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History, politics, and culture articles and forum discussions.

Phidippides

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On the Eve of Election 2024

A night of waiting and expectation for history to unfold

In just a few hours, the polls open for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The feelings I have are surely shared by other people, including those on the opposite political side as myself. These feelings reflect the mounting tension that has been building up for months and months.

With each new story in the election season, a new drop has fallen into the bucket of anxiety. This year, the drops have been falling faster than ever before, so much that it at times seems like a steady stream of tension is pouring in. From the Republican primaries to Biden’s debate disaster, to multiple assassination attempts on Trump to Kamala’s rise, to vice presidential picks and endorsements along the way, this election cycle has been one unlike any other. We can cut the tension like a knife. It’s the feeling you might get if you knew you had a big performance to give the next day, and you only had one shot at it. Get it right and you bask in intense glory, but get it wrong and it’s an internal pain that you know you will have to shoulder for a very long time. Now spread this feeling across America so that collective anxiety hangs like a cloud from coast to coast, and this is where we’re at.

And with that said, I am actually cautiously optimistic. Depending on whom you listen to, the race is either a dead heat, or Trump is positioned just well enough in enough states to be able to take it. I am in this latter camp, as it seems his support in key battleground states will be enough to win it for him. Also, about half of all votes that will be cast in this election have already been cast, and Trump has enjoyed momentum, and a consistent polling lead, over the past few weeks. I have to think that this prolonged support has certainly helped him.

Yet, I merely need to think back to the disappointment of four years ago to remember that things aren’t how they seem. I was one of those people who was holding on to dear hope as I saw Trump leading in places like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, only to find out later that votes for Biden mysteriously materialized at odd hours.

So in less than 24 hours, we shall see where the election ends up – in glory or in defeat. The collective joy or pain will be an intense, shared act of catharsis. I just hope and pray that I will be among those rejoicing.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

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Why should we visit museums?

Over the holiday break I had the opportunity to visit a major museum in Pittsburgh that I had never before visited.  I was with a small group of people so the amount of time I could spend in any one wing was limited, but I was still able to whet my intellectual appetite for the wondrous historical artifacts and products of the human mind.  I probably could have spent all day in the museum, but instead I had to settle for a few hours.

My recent museum experience reminds me just how thrilling great museums can be.  To see specific works that underscore my understanding of a historical style or practice – or to see works that challenge my understanding – is part of the amazing intellectual journey I enter upon in the museum.  Many visitors to museums may be strong in one area of art knowledge but not in others, so being exposed to a variety of art periods, styles, and cultures in large museums helps to broaden horizons and perhaps even rethink the way we see the world.

Of course, it’s always fun to see works in person that you have only read about before in books.  It’s the art equivalent of meeting a celebrity!

Should museums do more to bring in visitors?

This brings me to a larger point about the value of museums.  I came across an entry at a blog associated with the Getty that discussed how museums can “engage millennials”.  The author made a particular statement that seemed to reflect her larger disposition:

We do our jobs as museum professionals to preserve cultural history and maintain its relevance in society, especially as society changes. If we don’t serve a broad public, our jobs lose meaning and purpose. If there is a perception that museums are not very good at serving and engaging any group of people, then it’s on us who work in museums to either dispel the misconception or change the way we do things.

I am struggling to figure out whether I disagree with this statement or am in agreement but with qualifications.  On one hand, it is only natural that museums want to engage their audiences, but on the other it is not clear that the purpose of museums (or their employees) would be lost if engagement were to decline.  I think that as society becomes more superficial and self-seeking, people will naturally disengage with the more profound ideas offered by artists and craftsmen of the past.  As this disengagement deepens, we need to ask whether museums really need to “chase after” people to get them to visit.

This idea sounds rather absurd.  Does the Art Institute of Chicago need to convince young people that seeing Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grand Jatte in person is a better alternative than spending a few hours on Snapchat?  Are statues like the Riace Warriors worthy of visiting because they provide a way to get selfies with a funny backdrop, or because of what they offer us in terms of knowledge of the development of Greek civilization?  The way I see it, either people want to visit museums because they recognize the value of the objects contained therein, or they don’t want to visit them because they don’t recognize their value.  Unless a museum is completely mismanaged and therefore deserving of blame in creating a poor visitor experience, I think the blame should be placed on those who should value the importance of museums but do not.

But even if a museum fails to bring in large crowds, it still plays a vital role in safeguarding access to cultural heritage for current and future generations.  This type of preservation would not so easily be accomplished if the works inside the museum walls were in private hands.  “Serving the public” is therefore accomplished by protecting works even if people are not lining to buy tickets to see them today; the public of tomorrow will still be served and will reap the rewards of today’s labor.

The lesson for today

I think there is a danger of being too “corporate” in the treatment of the humanities.  Or perhaps better said, there is a danger of being too “corporate” with life in general.  Practical realities are indeed important, but they should not overshadow larger concerns and ideas that stand above the ephemeral whims and trends modern culture.

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Thoughts on Sir Christopher Wren

Sir Christopher Wren, 1632-1723

The name of Christopher Wren came up in some readings and so then I read a bit more specifically about his life from the Wikipedia entry.

According to the article, he was a cross-disciplinary expert in areas such as astronomy and architecture during the latter half of seventeenth-century England.  His most memorable work may have been the construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, but he also helped to build over fifty churches after the fire of 1666.

One part of the article that stuck out to me was that

By 1669 Wren’s career was well established and it may have been his appointment as Surveyor-General of the King’s Works in early 1669 that persuaded him that he could finally afford to take a wife.

Being in his late 30s, and seeming to have accomplished quite a bit already, I was surprised that he couldn’t “afford” a wife before that time.  On a sad note, the article says that the first wife died about three years later; the second wife, married about a year and a half after the first’s death, also died about three years into that marriage.

Also of interest about Wren was what was put on his epitaph where he was buried (inside St. Paul’s Cathedral): Lector, Si Monumentum Requiris Circumspice – which means: Reader, if you seek his monument, look around.  Quite an impressive way to way to remember someone!

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