Between the religious sects, strong in America, and the political sects, merely numerous, there is a curious symmetry of traits...A religious sect can content itself with waiting. After all, the validity of its faith does not depend on a head count of the faithful. The religious sect requires only that the vision of the Second Coming remain strong....But things are harder for the political sect because it claims to be engaged with this world, not another. The political sect may decline into damp stagnation which many religious sects find comfortable, but because of its ideology the political sect must keep trying to bring its isolation to an end. The political sect has to remind itself not to slump into that withdrawal from the world...The political sect has to pin everything to the rightness of doctrine. The party line becomes its most precious good(Irving Howe, _A Margin of Hope: An Intellectual Autobiography_ p38).
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:05:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015