Give Me No Epiphanies - Essay Example

26 July Political Epiphany in Give Us Liberty In “Against Epiphanies,” Charles Baxter defines and criticizes epiphanies. He describes an epiphany as a “radiant” moment wherein people see themselves and their society in a better light (56). Baxter questions the use of epiphanies, however, because it has been increasingly commercialized nowadays and those who proclaim that they have epiphanies tend to lack intellectual and spiritual wisdom. “Against Epiphanies” illuminate the ideas in Give Us Liberty because the latter demonstrates the epiphany of what good governance must look like from Arney and Kibbe’s views, a restricted government where politicians stand for the principles of personal liberty and autonomy and the people lobby for the restoration of these principles in the government.

Arney and Kibbe are against the epiphany of Republicans that they should be more like Democrats to win, and instead, they stress that the latter must focus on the progressive ideals of good governance. Arney and Kibbe explain that Republicans should go back to their fundamental beliefs, where the people must control the government, and not the other way around. “Against Epiphanies” demonstrates that their epiphany about governance is radiant because for Arney and Kibbe, only a restricted government can resolve American society’s and government’s ills.

Their epiphany lies in contradiction to the Democratic epiphany that America needs more government because they argue that the government needs more people who have personal liberty and autonomy to make individual and collective decisions. They also criticize the rise of Big Corporations that support and benefit from Big Government. Hence, Arney and Kibbe see themselves in a new light, where they persuade people to work together through small contributions and actions, so that they can change their government and put control back to the people.

“Against Epiphanies” demonstrates that Give Us Liberty is a political epiphany because of what Arney and Kibbe discover about civil society and the government. They realized that they do not need to be politicians to promote social and political changes. They only have to gather enough mass influence to pressure politicians to change their politics by going back to the essential principles that can make the U.S. a great country once more- the principles of individual freedom and autonomy, not the principles of Big Government and Big Corporations.

Works CitedArmey, Dick, and Matt Kibbe. Give Us Liberty. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 2010. Print.Baxter, Charles. “Against Epiphanies.” Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction.2nd ed. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Graywolf, 2008. Print.