Disjointed Kitsch

What drives people to draw attention to something that they would rather other people not pay attention to? In my home town of Keene, NH, we’re getting protesters outside our local “6-plex” who are against “The Da Vinci Code“. According to the theater manager, ticket sales were “up” for that movie while the protesters were doing their thing. The protesting Priests, Nuns, Brothers and others may have discouraged someone from showing up, but many more came out just to see what the “hubbub” was all about and in the process were treated to one rip-roaring good yarn.

I’m not saying that the movie is great, since I haven’t seen it and I probably won’t. I have read Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci Code” as well as his other books. He tells a great story and a movie adaptation will never do his rich prose justice. But that’s just the point. It’s a story - FICTION folks. Sure, there a number of historical facts in the book - paintings, organizations, people, places - but it’s all sewn together in a make-believe world. I’ll say it again - a world of FICTION.

If you can’t separate fact from fiction then exactly how strong and true is the faith that you cling to and profess? Christianity, and in particular Catholicism, has been around better than 2000 years. Will Dan Brown, Harry Potter or any other book/character threaten that foundation? Come on folks, think about it. If the “Word became flesh”, then why are you taking issue over a bunch of words that are not now and never will be “real”?

As a free society where religious freedom is a cornerstone, anyone has the right to say “I’m offended”. But when we shake our heads over our Eastern brethren creating public chaos over some political cartoons of their spiritual head, and then turn right around and make public waves about a FICTIONAL accounting of our spiritual heratage, can we really claim any high ground here? Sure the folks outside the “6-plex” didn’t riot, but they accomplished the same thing - publicly displaying their outrage. And just like the rioters in the east, how many people around the world who didn’t give a damn in the first place are now intreagued enough to wonder what all the fuss is about? By making public your objections to what should be a private relationship between you and your Creator, you invite the exact thing you are seeking to prevent - calling attention to something that, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t matter.

Steinbeck may be a world class writer but “Grapes of Wrath“, which I finished reading a week or so ago is depressing! Good Lord, how much misery can one family stand! Evidently quite a lot.

Despite all of that I did find “Grapes of Wrath” to be rich with characters and a great read in general despite its depressing storyline. It did bring to life an era of American history of which I had limited knowledge. I enjoyed his writing so much I picked up “Cannery Row”. We’ll see if it’s equally depressing.

I’m thinking about working my way through the Pulitzer Prize Fiction/Novel list. It is surprising how many I’ve already read.