Here’s a quote that makes me want to stand up and applaud the Qohelet of Ecclesiastes (in A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up: A Rereading of Ecclesiastes)

Wisdom . . . includes the free exercise of intellect. . . . Wisdom means lucidity, the ability to stare into the darkness and say honestly what one sees. Qohelet chooses this uncomfortable path and pursues it with determination, even zest.

May we all follow.