At War with Time [antikvár]

'AT. F,The Western world faces a time of crisis. Before us lie a continuing battle againstterrorism, and the prospect of wars around the globe. Yet, even before September 11, the impact of massive social, economie, and technological changes had disrupted our sense of a stable, secure world.In response to crisis, thoughtful people search inside themselves for confidence or security. For many, traditional beliefs, which provided comfort for earlier generations, no longer work. These beliefs include a faith in God, in the soul, and in eternal ideas; a belief that science can deliver sure answers; and confidence that history will inevitably have a favorable out-come. Together, these beliefs form what I call a "permanence complex." With these beliefs in question, many people are beset with the uncertainty which marks our age.For over four thousand years, Western thinkers and religious leaders have used these beliefs to provide answers to many of life's problems and to develop the basis of our social institutions. The cataclysmic events of the last hundred years, such as the Holocaust and other human-rights horrors, have assaulted aspects of these beliefs, particularly in the essential goodness of the human soul and in the inevitability of historical progress.In addition, massive technological and economie changes, begun at the very outset of the industrial revolution, have weakened our sense of com-munity. Many people today feel lost and atomized by the media, economi-cally at risk, and adrift in a sea of computerized information. Rather than seeking recourse in the political process, many here in the United States see politics dominated by moneyed interests, and so doubt their ability to effect change. Although there have been recent rounds of protest against war, economie globalization, and other perceived wrongs, the dominant political mode in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century is still one of declining civic engagement.In the face of these uncertainties, large segments of the population have professed a return or continued adherence to traditional beliefs, particularly in God, in the immortal soul, and in the essential goodness of