things the Dalai Lama has expressed is that he is repulsed by Bhuddist persecution of Christians in Tibet and elsewhere. Mr. Wills is in the same class as those persecutors, counting anyone who doesn't think like him as a danger.

[Mr. Silverback]

Wow--Isn't Wills a Catholic?

If he doesn't believe in the Virgin Birth, he's about as Catholic as Trotsky, whether he claims to be Catholic or not.

[Mr. Silverback]

So, what you're saying is, if he'd been more honest, he would have written this:

"Which raises the question: Can a people that believes more fervently in the Virgin Birth than in state-sanctioned butt-pumping still be called an Enlightened nation?

[Mr. Silverback]

Lets see i`m trying to remember how same sex marriage became an issue.Oh yeah because some Mass.liberal judges thought they should inflict their views on the entire country.Who was the dem candidate?Yet another Mass.liberal.Darn right wing christians for expressing their displeasure with this bunch.

Excellent point. The electorate said two things on Tuesday. The first was, "We reject government by four people, and embrace government of, by and for the people. We will do whatever it takes to ensure it does not perish from the Earth."

The second was, "We reject this..."

[Doctor Stochastic]

Please give the source for your Darwin quote. Of course, if you just made it up on the spot, that would be usual Creationist activity.

[Tamar1973]

(Darwin)was buried in Westminster Abbey, in recognition of his remarkable achievements. He lived and died a Christian.

Darwin was buried in Westminster Abbey because he was a remarkable man, not because he was a Christian.

"Francis Darwin wrote to Thomas Huxley on 8 February 1887, that a report that Charles had renounced evolution on his deathbed was 'false and without any kind of foundation',4 and in 1917 Francis affirmed that he had 'no reason whatever to believe that he [his father] ever altered his agnostic point of view'.5 " Watchman Examiner, Boston, 19 August 1915, p. 1071. Source: Ref. 1 , pp. 92-93 and 190.

[meema]

Gary Will is always off his meds. Especially when it comes down to his catholic upbringing. He is much like Andrew Greeley re their faith.

[Modernman]

Will we see a rash of creationism-in-science-class referenda in the states in 2006 as a new wedge issue to keep all these brand-new Christian conservative voters coming to the polls next time?

If that does happen, I predict the effect on the Republican party will be very similar to the effect that the gay marriage referenda had on the Dems in this election.

[Boiler Plate]

No sense of humor Doc? I guess if you think evolution is true I guess you don't know a joke when you see one.

[Doctor Stochastic]

I'll assume your other quote was just a joke too.

[Boiler Plate]

Oooh ouch very snippy aren't we.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Not really. You make up quotes and pass them off as true. That puts you in the Molly Ivins ilk. Why should anything you post be taken seriously?

[Boiler Plate]

Ooh that really smarts. Wow you are really good! LOL!

Get a grip. You are apparently the ONLY ONE who is complaining. So that would put you in the Dan Rather category as the only who doesn't get it.

[Fury]

I feel obliged to defend Wills. I've read many of his books and some of them are truly brilliant, like his bio of St.Augustine. Like virtually all writers, he's not consistantly great in either his prose style of analysis, so slack should be cut.

Reagan's America? I'm about halfway through and it is a slogging, tedious read. If there is a tangent to go off on in the book, Wills manages to take it and then some. In some chapters, he does well. In others...