What can tragedy, especially tragedy written long ago on a different continent, teach us about our Constitution? Quite a lot, actually, as Mary Stange's "The Burial at Thebes" argues. This essay uses Antigone, a play by the ancient Greek writer Sophocles, to demonstrate that the idea of separation between church and state is still an important and relevant issue.
The essay cites how, in Antigone, "Antigone's appeal to a higher law, and her assertion that it is both her right and her duty to abide by it... [have] specific relevance to the here and now." She argues that we in America have a certain "pride" in our First Amendment, that dictates the separation of church and state, but that "the intermixture of religious and civil interests" are just as unclear today as it was in Ancient Greece. I have to agree with her here: our government, although supposed to be secular, is still pretty religious. I mean, we still use "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Even with all this debate, though, I think the most important message behind "The Burial at Thebes" is that we can still learn from tragic art. It is not a dead, useless tool. It still reflects the issues and problems of society today, and, in order to thrive, we must learn from it.
The essay cites how, in Antigone, "Antigone's appeal to a higher law, and her assertion that it is both her right and her duty to abide by it... [have] specific relevance to the here and now." She argues that we in America have a certain "pride" in our First Amendment, that dictates the separation of church and state, but that "the intermixture of religious and civil interests" are just as unclear today as it was in Ancient Greece. I have to agree with her here: our government, although supposed to be secular, is still pretty religious. I mean, we still use "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Even with all this debate, though, I think the most important message behind "The Burial at Thebes" is that we can still learn from tragic art. It is not a dead, useless tool. It still reflects the issues and problems of society today, and, in order to thrive, we must learn from it.