for those about to rock

an irony-free merry christmas to all

i thought i'd take a moment to offer anyone reading this GENUINE good tidings for christmas, because God knows we'll have plenty of 20-something academic hacks/pissants taking the opportunity to undermine today's holiday online or on tv or the radio or wherever with petty politicization.

these are the same people who make it a point to adopt and loudly portray liberalism because it's fashionable and convenient and perhaps even expected, and who in their heart of hearts couldn't honestly give two shits about the meek or elderly or poor or sick or hungry or outcast or otherwise needy or otherwise helpless people of america and of the world (as, say, Jesus did) because such empathy worn on the sleeve or in actual practice isn't sexy, and doesn't play well among hipsters whose big political and philosophical education in life came from watching the movie "fight club". they're the same people who arrogantly ignore that a christian is equipped like any other human being with a mind capable of critical thought, and that the Bible is a collection of deeply-metaphorical documents that many christians feel requires interpretation via the critical mind, rather than taking it all in at literal face value, and that many of these same christians arrive at staunchly liberal life perspectives as a result of a deeper reading of and meditation on scripture. they're the same people that denounce the far right for racism and bigotry and misogyny and otherwise reductive world views but are only too happy to practice pigeon-holing and blanket generalizing from the left. they're the same people who doggedly make it known that they respect the sanctity of other, more exotic world religions, but who have no reservations about picking up a chic ironic Jesus action figure at newbury comics to project hipster solidarity.

that's probably more than i've had to say on the subject of christianity in the specific and of religion in general in quite a long time. it's certainly the first time i've addressed it on this blog. like most fellow liberals, i adhere to the notion that religion is ultimately a personal pursuit and practice. i do a good enough job of keeping my own religion to myself that people are sometimes noticably surprised when i reveal to them that i'm a christian. if you read this blog from time to time, you might be surprised to be reading this now, too.

as a LIBERAL christian, though, i've felt compelled -- oops, that's an indelicate word among those God-hating liberals who obsess over semantics, so i'll say 'motivated' instead -- to write in detailed and lengthy prose on the subject of the very particular kind of liberal that angers me as a christian and makes me feel shame as a liberal.

realizing the holiday affords me a topical opportunity, though, i decided to let some shit off my chest in that measured paragraph above, rather than take the easy misstep and egregiously splay out my own religion or politics in a meandering, self-absorbed fashion.

so, there it is. shit off my chest. and as far as my proselytizing goes, that's that.

anyways, an irony-free merry christmas to all, and to all an irony-free good night!

posted by jomilkman @ 9:58 AM