A Healthy Respect – Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton wrote the following to Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Senator Robert F Kennedy, the brother of President John F Kennedy. Written in December of 1961, Merton’s words are eerily relevant to us today. I’ll let Merton speak for himself and let you, dear reader, judge it’s relevance in your own life as I have in mine.

I think it is going to be of great importance, in the next few months and years, if Americans can regain their healthy respect for reason, for the light of intellect, and get rid of this shallow contempt for “eggheads.” They must learn to respect thought and stop idolizing psychopathic goofs. God knows, this is going to take a miracle. There are plenty of wise and sane men in the country, and they are able to be articulate. They can do a tremendous amount. (Cold War Letters, p. 28)