At 8 p.m. next Tuesday, Oct. 21, students are faced with a choice of how to spend the last night before fall break begins (besides studying for their last midterms, of course). In the Dow Center Rooms A&B, Gregory Wolfe — conservative author, Hillsdale College graduate, founder and editor of Image, a national journal of art, faith, and mystery — will be speaking on “Conservatism and the Arts: A Lover’s Quarrel”. In the Roche Sports Complex, Sen. Mike Lee from Utah will be speaking on…something unspecified.
We’re all lucky to attend a school that can attract such illustrious speakers to address the student body; however, it’s not ideal to have the events conflict with each other. No offense to Sen. Lee, but in the unfortunate circumstances we’re presented with, I urge students to attend Wolfe’s lecture on Tuesday night.
Wolfe is one of Hillsdale College’s most influential graduates, called “one of the most incisive and persuasive voices of our generation” by celebrated author Rob Hansen. He’s finally being recognized by his alma mater as part of a two-day celebration for the 25th anniversary of Image, the literary journal he founded and publishes.
A conservative who studied under Russell Kirk when he attended Hillsdale, Wolfe graduated and chose to spend his energies for the conservative cause not as a culture warrior or policy wonk but by working to create a place in culture for religious expression and true conservative sentiment free from ideology.
“The rise of extreme partisanship, abstract ideologies, and tendency for conservatives to preach to the choir has created a landscape that has little to do with the rich tradition of conservatism I learned at Hillsdale,” Wolfe said in my interview with him. (B1)
This focus on art and faith is not to denigrate the importance of political action. Rather, it stems from a fuller understanding of where politics come from. As Andrew Breitbart was well known for noting, “politics is downstream from culture.” This is the same insight that leads me to encourage all my fellow students to learn from what Wolfe has to say as a man at the fore of Christian art and literature. The best way, and perhaps the only way, to truly “win” in politics is to make a culture hospitable to conservative ideas. The law may teach, but art teaches better — it has a wider reach, a longer-lasting impact, and a deeper lesson. The lessons of art are complex and challenging, but they are what sustain the true political and social change, far upstream from Washington.
In addition, Hillsdale often plays host to politicians and commentators. In comparison to the billows of punditry our campus and the Kirby Center see regularly, an opportunity to hear a leading figure in the world of conservative Christian art is a breath of fresh air.
The entire Image celebration is an opportunity to indulge. Husband and wife Erin McGraw and Andrew Hudgins are hugely celebrated writers, and a free concert from Over the Rhine on Monday night should be taken advantage of. The two-day event is full of rare opportunities to meet and learn from some huge cultural names; it would be a shame for anyone to miss.
