Beyond traditionalism and progressivism, or against hardening of the categories (Meditations on themes of freedom while eschewing so-called "sentimental humanism")

The categories of progressive versus traditional no longer serve a purpose other than to label thinkers and thought, engage in ideological combat, and deflect attention from the truly important and vexing issues of the day. A ny nuanced thinker must take account of the past and what it has deeded to the present. So the question is: How and in what ways do we interpret, refl ect upon, and bring forward received doctrine, wisdom, and lived example if we are to avoid the twin pitfalls of rigid traditionalism or arrogant "pre sentism"? Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Vaclav Havel have grappled intelligently with such matters and help us, in subtle ways, to be faithful and brave. Th e essay concludes with meditations on the theme of freedom, our current dis torted understanding of this powerful term, and why a "sentimental humanism " does not serve decent and complex human purposes.