I grew up in the anxious period immediately after Sputnik, when, for a moment, and, at least through the eyes of an elementary-school kid in central Texas, education was a serious priority. I seem to recall a zeal in my teachers; they were people on a mission, and we all seemed to sense that the stakes were high. It was a crossroad, a time for great decisions and even greater commitments: Kennedy’s challenge to send a human being to the moon seemed strangely personal — and I was not alone in hearing it that way. At least, that’s the way I experienced it. Through the eyes of my adulthood, with (I hope!) more maturity and sophistication, I see other narratives at play in that moment, narratives that many of us wanted not to see. It is, of course, our responsibility to dig into those sub- and super-texts that inform experience in any present moment, so we can live fuller, more autonomous lives. But the prevailing sentiment of that time was its momentousness.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we need that zeal for intellectual exploration more than ever — and this time, it’s about much more than math and science and not “losing” the Space Race. Now, I think, it’s about finding our way back to what we know about the human condition, about our frailties, our failings, our anxieties, as much as our capacity for knowledge and creation and play. All those roads, my friends, lead us back into the liberal arts. By which I mean the original meaning of ars liberalis: the knowledge and skills that free people need to engage in self-governance and genuine community.

You’ve heard me say this before: What we do with and for each other — in our relationships as much as our classrooms — has consequences. We can’t afford to lose anyone with a student’s spirit; I believe the stakes are that high. There is, I know, some controversy about the etymology of the word education, but I’m attracted to a vision built around educare, “to lead out.” Those of us a little further along life’s paths have the heavy responsibility to lead people out from whatever it is that makes us smaller, that provokes our fear, that makes us distance ourselves and dehumanize others to assuage our own anxieties so we make ourselves feel stronger. That’s no small vocation. But the stakes are that high, that we should strive to save the world.

You and I have our beliefs and our commitments, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with believing. But, in our interactions and connections, let’s remind ourselves that commitments are welcome — as long as we take the same care to find strengths in the beliefs we oppose as we do in appreciation our own cherished beliefs, and as long as we search as diligently for the weaknesses in our own opinions as we so easily do in the opinions of others.

The soul of ars liberalis, those arts of free people, is not to domesticate truth, but to seek truth, wherever that may take us. The gaps between our most cherished commitments is where Truth loves to hide.

Our pursuit of the ideals of seeking truth in a community of fellow seekers is more important than ever. Think of the narratives you live and repeat, the perspectives you encourage others to adopt, the arguments, the systems, the interpretations: These are all tools for the sake of something greater than being right or looking smart or winning a debate — or an election. They are instruments for rediscovering who and what we are, the good and the bad, and for reaffirming what we can make of ourselves through our beliefs and our decisions.

In this present moment of unrest and uncertainty, let’s renew our commitment to model those values and the use of those instruments, for the sake of our communities — for our friends, our families, and especially for those with different perspectives.

Take care of yourselves, find strength in your connections to each other, and care for the people who enter your life with the same commitment to those values we cherish as free, self-governing people.

No matter what the outcome of this election, we have momentous work to do. And even though it may sound naïve or cheesy, I believe that those liberal arts can save the world.

Live your virtue.