The Wisdom of Chesterton

I went to bed reading Gilbert and continued this morning as I ate my breakfast. I came across this Chesterton quote which set me thinking. (The magazine is chock full of snippets of Chestertonian wisdom.) Here's one:

"It is true that I am of an older fashion; much that I love has been destroyed or sent into exile."

This quote gave me such an overwhelming sense of sadness that I began to think about what, in my own experience, has been "destroyed" or "sent into exile." My sadness over what has been destroyed is easy to explain. The poor murdered peers of my children and grandchildren stretch out in a long line of mangled bodies from sea to shining sea. T.S. Eliot's Prufrock said life was "measured out in coffee spoons," but since the sixties life in the U.S. has been measured out in tiny dead babies flushed down the toilet and mingled with the garbage in our landfills.

And what has been "sent into exile?" Truth. To speak the truth today is to be accused of intolerance, lack of compassion, hate speech. Ears that want tickling prefer political correctness, lies, and flattery. Evil demands to be called good and threatens to crush those who refuse to bend to the demand.

I read Gilbert because I love Chesterton and he makes me laugh. He also makes me think. This morning he made me weep.