oh my Lord, this is so freaking bizarre. aaaaand...also rather brilliant.

atrios has linked the column as if it were some ha-ha-aren't-those-fundamentalists-terrifyingly-cute endeavor, when maybe it has a bit more than that to say. actually, and maybe this accounts for the piece's overly speedy pace, a lot more. there's the completely appalling kirk cameron, letting hundreds know precisely how to hate themselves. there's a dream involving george w. bush backwards on a donkey. there's a hideous abstinence advocate.

and, for all of us who read too much news, there's some very interesting musing about finding a balance between tuning out and apoplexy. i've struggled with that a lot more this year than ever before in my life, probably because, having discovered the vast network of leftist blogs, i have nearly-unlimited access to information and commentary that makes me irate. if the feelings of leftist solidarity are wonderful (and they are), the sense that this solidarity is necessary in the face of a uniformly frightening mainstream is more painful than heartening. furthermore (reads the column), doesn't our intense attention and scrutiny somehow validate the position of the mainstream?

this is the parallel between kirk cameron, his wingnut fundamentalist pals, and lefty bloggers: i don't buy the full parallel, but in some sense, we've all rejected the mainstream in a damagingly incomplete way. despite seeing themselves as cultural rebels, they have their ridiculous proud-to-be-a-christian poly/cotton XL t-shirts, their theme park conventions, and all the suburban trimmings. i, on the other hand, have racked up countless hits on idiotic conservative websites, thereby validating their existence, in the pursuit of information that, once gotten, makes me want to tear my hair out and go live in a cave.

occasionally, i have to stop posting about the news for days or weeks on end: it's just too depressing. some days i read the new york times, all of the headlines make me seethe, and i don't even know where to begin with the criticism. but less doesn't ever really feel like enough, and i can't buy the argument that perhaps all the angry lefties in the world would be happier and better off if we, in a sense, left that world for one of our own making. bah...