D. Elton Trueblood wrote a little book in 1944 titled “The Predicament of Modern Man.” Reinhold Niebuhr said the book was “An able and profound analysis of the spiritual situation of our time.” That “time” was 1944—we are now in the year 2022—and the “predicament” remains.
I was struck this morning by this passage from Trueblood's book:
“Just as some declare their faith in science without inquiring sufficiently into the structure that makes science possible, others assert that their faith is in democracy. But a democratic way of life can by no means stand alone. Its success or failure depends, not primarily on political issues, but on the unargued principles and premises that the citizens of a democracy already espouse. Ultimately it depends on the faith of the people, and this fact is demonstrated by the failure of the most modern democratic societies when the supporting faith is weak or non-existent.
Democracy does not succeed by creating a system of counting votes. It depends far more on whether we retain the essential dignity of man (human beings). Can man, the individual, respect himself and his neighbors? If he cannot, the most elaborate system will break down. Lacking respect for himself and failing to trust others, he is easily appealed to by a demagogue who asks the citizens to trust him and him alone. Loss of the sense of human dignity thus leads to (Caesarism) Authoritarianism.”
Democracy has “for its inner soul or substance a special and peculiar cluster of ideas,” said W.T. Stace in “The Destiny of Western Man”. “I call them a cluster because they cling together. They imply one another. The chief members of this cluster are the ideas of (1) the infinite value of the individual; (2) the equality of all people…; (3) individualism; (4) liberty”.
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