Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists of the mid 19th century were an important part of my liberal arts education. How exciting and freeing it was to learn that revelation is not sealed in a book, but revelations, moments of image and insights that give new understandings of the whole big picture are available to all of us in our lives and to our imaginations.

How upsetting it was to learn this month that North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory is cutting funding for liberal arts programs in our public universities. He says he believes there are too many degrees in liberal arts and he is not going to fund something “that’s not going to get someone a job.” That kind of thinking doesn’t help open us to the future and a better world, it tries to seal revelation in the Governor’s book.