Since Revisions assumed a completely online presence last year, it has faced great challenges in publishing a steady stream of articles conveying a gospel worldview in the realms of art, politics, culture, and everything else. But I like to think that the journal is on an upward trend.
It ended Friday night. At 8:42pm, “The suspect is in custody” echoed over the airwaves, with a Boston police tweet not far behind. As quickly as they had come, the scattered gunshots, the chopping drone of the assault helicopters, the heavy boots of the SWAT teams, the hiss and crack of voices over the police scanner melted away into a raucous block party as Watertown returned to normalcy.
My memory often fails me, but I have a vague recollection of my first kindergarten assignment, and because it was the initial impetus behind this project twenty-five or some-odd years ago, and also because I now find myself (and I suppose this was the impetus behind restarting this project now) preparing for that time when age robs me of my memory entirely, I’ve decided to write it here. Now, this story’s far off, and rather like a dream than an assurance that my remembrance warrants, but it seems to me like something worth preserving. And if some son or daughter, nephew or niece of mine should happen upon this little dream journal, maybe they’ll read it and remember it and, as the Poet wrote, sweep the better part of me into eternity.
“It is not the whip that makes men, but the lure of things worthy to be loved.” Woodrow Wilson made such a remark in instituting precepts at Princeton. These small discussion groups were intended to do two things: foster intimacy between pupil and teacher and inspire students to grapple with their coursework, to encourage “their right of private judgment.” Precepts today might differ from what president Wilson envisioned, but the hopes remain the same: for students to engage actively in their learning process.