Albert Jay Nock wrote a wonderful essayin 1936 called “Isaiah’s Job”. In the essay, Isaiah is tasked by the Lord to go to the masses and let them know that they have totally lost their way, become corrupt, and that no more nonsense will be tolerated. Isaiah is to tell them that they’re completely wrecked and broken, and they need to straighten up – and this is their last chance. Isaiah is thrilled with the task, but then he’s told that it won’t do any good. Shocked and curious as to why he should bother talking to the masses in the first place, the Lord says:
“Ah," the Lord said, "you do not get the point. There is a Remnantthere that you know nothing about. They are obscure, unorganized, inarticulate, each one rubbing along as best he can. They need to be encouraged and braced up because when everything has gone completely to the dogs, they are the ones who will come back and build up a new society; and meanwhile, your preaching will reassure them and keep them hanging on. Your job is to take care of the Remnant, so be off now and set about it."
I read this essay for the first time many years ago and I never forgot about it. Anyone reading this who has had unpopular or unapproved thoughts, or asked insightful and difficult questions in class knows what I’m talking about. Most people belong to The Masses – people who do nothing but repeat what they’re told and parrot secondhand ideas. I have had some real independent thinkers and intellectually curious students over the past 24 years – I remember all their names. I always thought of Nock’s essay when they came to class and fearlessly contributed to the discussion. Was there actually a Remnant or was it just a nifty turn of phrase on Nock’s part?
The Remnant that Nock mentioned in his essay is out there, and I think I now have proof.
For decades, the school system has gotten watered down, concerned with frivolities, slowly chipping away at a system that was, if not good, at least dedicated to imparting the Educational Basics to its students. One of the ways that our Rulers ruined the system was they replaced difficult reading material with easy material – usually faddish nonsense that was supposed to “speak to the modern student.”
Yeah right.
There is a growing movement to return school to the olden days methods, teaching literature that is challenging, directed, and multidimensional. Parents want to feed their children intellectual steak and potatoes for dinner – not pop tarts. The literature of our grandparents was rich in both language and meaning. They were pushed and challenged by it and their grasp of grammar and English proves it. My mother is 72 years old and can tell you, with ease, the difference between a transitive verb and an intransitive verb. Can you do that? You don’t have to answer.
This growing group of people is hungry for a return of what worked for children in the past. The Junior Classics from 1918 are back on the market. There is a fund-raising campaign to get them published and delivered to customers. A generation of Americans was raised on these books. They can be difficult at times, but they’re full of nuance, adventure, and artistic style.
They wanted to raise $28,000 for the project. They’ve raised … $202,000. Over 700% of what they asked, and there are still 25 days left in the campaign. Someone is tired of the weak, lifeless and dull material in school these days, and they’re talking with their wallets.
Maybe it’s the Remnant.
Douglas Marolla
MVHS English – Room 227
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