Dawn Eden recently posted an excerpt from her new book The Thrill of the Chaste. She also linked to some of the responses to her book. Many of the comments range from outrage to outrageous. (I actually can only link to Dawn's site, and anyone can feel free to follow the links. This is PG blog).
I am both baffled and even scared. I am baffled because Amazon sells like over ten thousand books or something. I am sure that nine thousand books of those books are books that hold no interest for me or even of subject matter I completely agree with. You probably will not see me buying a book on a person's first hand account of how Kabbalah gave them peace and happiness, nor will you see me dishing it here. I could care less. But let's say I did decide to blog about it-you will not see 700 hundred comments (yeah right, like I get that much traffic to begin with so maybe I should say "if Mark Shea reviewed it...") with nasty comments about the writer's name and very personal practices. You will just see like 20 comments like "yawn, that's silly" or "that's why I'm Catholic".
I am scared a bit, because I get glimpses here and there of how crazy the world is. But for the most part, I try to surround myself with like-minded people and keep myself sheltered. It's protectttive because who wants their choices dished all the time? Family does enough of that. I often forget that people simply don't think the way I do. I mean I know they don't, but I always thought deep down inside they did, but are often blindsided by things like adolescence or other American delbilitating illnesses. So to me, if I were not Catholic, when a woman writes a book about saving yourself for a man to commit himself to you seems to me a book about a person making an extraordinary effort for something they truly want, not something to be met with obscenities.
But you know,I think what I find disturbing is just that. I was raised that you simply don't disagree with obscenities or below the belt remarks. If you disgree, you do so with a point: "Oh but I really do think avocados taste good, and would love some with dinner,"
not: "You jerk, you don't like avocados because you're just stupid because you have no taste buds! By the way, your name sounds silly on top of that!"
How, oh how am I going to raise children in this culture? I ask that of myself so much, maybe I should rename my blog that.
I couldn't agree more. I've been following the comments at Dawn's and it scares me that the world is like that -- I mean, I know it is in my head, but I just don't see that kind of venom on a daily basis in real life. And it's terrifying to think of my sweet, innocent li'l kids being exposed to it. I know they will be. Fact. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. ;)
It's the evil vs good thing. I think Mel Gibson did such a good job portraying that in the Passion, where the more gentle and loving Jesus is, the more the men hate him and want to beat the cr*p out of him. Evil can't stand good. Evil can't stand to be shown it is evil. That is why it can't keep itself from trying to bash good, which is ironic, as it only serves to prove the point...