“The Lottery,” Jackson’s famous short story, has fascinated readers for years with its unexpected and chilling ending. Included with the story of a troubling but powerful modern essay, “The Lottery Revisited” by Kay Haugaard, which is about her experiences in teaching this story though the years and her students’ increasing acceptance of the unthinkable. Together they raise hard questions about subjectivity and truth in a free society.
History abounds with examples of brave individuals who courageously told the truth, often challenging authority in the process. The Spring 2013 Trinity Forum Reading, “Telling Truth to Kings,” ably illustrates the high cost of truth-telling through the story of a humble priest who challenges imperial Spain’s treatment of “new world” peoples.
German dissident Reinhold Schneider wrote the story in the 1930s to speak out against the totalitarianism of the Nazi regime, and “Telling Truth to Kings” prompts readers to consider how power, justice, and courage impact truth-telling today.
In this reading, Os considers the sociological and governmental impact of the theme of ‘covenantalism’ in the formation of the US Constitution.
This value for covenant, a mutually binding civil pledge, was integral to ancient Jewish culture, was born out of the Mosaic Covenant established at Mt Sinai, and was expressed nearly three millennia later in 1517 at the beginning of the Reformation. Shaped by this movement in Europe, in the 18th century, a nascent United States envisaged freedom as government by the people, of the people, and for the people, as President Lincoln later described it, with direct roots in a robust understanding of covenant.
Though this reading is not currently available for purchase, similar themes of covenant and freedom are discussed to great depth in Os’ book, Last Call for Liberty, which can be ordered at Amazon.com.
“The Lottery,” Jackson’s famous short story, has fascinated readers for years with its unexpected and chilling ending. Included with the story of a troubling but powerful modern essay, “The Lottery Revisited” by Kay Haugaard, which is about her experiences in teaching this story though the years and her students’ increasing acceptance of the unthinkable. Together they raise hard questions about subjectivity and truth in a free society.