We interrupt this blog for a brief public service message
As the founder, chairman, hizzoner, and El Queso Grande of this blog, I would like a moment of your attention.
Some of you may remember a certain piece of "art" by a fellow named Andres Serrano that caused a bit of a stir. Like many, I too was offended--in my case, because it was boo-ring! Epater le bourgeois may have had a point one or two hundred years ago, but really, who cares what artists think is "transgressive" these days, anyway?
Likewise, I am starting to feel like the contra-Crunchy thing is becoming a little stale. And in my book, that is perhaps the worst crime of them all.
So, I am issuing a challenge. I am going to keep this blog open until the end of July, to see if we can reinvigorate the debate a little. There have been plenty of great posts and comments by everyone here but lately it is starting to feel a little... forced.
Last, I'd like to request that everyone do their part to elevate the tone. I'm certainly not above a good-natured ribbing and great truths are often revealed in parody but I don't want this to merely be a place to burn Rod Dreher in effigy. The bottom line here is to win converts or at least ask some challenging questions.
Cheers,
CC
Some of you may remember a certain piece of "art" by a fellow named Andres Serrano that caused a bit of a stir. Like many, I too was offended--in my case, because it was boo-ring! Epater le bourgeois may have had a point one or two hundred years ago, but really, who cares what artists think is "transgressive" these days, anyway?
Likewise, I am starting to feel like the contra-Crunchy thing is becoming a little stale. And in my book, that is perhaps the worst crime of them all.
So, I am issuing a challenge. I am going to keep this blog open until the end of July, to see if we can reinvigorate the debate a little. There have been plenty of great posts and comments by everyone here but lately it is starting to feel a little... forced.
Last, I'd like to request that everyone do their part to elevate the tone. I'm certainly not above a good-natured ribbing and great truths are often revealed in parody but I don't want this to merely be a place to burn Rod Dreher in effigy. The bottom line here is to win converts or at least ask some challenging questions.
Cheers,
CC
posted by The Snob at 6:34 PM
5 Comments:
Contra, I think Bubba's right. I really don't see any further opportunity for debate, and I haven't for a long while. There's no there there. All there's left to do is criticize Rod. I don't think anyone's burning him in effigy, but sometimes a little mockery is in order.
and I'm still waiting for the requisite daily meditation on the bounty offered by the great god Nutrasweet.
Before coming here I had never bloged except for Rod’s site. At first I did not understand your dissent, but now I understand it a lot better. I agree with some of it, while still agreeing with Rod’s book to a degree. Mostly I agree with the things that I was doing in our little vacuum, before I heard of this whole thing. If I were to offer criticism, the first thing Rod should do is re-write his housing chapter. Gentrified areas are some of the most exclu$ive areas in a lot of big cities in our country. This is out of reach for most people.
As far as food goes most food snobs will eat dog poop if they think it will add to their own personal prestige. They will even evaluate the different flavors, herbaceous with a hint of chocolate and raspberry with a crisp breath of lemon at the finish. Then everyone sits around the table nodding in agreement in some form of mass hallucination. I’ve sat through pretentious evenings with folks, who never once bent their backs to hard physical labor, while they drone on about terroir as they wave their soft pink hands in the air. I don’t want anything to do with food worship, and I could never be a part of something like what I just described. If there will be a future for this site I would like to see you discuss food, but in a humble way, not so much in the Hole-Foods sense but in a sacramental sense. I’d rather eat a moonpie with you guys while discussing serious things than to spend one more minute of my life with the vampires I described above.
I’ve learned much on this site. This is a very interesting niche. One thing that you could discuss in depth is the notion of entrepreneurship as a way to fix some of the problems we have in society. The original subtitle on my site was, “a journey toward self-sufficiency”. All we intended by this was a way to be in control of one’s time and finances in order to do some good in the world. If more of us ran our own businesses it might be a better world. (Yes there is room for brass knuckle Christians in the business world.)
The thing I like most about this site is that we are mostly religious conservatives who are discussing points of disagreement. It is very refreshing to participate where people disagree than to go over to Rod’s blog and yell “word up” to a lot of the posts. I’ve tried to engage you all in order to convince that a lot of us are not a pack of rabid pinkos. Some of what Rod proposes makes good sense from the conservative point of view.
For me a simple life is really not about better tomatoes, it is about offering you the best that we have. In our home you have safe harbor. There is place for the kids to play, a great meal, and good conversation in a Christian home. A place where you can forget your troubles, and speak your mind without retribution. You have had our best when your soul is fed as well as your body.
This is a good site please consider keeping it going.
that Caleb piece is waaaay to long. nice editing!
I just posted this on Rod's blog. Sorry if I misrepresented your postion. I am posting here so you guys can see the challenge I issued.
“Why are you so obsessed with Rod, his supposed sinister motives, his personality, the ways he talks about his religious experience or what foods he likes? If it doesn't float your boat, why do you bother reading it?”
It’s not an obsession in my view. Rod wrote a book about the influence of faith on politics. He created a category of conservatives that may or may not exist. The dissenters have some skin in conservative politics, and I suspect they see Rod's incursion as a weakening of the base. They are pointing out the inconsistencies of Rod's message. For example in this specific case Rod makes negative public statements about our faith as practicing Roman Catholic, and then talks publicly about his infatuation with Orthodoxy. (Disclaimer: I have the same infatuation and respect for Eastern Orthodoxy, but I will not convert.)
When the dissenters pursue Rod he does not engage them. Since he makes his statements publicly in a discussion forum they think that he should debate them on the issues. Hence they keep criticizing his ideas. Rod has the ability via his position in the media to influence thousands of people's decisions on faith and politics.
Here is where they are rightly concerned, Caleb Stegal. Right now the thought of a third party is laughable. However in a perfect storm scenario a power splitting third party scenario could occur in the near future. This would be a bad thing.
If Rod's book were called Crunchy Catholics you would have never heard of Pauli, Contra, Bubba and Kathleen or anyone else I forgot. If they were off point stragglers or whacko’s you would have forgot about them by now. However, they have consistently and intelligently stated their cases against Rod's ideology for a long time now. The problem is Rod does not challenge them on this forum or their own contra crunchy site. By allowing them to drive the debate here unchallenged, he is weakening his own credibility in my view.
I propose the following challenge.
Rod should go out and get some of his high powered Crunchies (Stegall, Larison etc.) and the Contra's should get Goldberg and other dissenters. You have 10 crunchies vs. 10 contras. Create a blog with only the selected 20 participants. Come up with a list of 30 questions, and have a neutral party post them over the course of a month. I volunteer to be the neutral party.
I think I'm done. Thanks for the opportunity. You could always just close comments and use the site for when Bubba finishes his book about Batman and/or his travel guide for Southerners attending college in Pittsburgh.
Post a Comment
<< Home