The Coddling of the American Mind

I had heard about this book for years. In fact, during a sermon earlier this spring, I even referenced it. I quoted it- not just a line, but a whole paragraph. I reflected significantly on an argument from the book in that sermon and had a rather unpleasant email exchange with someone debating that idea. And yet, despite all of that, I had never read The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt (2018). Until, that is, a few weeks ago when a young adult connected with our church texted me. He said that he had read that book after I referenced it and wanted to chat with me about the book. Specifically, he wanted to talk about the authors’ concept of “safetyism” because he was seeing it everywhere. That’s when I had to confess the truth of my ignorance. And to read the book already!

The Big Idea

“This is a book about wisdom and its opposite” (263). Do you see what I did there? Quoting from the end of the book proves I finally read it (right?). In any case, the second part of that summary appears to be the main focus of the book: the opposite of wisdom. The opposite of wisdom, in this case, is embodied by three great “untruths”. If you’ve been in touch with the rhetoric around social issues over the last decade, you’ll easily recognize these. #1: “What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker”. #2: “Always trust your feelings.” #3: “Life is a battle between good people and evil people.” For the remainder of the book, Lukianoff and Haidt provide illustrations of these “untruths” at work, especially on university campuses. They give us six strands- movements in our culture- that have contributed to their emergence. Finally, there are some practical words about the way forward for parents and educators. Perhaps the most poignant piece of advice, repeated a number of times throughout the book, is an old folk adage: “prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.” That, my parenting friends, contains a boatload of wisdom!

What’s interesting is reading this book in 2021. In 2018, the authors aren’t optimistic about their current state of affairs, but they are hopeful that the course will soon be corrected. Of course, one year after the book was published, the world was introduced to the COVID-19 pandemic. Has this event sparked a turning from the “three great untruths”? Or has it exacerbated and accelerated a movement towards them? Can we read a book like this and gain a better understanding why certain aspects of our society have responded the way they have to the threat of the virus?

There’s something provocative there, for sure. At one point, the authors refer to an elementary school in London, England, that had forbidden children from touching snow. Why? Because, according to the head teacher, “it only takes one student, one piece of grit, one stone in a snowball in an eye with an injury and we change our view”. The authors conclude, “that is the epitome of safetyism (more on that below): if we can prevent one child from getting hurt, we should deprive all children of slightly risky play” (236). I quote this not to deny that some measures taken over the last year and a half in response to the virus have been appropriate. But I do quote it to point out that the seeds for some forms of pandemic response are not entirely healthy, and that they were sown long before this pandemic.

#1 Strength

The Coddling of the American Mind (by the way, the adjective American in the title should not dissuade Canadians and others from reading it- it’s very relevant to a culture much broader than “American”) is clearly critical of much of the dominant mindset of our day. Especially when it comes to emerging generations. But the strength of this book is that it is written with an even-handed, and even compassionate, tone. What they have to say is communicated thoughtfully and carefully, thoroughly backed up by research. There is no rage here, no patronizing. And while the criticism is especially aimed at what’s taking place on university campuses, blame is shared across the generations.

It is also written, in some ways, by “insiders”. Both Haidt and Lukianoff identify as politically left-of-centre, though much of their critique is of leftist institutions. Haidt is an academic, and it is academic institutions that bear the heaviest blows here.

The point is that this is not a bridge-burning diatribe written by angry conservatives. The diagnosis is delivered with pinpoint accuracy, and it is delivered in a manner and by people that the intended audience may actually be receptive and responsive to.

#1 Weakness

I think the greatest thing about books like this is that they diagnose the worldviews held by many in our culture and reveal the pitfalls inherent to them. But- and I realize this is very much distinct to my perspective as a Christian and as a pastor- I don’t believe the prognosis is nearly adequate. One contributing thread that is never explored in the book is the widespread decline of Christian faith in the Western world. (Neither Haidt nor Lukianoff give any indication of possessing religious faith themselves). This decline has taken place at exactly the same time as the rise of safetyism and its associated “untruths”. Could it be that in a world that has lost its belief in the transcendent, and specifically in a world that has lost any solid basis for eternal hope, death becomes that much…scarier? That it becomes the worst thing that can happen, and thus anything that might lead to it is to be avoided at all costs? “If you don’t have your physical health, you don’t have anything”, some will say. But a Christian should not say that. A Christian’s central call is to be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel (Mark 8:34).

If at least one of the causes of the rise of safetyism is the loss of something like a Judeo-Christian worldview, is one of the antidotes to safetyism a robust understanding of the hope and purpose of Christian discipleship? Of course, I would say it is the antidote. But that’s a discussion for another time…

One standout quote

This book popularized the term “safetyism”. This was the quote I shared in my sermon, the quote that got me in trouble, and the quote that finally prompted me to read the book!

“‘Safetyism’ refers to a culture or belief system in which safety has become a sacred value, which means that people become unwilling to make trade-offs demanded by other practical and moral concerns. ‘Safety’ trumps everything else, no matter how unlikely or trivial the potential danger.”

Page 30

Does any part of that ring true with what we have seen over the last two years?

Wrap-up

Here’s the wrap-up.

Accessible (can almost anyone pick it up and understand it?): 7 / 10

Engaging (will people enjoy reading it?): 9 / 10

Beneficial (will people benefit from reading it?): 9 / 10

Fresh (does it cover new ground or provide new insights on familiar topics?): 10 / 10

Faithful (is it consistent with the Scriptures?): 5 / 10

Best readers: parents (including of young children), older students (high school, post-secondary and beyond), educators, as well as anyone wanting to gain a greater understanding of the cultural moment we find ourselves in.