I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
If you're not reading Public Discourse every day, you should rectify that. Each day, a different professor or intellectual takes on a pressing topic about issues in the public square. Sometimes the site hosts an ongoing debate (on the ethics of enhanced interrogation or undercover journalism).
Today, professor Anthony Esolen argues that our government has failed to admit that its own selfishness is the root of many societal problems it has attempted to address.
In Philadelphia, about half of all students in ninth grade will graduate from high school. The dropout rate is especially high among black and Hispanic boys. President Obama's answer to this problem is typical of the left: compulsion. Make dropping out illegal. In other words, force boys who are learning nothing to remain where they are learning nothing, to help make sure that nobody else learns anything, either. If they drop out anyway, turn them into criminals to be rounded up.
All this would cost a great deal of money, which Philadelphia does not have. And even if you could compel the boy, seething with resentment and contempt, to occupy a desk in a dreary schoolroom, you cannot compel him to learn. To try is a distant, "technological" response to a human problem. It is a way to pretend to generosity, while keeping those who suffer from your heedlessness far from your sight and smell.
He goes on to talk about how Philadelphia is on some kind of jihad against the Boy Scouts -- and the back story to that is unique and sad. But no matter. The Boy Scouts are of the mind that it's possibly unwise to put adolescent boys in close contact with men who are sexually attracted to men. And you know what that means:
But the Philadelphia city council does not care about such things, because, when called upon to choose between their sexual antinomianism and the welfare of boys--many of whom only a group like the Boy Scouts can save from gangs--they will choose their preferred form of lawlessness every time, without regard for the common good.
This shouldn't surprise anyone, because for the last fifty years, even before Lyndon Johnson's disastrous War on Poverty, technocratic managers, mainly but not exclusively on the left, have been building a system of mutual parasitism, funded by taxes.
One group profits, in power, from the profligacy of the other, which it "rewards" with money confiscated from the general public. They thus gain millions of publicly funded jobs to manage the people whom their policies have corrupted, and they move far away from those people, assuaging their consciences by voting correctly and holding correct opinions. Their hands do not get dirty.
We can imagine that the end game might not be ideal here. Esolen asks what, on the dreadful day of eventual doom, that Philadelphia boy will say to the elites who ignored him and profited from his confusion. It's long, but here are some excerpts:
"I needed a good school, and you trapped me in a bad one, while you sent your own children elsewhere. When some people suggested a way for me to go to a Catholic school where I'd have a chance of learning something, you cried up the separation of church and state. You didn't actually believe that you would be setting up any church as a state institution. It is just that you hated the Church a lot more than you loved me.
"I once lived in a real city neighborhood. The houses needed repair, so you called it a slum, and you tore it down. Then you built housing projects with all the beauty and safety of a parking garage. When these became hotbeds of crime, you tore them down too.
"You declared a War on Poverty, aimed at me, when you should have declared a War on Vice, aimed first of all at yourselves.
"You loved your vice more than you loved me. You could afford your vices, but I could not. Your vices made your lives, as you thought, more exciting. I did not have your cushion of wealth, so the same vices destroyed me.
"I was lonely, and you bought me a whore. My sisters were lonely, and you made them into whores...
"I needed to learn to calculate, and you handed me a machine that would do it for me, and prevent me from understanding what I was doing. I needed to learn to read, and would have liked adventure tales for boys, but you gave me feminist propaganda, or comic books.
"I needed a father, but you preferred your fun. You passed laws that would reward my mother for not marrying my father. You hated marriage, because marriage brings a man into a family, and marriage restrains. You winked and smiled while my mother brought a series of irresponsible men into my life, none of whom was my father. They were dangerous. When they grew violent, you herded them into your corral, which you called 'Domestic Violence.' You refused to distinguish between husbands and these others. Thus did you continue to tear marriage down, and subject me and mine to more of the violence you pretended to decry...
"I needed a coach, to keep me in line during the difficult years, but you cut my teams and rosters. You called it 'fairness' to my sisters, and hugged yourselves for your enlightenment.
"I needed a father to show me how to love women, and you gave me porn...
"I needed a married mother and father, what every child needs, what every child has a right to, and you told me to go to hell.
"I went to hell, and have brought it back with me."
What is striking about this is how this elite destruction is looked at -- within the echo chamber -- as good, tolerant, kind and generally worthy of praise.
We've seen many advancements in society and it would be wrong to deny that. But when you look at the condition of boys in the inner city, what's happened is a scandal. It's almost overwhelming how much work is needed to reverse what we've wrought -- all in the name of "charity" -- but can we really turn a blind eye to this?
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Mar '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Since we're talking Esolen and Hell, I might mention here that his translation of Dante's Divine Comedy is quite good--which is a rare find among Modern Library editions. I recommend it.
And secondly, I've quoted this particular lecture on a few occasions in the past on Ricochet, but Esolen happens to be responsible for one of my favorite ISI lectures. It is called Culture, What Culture and you can read it at that link, or if you have an ISI membership you can find the video or audio edition of it there. I don't tire of recommending it not only because of its felicitous demonstration of what culture genuinely means using a Ben Johnson play as a backdrop, but also because it doesn't confuse "mass media/entertainment wars" between progressives and conservatives with culture the genuine article. It maintains the necessary height that the liberal arts were always supposed to defend as their natural redoubt (before they became about underwater basket weaving in Progressive's hands): that is, they are called the "liberal arts" because they are the possession of truly free men.
Good article in Public Discourse also.
Edited on February 8, 2013 at 4:35pmNov '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Professor Esolen is exactly right. We want to do whatever we want and still feel good about ourselves. But to do that, we’ve got to destroy the notion of virtue. And to do that, we’ve got to destroy religion. Finally, we need to destroy those, Like Professor Esolen, who defend virtue and religion. But then who will defend us against the monsters we create?
Jun '10
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
I sometimes don't know what to think when I read stuff like this.
A. Is it moral vanity dressed up in good intentions?
B. Is it cynical indifference in the pursuit of power?
C. Or is it just that so many "educators" have had their reason obliterated by leftist incoctrination?
Or maybe some combination of the above?
Mar '12
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
I looked at the list of recommended websites on the lower right-hand side and did not see Public Discourse. Perhaps being able to click on that site from this site, as is available for a large number of other recommended sites, would be a easy way to promote accessing that website?
Jan '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Very powerful. This is the type of material that should be discussed when reaching out (not pandering) to minorities.
As a nation, these are the types of 'tender mercies' that those in poverty have been left to. When stated in these terms, I think there's a real chance of peeling some of these people away from the Left.
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Brilliant. Very glad to have read this.
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
WI Con: Very powerful. This is the type of material that should be discussed when reaching out (not pandering) to minorities.
As a nation, these are the types of 'tender mercies' that those in poverty have been left to. When stated in these terms, I think there's a real chance of peeling some of these people away from the Left. · 16 minutes ago
I agree -- and I think the political savvy of it has little to do with it. This is about helping people and many have forgotten how to express that desire to help.
Oct '10
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
This is why the GOP has to be the populist party; Bobby Jindal was right.
Edited on February 8, 2013 at 5:53pmOct '10
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
WI Con: Very powerful. This is the type of material that should be discussed when reaching out (not pandering) to minorities.
As a nation, these are the types of 'tender mercies' that those in poverty have been left to. When stated in these terms, I think there's a real chance of peeling some of these people away from the Left. · 16 minutes ago
I agree -- and I think the political savvy of it has little to do with it. This is about helping people and many have forgotten how to express that desire to help. · 17 minutes ago
But we must be careful not to get bogged down in the trap of thinking this only happens to minorities (leaving us open to accusations of racism). Many of my white relatives have gone through the exact same experiences.
Jun '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
It's almost as if the road to hell is, like, paved with good intentions or something.
Nov '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Joseph Eagar
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
WI Con: Very powerful. This is the type of material that should be discussed when reaching out (not pandering) to minorities.
As a nation, these are the types of 'tender mercies' that those in poverty have been left to. When stated in these terms, I think there's a real chance of peeling some of these people away from the Left. · 16 minutes ago
I agree -- and I think the political savvy of it has little to do with it. This is about helping people and many have forgotten how to express that desire to help.
But we must be careful not to get bogged down in the trap of thinking this only happens to minorities (leaving us open to accusations of racism). Many of my white relatives have gone through the exact same experiences.
Absolutely. This messasge should be included in every stump speech that a politician delivers - not just to minority audiences. Everyone needs to hear it.
Jul '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Hurricane Katrina and the Jena Six incident happened very close to each other. I watched both very intently on my television.
What struck me as the difference was that, after Katrina, blonde blue eyed kids from Oregon and Main as well as Florida were pouring in to Louisiana, but not one African American I knew went to volunteer.
I kept looking for black faces; I didn't see it (granted, mine is a very unscientific research). Google image search Katrina Volunteers if you don't believe me.
Then, for Jena Six incident, there were all these African Americans marching in protest.... The crowd was all black.
So what motivates African Americans march in Jena but not volunteer in New Orleans?
Aug '10
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
"Great Society" indeed...
Nov '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
The problem will persist until blacks solve it, because it is a black problem, politically, socially, culturally.
Nothing will change as long as poor blacks vote 95% for the leftist candidate.
The root of the problem and the cure involve urban teachers unions, whose membership is largely black. They live quite nicely. Their male students learn little or nothing, go to prison, and/or die young.
What's needed is more class warfare: poor blacks against middle and upper class blacks, like:
--Michelle Obama, who soaked up millions of patient dollars and taxpayer dollars as a University of Chicago Hospital do-nothing, Vice President of Community Affairs.
--Karen Lewis, head of the teachers union in Chicago, where teachers are among the highest paid and students are among the worst performing.
--Jessie Jackson Sr., who milked millions from companies in tacit exchange for protection from discrimination claims.
These are more prominent parasites, but along with Karen Lewis include most urban middle class black teachers as well, and also most of the middle class blacks living comfortably as welfare state bureaucrats administering the misery of their brothers and sisters.
They thrive serving as black overseers on the paternalistic white liberal plantation.
Edited on February 8, 2013 at 7:30pmMay '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
I have spent the last 25 attempting to reconcile the hopeless dependency I saw on the streets of the inner city, which has not changed, with the mindless liberalism that wants to do more of it.
How do you get to a point where you believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that a few more dollars of tax revenue will alleviate the plight of the urban poor? Secondly, if you are one of those poor people, how do you reconcile voting for a continuation of those policies with the waste and misery all around you?
Dec '10
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
But, but, liberals care! Rahm Emmanuel got beat up as a kid because he tanned easily and could pass for a black kid. And, and, he tears up when a 15-year-old gets killed in Chicago. So, you know, you should let the Godfather make a man out of your kid, since there aren't any real fathers around.
I'd like to say I just hate the sin of moral vanity, but sometimes I'm not so sure it's not the sinner I loathe.
Jun '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
I don't know why, but I just can't escape that feeling that this little tale of youthly oppression is nothing but a complete, bald-faced lie.
Wish I had said that.
Edited on February 8, 2013 at 9:30pmAug '12
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
I am slowly reaching the point where I want to throw decorum to the wind and have our politicians just start running on this speech.
"You care? That's your defense? Millions thrown into destitution, families destroyed, lives ruined -the ones that aren't brutally cut short at the hands of another victim of your tender mercies -cities despoiled, homes pillaged, and an entire generation left to rot in filth. But you care. You pay your taxes and consider yourself a virtuous person, because you care. What matter that many would rather die than suffer your third person ministrations?
"But you care. Well perhaps you have a different definition of caring than I do."
It's rude, it's impolitic, but there are days when I think that if we're going to lose anyway, we might as well avoid shaking hands with the devil while we're doing it.
Who knows, maybe we get lucky.
May '10
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Astonishing gets it right, although I'll generalize it to "The people of the inner city will continue to have what they have as long as they continue to vote the way they vote."
But what to do? Make a campaign stop in the inner city and get picketed? Speak at the NAACP convention and get booed?
Nov '11
Re: I Went To Hell And Have Brought It Back With Me
Nick Stuart
Astonishing gets it right, although I'll generalize it to "The people of the inner city will continue to have what they have as long as they continue to vote the way they vote."
But what to do? Make a campaign stop in the inner city and get picketed? Speak at the NAACP convention and get booed?
Yes! Get picketed, get booed, but keep telling the truth.