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Issue 04 – Septuagesima 2021

The Publisher's Desk

The Publisher's Desk

What are questions for?

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A lot of brainpower is spent in our house these days pondering fundamental questions. It is more like homework than self-directed learning, as the topics are chosen by our infant daughter: the school is Sesame Street, the headmaster is Big Bird, and the coursework is mostly drawn from The Sesame Street Platinum All-Time Favorites album (1995, re-issued 2008). 

Much of the album tackles these fundamental questions head-on. What is it like to be green? When I turned inwards and put this question to myself bluntly, I found only the purest invincible ignorance; but Kermit the Frog has devoted considerable thought to the matter. What do I do when I’m alone? With this I’m on somewhat firmer ground. Would you live on the moon if you could, or merely visit? What do you see in the mirror? (For American readers, John Milbank holds up a looking-glass on page 31). Quite a bit of thinking being asked here, you are doubtless saying. What makes a thing trash? Or our daughter’s current favorite: who are the people in your neighborhood? (See J.D. Flynn’s inquiries on page 20).


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