Interview with a Statue

 Author’s Note: The following interview was conducted in Harvard Yard, sometime in the early morning hours of the second day of January, in the Year of Our Lord 2024. It cannot be ascertained what exactly happened to the statue of the Reverand John Harvard which stands in said Yard, but in some magical fashion, the statue “came alive” – if a thing made of bronze can become animate and speak. The interviewer – this author – affirms that she witnessed the transformation, and that, at the statue’s instigation, she engaged in a somewhat startling exchange, the transcript of which she now presents to you.

JH (statue): Ahem, young lady!

EFGH (author): Good morning, reverend Sir! What has happened to you?

JH: I have been given a brief time in which to speak what is on the heart and mind of the founder of this institute of higher education.

EFGH: Excuse me, reverend Sir! I have been told that you are not the founder of Harvard; you were merely one of its contributors.

JH: Dear Lady, the exact path as to why my name has been attached to this foundation is lost in the mists of time, but it was my behest and legacy that provided the funds and the library to start the educational proceedings back in the 1600’s, and that fact was ratified by the erection of this statue in the 1800’s. Cannot you accept the plain testimony of tradition?

EFGH: Forgive me, honored Sir! I meant no disrespect…

JH: The continued libel against my name[i] is but one aspect of a current trend of educational misinformation to and deliberate misleading of those who are most vulnerable to powerful teachers. One John Dewey started that trend at Columbia University in the 1920’s, and used his considerable influence to dismantle classical training in reason and critical thinking in favor of what he called “operationalism,” which essentially bends and twists facts to fit preconceived narratives of political progressivism.[ii]

EFGH: Sir, I am well aware of some of the unfortunate trends now occurring in education in the United States and other places. How has that led us to today’s encounter? What has disturbed your well-deserved slumber in this hallowed yard?

JH: A desecration is about to occur, and I weep to have to witness it.

EFGH: What desecration, Sir?

JH: In a few hours, a woman who was entrusted with the care of the professors and students at this university will resign, because she could not be enjoined to speak the truth.

EFGH: What truth is that, honored Sir?

JH: That the lives of innocent men, women, children, and babies of the Jewish faith are precious in God’s sight…

EFGH: Sir, I do not understand your meaning.

JH: I may be essentially a cold bronze statue, but I saw across the miles the Hamas slaughter on October 7, 2023, of the people I just mentioned. I have witnessed the continuing torture of those taken hostage by the merciless band of thugs. Furthermore, I witnessed the demonstrations that occurred in support of these horrors at my very feet on the grounds of Harvard Yard. And – more to the point – I beheld the cold-hearted witness of a woman chosen by the Harvard elites to lead this university, who testified that the call for the genocide of Jews was a matter of “context,” not condemnation. My bronze heart began to stir that day. Today, that woman is stepping down from her leadership position, but she is not resigning her powerful influence over my beloved institution. She is still a professor drawing nearly a million-dollar salary. If I could shed tears, I would.

[Stunned pause]

EFGH: Sir, what is to be done? How can we remedy this egregious affront to your memory and legacy?

JH: Cold, stone hearts have to melt and acknowledge the veritas [truth] of Harvard’s founding. It cannot be just a place for the exchange of current theories and trite memes. It must return to a place of truth, goodness, and right thinking. Otherwise, it will follow all the great Western centers of learning that have become dusty repositories of cold, dead ideas that have led to the devastating world conflicts of the last century.

EFGH: And where should we start that reclamation?

JH: I suggest they start at the beginning – and where I ended my life: with God in the Scriptures.

At this proclamation, the statue of John Harvard once again assumed its rigid bronze form. This author stood dumbfounded at what she had just witnessed.

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[i] For more information on the statue and its founding, please refer to “Statue of John Harvard. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_John_Harvard

[ii] Bulle, Nathalie. “What Is Wrong with Dewey’s Theory of Knowledge.” National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France. Vol. 5, No, 21, 2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/ergo.12405314.0005.021