A Dedication

In our emotive age, attempts at reasoned discourse tend to generate much heat and little light.  We’re good at sound-bite screaming matches and touchy-feely affirmation sessions, but find ourselves painfully inept at constructive argumentation.  In addition, lacking any comprehensive social-intellectual tradition in which to situate ourselves, we wayward moderns tend to cope by clinging tight to the popular factions of our day.  We draw hard and fast (and often arbitrary) party lines in the sand.  We insulate ourselves from more than merely superficial interaction with viewpoints not our own.

beyond-the-barricadeBeyond the Barricade represents one attempt to sidestep these fervent but uncritical partisan wars, offering rational reflections on the good life in their stead.  Our writers—mostly young orthodox rebels of one stripe or another—will work to flesh out the eternal principles that ought to inform a life well lived.  In an attempt to overcome the stale stalemate of contemporary political dialogue, we will do our best to apply such principles to the woefully unprincipled age in which we live.


We are blessed to be launching this channel at Ethika Politika, the online journal of the Center for Morality in the Public Life.  We are grateful to CFMPL for hosting us, and excited to begin this journey together.



An Elucidation

Why “beyond the barricade”?  Because Les Miserables—the Golden Globes’ picture of the year, and hopefully soon the Oscars’ as well—serves as a particularly appropriate jumping off point for this new discussion.  The slogan appears twice in the course of the film, first in the famous military cadence “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and then again in the “Epilogue.”  The line operates very differently in the two spots, but both instances are relevant to the project at hand.


In the former case, the revolutionaries of the June Rebellion of 1832 adopt the phrase as their battle cry against the perceived injustices of early nineteenth century France: “Will you join in our crusade?  Who will be strong and stand with me? / Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see? / Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!”  The morally dubious elements of the French Revolution notwithstanding, this expression of discontent with social injustice is laudable, and worthy of our emulation.  It is a sentiment we will echo frequently at Beyond the Barricade.  We men have been appointed stewards of creation, and despite Cain’s objections to the contrary, we are our brothers’ keepers.  Thus anticipating and striving for improvement in this earthly life constitutes an essential ingredient in basic moral living.  And though it was not the revolutionaries’ intention, their “beyond the barricade” motif also gestures nicely towards just responses that look beyond crude violent rebellion.  Such alternatives will occupy much of our thought here.


The second time the line is sung in Les Miserables is in its final scene, when the Communion of Saints welcomes Jean Valjean into their heavenly rank.  The once hostile idiom is then transfigured into a holy encouragement, as the saints cheer on the most miserable members of the Church Militant.  Unlike the revolutionaries, the saints’ beatific battle cry expects not merely earthly progress, but looks forward to the eternal perfection of all things in the life to come.  It reminds us of the virtue that will guide every conversation we have here: Hope.


Thus the “beyond the barricade” theme works on two dimensions, and so also will this channel.  We will reflect both on the eternal principles that ought to direct the social, political, and moral life of man, and on the particular applications of those principles in the here and now.  Coupling philosophical abstractions with rubber-meets-the-road prudence, Beyond the Barricade will advance a new conversation on where we ought to go from here.


An Invitation


This, dear readers, is where you come in.  We want you to enrich this conversation by bringing your own voices to the table as well.  As Les Mis’ revolutionary leader Enjolras would have it, “It is time for us all to decide who we are… / The color of the world is changing day by day.”

Contact me here if you ever care to complement the discussion here with your own contributions.  Regardless, know you always have a home at Beyond the Barricade.



Do you hear the people sing?
Michael W. Hannon