I guess my biggest takeaway is the importance of staying informed -- of receiving information from primary sources and not accepting sound bites that diminish meaning. She warns us that the ideas which informed and emboldened our founders and shaped our nation have been diminished and erroneously summarized through the years. We should not trust the conventional wisdom we learn of thinkers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards but we should take responsibility by reading what they actually had to say! Robinson bemoans our willingness to abdicate responsibility for the health of our environment as well the spiritual health of our citizens.
"The assumption of present responsibility for the present state of things was a ritual feature of life in this culture for two and a half centuries, and is entirely forgotten by us now."
I'm always stretched by the thinking of Marilynne Robinson -- and I'm especially happy that I found my way back to this book via our TBR challenge!!!
I'm just now getting back to "So Many Books..." since I'm ready to report on "The Grapes of Wrath." I hadn't realized you had finished Robinson's book. I think your conclusions about her writing and her thinking are right on. We rely much too heavily on soundbites and agendas with bias. It a source of both anger and sadness as is evident with our polarization. I definitely intend to read her book.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear your thoughts after you read it!
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