Every morning on my way to campus, I pass the spot where Abraham Lincoln spoke. Gettysburg AddressHe dedicated a cemetery where Union soldiers killed in battle are buried.
My mind is inevitably on other things — the lecture I'm about to give, the student papers I'm grading, the shopping list my wife just emailed me — but as I reach the peach orchard where Pickett charged, all of that stops for a moment and my thoughts turn to deeper questions of sacrifice, service, and freedom.
A few seconds later, a stoplight brought me back to reality, and I took in the sights of McDonald's, a Best Western, and Tommy's Pizza.
This intersection separates sacred ground from mere real estate.
Real estate is land commodified, land used as a means to a financial end, an investment developed for profit. Sacred land, on the other hand, is sacred ground. Perhaps it is Little Round TopBecause of what happened there, or Soldiers' National Cemetery, It depends on who is buried there. Sometimes, like the Grand Canyon, it is revered for its grandeur. In either case, the place is specially set aside to allow all to connect with the deeper values it represents.
The very notion of a sacred place was called into question last week. At Arlington National Cemetery, former President Trump's press corps The law prohibits partisan events.He stood before the grave of a fallen Marine, flashed a big smile and gave a thumbs up. Used in election ads.
At the same time, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican) Install golf courses and pickleball courts In state parks, areas that had been set aside for natural beauty would be repurposed for practical purposes.
In both cases, the idea that these were sacred places designated for solemnity was rejected for shallow self-interest.
Lest you think this is a partisan issue, the Gettysburg cemetery was dedicated by Republican President Lincoln and the national park was Established By Republican President Teddy Roosevelt. Traditionally, both the Democratic and Republican parties have been committed to the sacred confines of our nation.
But the death of the sacred and its resurrection for crude commercial or sectarian use is not limited to space but also permeates time.
Over the past decade, the idea that Thanksgiving is an odious event has become culturally entrenched. What was once an annual re-enactment of Thanksgiving has become Norman RockwellThe scene of family unity where the whole family gathers together to count their blessings, eat too much and watch football is now An unholy political battlefield.
We all have that one uncle who turns the day into a partisan battlefield of anger and division. How many spouses silently promise not to react to politics and give “that look” across the table in an attempt to maintain the appearance of family unity? Thanksgiving is a key holiday in our nation's official religion, a national moment of gratitude for the privileges and gifts we share as Americans. But that sacred time is now being desecrated.
This is more than unfortunate collateral damage in a culture war. What we together hold sacred defines our collective Constitution. What we designate as beyond exploitation represents a statement of the people, for the people, and by the people about the shared values to which we swear, values that form the moral and intellectual pulse of our nation, values that make us who we are.
Scraping away sacred space and time is no trivial matter. It is the paper on which our social contract is written. We need disagreements, diverse ideas, and passionate debate, but such civil dialogue requires a universal commitment to the values embedded in our connections to special spaces and special times. We must respect that.
Stephen Gimbel is the William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy at Gettysburg College. His publications include: “Einstein: His Space and Time” and “Isn't That Wise?: The Philosophy of Humor and Comedy.” Stephen Stern is a professor of Jewish studies at Gettysburg College. His books include: “The Liberation of Isaac” and “Get your wicked son back”
