We are increasingly ignorant, but we do not know enough to be properly ashamed. If we are determined to get on in life, we believe it will not have anything to do with our ability to reference Machiavelli or Adam Smith at the office Christmas party. The rejection of the Great Books signifies a declining belief in the value of anything without a direct practical application, combined with the triumph of a passive entertainment—as anyone who teaches college students can probably affirm.
Funny. I see that the author of this article went to Father Judge High, So did I, and I was familiar with Nietzsche and seem to recall discussions with some of my teachers about him - probably Father Travers. Since Nietzsche only asserts a lot of stuff about religion without ever really arguing anything about it, I suppose quoting him in religion class would come down to, "You and the Church say this, Father, but Nietzsche says ..."
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