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Why did you join? Testimonials from our members

"I have been sent the newsletter for long. Most of the issues dealt with at the HAC are of the utmost importance. The introductory paragraph of the current membership drive has touched me deeply, in special its final words: "In such a world, Arendt argues, the fear of concentration camps and total domination invalidates all political differentiations and serves as 'the politically most important yardstick for judging events in our time, namely: whether they serve totalitarian domination or not.'" This helped me to overcome my doubts - why does a person living in a parochial city in the very south of the planet should join a center in the USA? - and decide to support the HAC. We share common big risks. And Arendt's works help us to understand this risks."
- Carlos Henrique Horn

"The VRG energizes me every week. Summer doldrums are a drag. Quite ready to get sustained reading going again. And it is though the VRG that I've started to make important connections. We established a small working group on Ukraine!"
-Jason Winn

"I had hoped to write my master's thesis on Hannah Arendt's idea of forgiveness from the Human Condition back in 1980. Things worked out differently, and I didn't go back to Catholic University the next year. I still have a tremendous interest in HA, and discovering the HAC earlier this year has been a Godsend. With a little luck, after my retirement from active parish ministry in 5 years, I may go back and finish that master's degree. If I do, hearing the profound and invaluable discussions about HA will make me much more thoughtful about her than when I was 22 years old."
-Fr. Sinclair Oubre

"The central problems of Hannah Arendt's thought continue to haunt our society today: the crisis of democracy, the refugee crisis, the crisis of state authority, individual responsibility and, needless to say, the banality of evil. Her work should be read with the utmost attention by those of us who live after the circumstances she reflects on but which seem to return continually. I understand that she did not define herself as a philosopher, but she is probably the kind of philosophy we need: the sensitivity to understand."
-Diolinda Ramírez-Gutiérrez

The HAC is a space that has inspired my daily life and has contributed enormously to my training as a humanist. Thanks to all the people who make the Virtual Reading Group a plural space.
- Denisse Mendoza Jaimes

Psychoanalysis needs ways to think about the psychic life of power/social relations and has much to contribute to further understanding of how the human kind of being creates and needs or lives in a embedded matrix of power relations that inexorably have psychic life.
- David Brooks

Being a member the past several years has certainly nudged me and expanded my thinking...in ways I wasn't prepared for though I assumed I was well acquainted with Arendt's ideas already. Maybe now more than ever I was able to see and hear this in a deeper way...and we all truly need to dig deep, look back, understand where we are today, and look forward IF we hope to continue to oppose, challenge and criticize our leaders and our countrymen and ourselves.
—Lee Lindenlaub

The VRG meetings helped me to get through the isolation of the quarantine, and gave me a pleasant sense of belonging to this exciting/thoughtful human (although virtual) community. I enjoyed very much listening to other people’s thoughts and experiences while discovering Hannah Arendt’s books and teachings. I appreciate that and intend to keep participating. 
—Umsza Marcelo
 
The dialogue and open discourse provided by the Center within the framework of Hannah Arendt's work is vitally important as it provides an offset to the  prevailing cognitive malfunction. This offering by Roger Berkowitz and crew is a real gift and I am glad to contribute to their effort.
—Harold Bush

I deeply appreciate the balance and quality of thought you bring - your ethos is inspiring and gratifying on many levels. 
—David Bell, PHD

The Hannah Arendt reading group has been so exciting for me these past few months - very happy to support this center!
—Benjamin Holmes

After reading about the virtual reading group in the NYT I was intrigued to see what it was all about. I have LOVED the sessions. They are challenging, yet accessible and I'm amazed at the perspectives and insights. Thank you.
—Mary O'Neill

I have enjoyed Arendt for years and the Arendt Center's Reading Group more recently. The updates from the center have been great, and I am finally in an economic position to give something back.

—Garrett Tur