New York Cultural Center
HUMAN AFFAIRS
Dialogues on events
that shape our world

"Man has been given to understand
that he lives only by grace of those in
power.
Let him therefore busy himself sipping
coffee, catching butterflies.
Who cares for the Republic will have his
right hand cut off."
Czelaw Milosz
MEMORY AND IDENTITY
Exploring our heritage
Testing our tradition
BEAUTY WILL SAVE
THE WORLD
Discovering the world
of arts: performances
and presentations
MEETINGS AT
THE CROSSROADS
Face to face with...
HUMAN AFFAIRS
Dialogues on events
that shape our world
A place where roads meet. A time of change.
Forward Together?
A Discussion on
What the Presidential
Campaign Is
Revealing about the
State of the
American Soul
Obviously, nowadays there is
no lack of debate about the
presidential elections. As
should be expected, much of
this debate focuses on the
most current developments
regarding the candidates, their
policy proposals, shifts in the
electorate, political alliances
etc. All these are very
interesting topics, of course,
and are abundantly covered
by the media. We felt,
however, that it might be
interesting to take a step back
and try to ask some more
general questions that are less
frequently discussed, perhaps
because they are harder to
bring into focus and because
they require more systematic
reflection than is allowed by
the regular news cycle.

Given that politics is an
important form of cultural
expression, we would like to
ask: what does the 2008
campaign say, if anything,
about our culture? What do
the candidates reveal, if
anything, about our collective
self-awareness and the way it
is changing? Another way to
ask essentially the same
question is: what are the ideals
that move people in America in
2008? Historically, great
political movements have
cultural and philosophical
roots that go much deeper
than politics in a strict sense.
For instance, no matter what
one thinks of Marxism, it is
undeniable that it was not just
a political doctrine; it reflected
the whole idea of what it
means to be human, and of
what history is about. Similarly,
in the US in the 20th century
often politics drew its
inspiration from external
sources such as, say, the
social gospel, the union
movement, scientific
positivism, Catholic social
doctrine and so on and so
forth.

Hence, again, the question:
What are the belief systems
and ideals that are shaping
American politics today? We
suspect that they are more
subtle, and less self-aware
than they used to be. Of
course, everybody has been
talking of the growing
ideological polarization
between the left and the right,
but it seems to us that this is
not necessarily a healthy sign
about the status of our
collective ideals. On the
contrary, rhetorical
propaganda and ideological
Puritanism are often signs of
cultural weakness. It is when
we are not certain about who
we are and what we want that
we really need an enemy in
order reassure ourselves that
we do have an identity, that we
do stand for something. But
when that happens, it is, of
course, just a thin veil to cover
our eyes as we slide into
nihilism.
Speakers:




Msgr. Lorenzo ALBACETE
Theologian, author, columnist






Hendrik HERTZBERG
Executive editor of the New Yorker
Former President Carter's Chief
Speechwriter






Marvin OLASKY
Professor of Journalism at the
University of Texas at Austin

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
7:00PM

Columbia University, W J Warren Hall

New York

DOWNLOAD THE INVITATION

PHOTO GALLERY

TRANSCRIPT