This is the second part of a series on life lessons from René Girard. Part I (Lessons 1 - 6) is here.
Now, let’s pick up where we left off:
7. Look for the Mimesis in Current Events
René Girard was an avid consumer of the news. That might seem strange for someone keenly aware of mimetic phenomena. Wouldn’t the smart move be to tune out? To get one’s news from the server at the local diner? From someone who has already filtered through the noise?
Maybe. But temperance is a higher virtue than abstinence, and prudence is still more excellent.
In a world where consuming some amount of “news” is practically inescapable, I want to develop the ability to see behind the facade presented; to see the real forces at work; to read the signs of the times.
There is reading, and then there is reading.
Cynthia Haven, René Girard’s biographer (Evolution of Desire) observed this during her numerous living room conversations with him:
“His great serenity of spirit was marked by a passivity that puzzled me. I…