On Discernment

The art of recognizing what is going on.

We often talk about America being a house divided into opposing factions—that is, Democrats vs. Republicans, leftists vs conservatives, blacks vs. whites, women vs. men, etc. In my own research, I have often thought that the American people are now engaged in a cultural and spiritual clash akin to the Reformation and Counter-Reformation of 16th Century Europe.

I can relate to that struggle 500 years ago because my involvement in the current Culture War began with a crisis of faith—namely, my faith that the United States government is acting for the benefit of the citizenry and can be trusted to do so. Indeed, the last few years have steadily deepened my appreciation for our Founding Father, James Madison, who keenly perceived that of all the wolves out there, there is none more ravenous than an out-of-control state that has been corrupted by military and commercial interests.

Madison was a very educated and cultivated man, but his greatest cognitive virtue was, in a word, DISCERNMENT. In his study of human affairs throughout history, he was able to discern distinct and recurring patterns, and through his discernment, he was able to frame a Constitution that afforded us the best chance of preventing the tyranny that had afflicted every other society, nation, and empire in history.

Yesterday I was reminded of Madison’s discernment when I reread Dr. McCullough’s essay, The great gamble of COVID-19 vaccine development, which he published in The Hill on August on August 17, 2020. Already then, he recognized Operation Warp Speed for what it was—a giant and reckless gamble with the health and well-being of humanity.

Though I’ve known Peter for two years, I still marveled at the remarkable discernment he revealed in writing this essay and having the confidence to publish it at a time when much of mankind regarded his view of the matter as heresy. Click on the image below to read the essay.