Wise Giants and Arrogant Dwarves

In the 12th century Bernard of Chartres first pointed out that we have more knowledge than those who came before us not because of our greater intelligence and understanding, but because we are "dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants," and can see farther because of the accumulated achievements of generation after generation of intellectual pioneers who preceded us.

The arrogance of modernity's dwarves stems from rejecting the tragic wisdom of the past upon whose shoulders we sit. But rather than keeping that wisdom alive and passing it on to the next generation, progressives either ignore or demonize the very foundations of their own existence. And as traditional wisdom and history have frequently shown us, sooner or later, the bill for that hubris will come due, and we will have to pay the price.