He has been dead for decades now. I never met him. Yet his television series Civilisation is a constant resource for me. His calm, measured, learned voice holds forth still. He was a master narrator above all else. His observations about what makes a society a civilization constantly intrigue me. Right now, as I write, he is talking about the preservation of the basic texts of Western civilization by Irish monks. 

I suppose you could argue about his perspective and points of emphasis, but he knew his subject and his view is a jumping off point for other perspectives.

When I consider my day, the events, both positive and negative, I feel agitated and attached to the situations and outcomes. I am reliving the experiences in my brain. Ken’s story (he preferred to be called Ken) is uplifting, positive, calming. His narrative of human achievement, informed and inspired by faith, at least in the early chapters, is reassuring. We have a culture far greater than the scoundrels who aspire to the power to direct it.