Blog Watch: A critique of the 'Hanna Coulter' discussion on NPR

Today the second hour of the Dianne Rehm Show consisted of a discussion on Wendell Berry's Hanna Coulter. Needless to say, the ability of the commentators to miss the point was entirely unastounding.

More disconcerting than one commentator's positing that Berry returned to farming do to nostalgia for cow patties, was the Episcopal bishop's recommendation to a caller - "preaching" as she called it. To the man who spoke of his desire to have the type connection to community in place that Berry writes so eloquently about, she recommended seeking out a mosque, temple or "…um…what's it called again… oh right… church." Such communities still exist there, she asserts. Simply ridiculous. Seeking out similar people based on self identity, due to dissatisfaction with not knowing one's neighbors, is not in anyway similar to a connection to a real community based in place.

via pactum-serva.blogspot.com