I was trying to express everything I'm thankful for in my bloggy friends, but I think this video conveys a very special Thanksgiving message to everyone:

Bishops ask for stay of execution. This makes me happy with my archbishop. You don't want to read the comments on it. it surprises me how liberal Seattle can be, except when some undesirable is involved (homeless people, people on death row, etc.)

So this morning the video of Sarah Palin giving an interview with a man slaughtering turkeys in the background made its way through my blog feeds and friend's list. The whole fascination with Joe Six Pack makes me wonder a few things.

1.) When did we stop thinking critically about what people say? Seriously. A lot of people I know just trusted Palin without really thinking about what she was saying or the implications thereof.

2.) When did that kind of everyman appeal become a replacement for moral inscrutability? While the whole Troopergate thing was in the news, it seemed as if it didn't really matter. Either the GOP pulled off the greatest snow-job in the country's history, or people are just sheep.

Then I come across a new blog/website by the people who do Rosary Army by accident. Now in my great internet fast of a month ago, I realized a few things. One, I fill my life with a lot of noise, especially the kind of noise that vehemently disagrees with me and sees my life as morally repugnant. I'm not going to convince those types that I'm just as faithful a Catholic as they am. They don't want to be reminded that the Church is about diversity. But I need to get something off my chest.

Anyway, back to the site. On the surface, it's not something to draw attention to. There are the requisite pictures of family and friends. They go to great pains to portray themselves as normal. And they may very well be. I don't know them personally. But then you get to a "joke" page on their site.

Isn't this the same division they're accusing the rest of us of? It's Yet Another instance of the kind of us-vs-them fundamentalist rhetoric that got us into the war in Iraq, not to mention the underlying cause of division in the Church. I'm sick to death of people in the pews trumping themselves up on how good they are and how the rest of us--some of which who faithfully and prayerfully wrestle with some of the cultural aspects of the Church--are just "Catholics in name only" or "Cafeteria Catholics." I think I have a good sense of humor, but I fail to see it in Loophole Cereal.

Go to any blog lately that bills itself as the least bit Catholic, and you'll find screed after screed about why the other person shouldn't receive the Eucharist. There's all sorts of speculation about the state of anyone else's soul but their own, even if it's the thinly-veiled "satire" of Loophole Cereal.

I got news for them: there's plenty of room at the steam table for everyone, as a friend of mine says, and they pick and choose just as much as the rest of us.

Blogroll got put back. If anyone's having problems with trolls finding your blog because of it, let me know. I had to axe it before, because a particular troll would follow peoples' links, like a virus.

Fear and Loathing in Seattle

I have a bunch of thoughts in my head, and none are too coherent. Hopefully once I've had more coffee, they'll condense into some sort of unified whole.

So last night I was watching the documentary, "Deliver us from Evil." Now when it's merely reporting on the facts and interviewing O'Grady, it's superb. When it starts hypothesizing as to why the sex abuse scandals happened, it starts to fail. When the documentary descends into Moore-like tactics to get two of O'Grady's victims to deliver a letter to the Vatican, it outright fails. Seriously, what did Doyle and the filmmakers expect to happen? If you're interested, it's up on fancast, but it's graphic in parts.

Then last week, this came to light about the Catholic Church's cooperation with the Mormons to pass Proposition 8.

It would seem like the proper response to all of this in some circles is self-loathing. I hate what some people do in the Church's name. I hate how a vocal minority is making things worse for everyone. I also hate how a TV station puts forth its opinions on Catholic teaching as gospel. I hate how the bishops in my country failed us on multiple occasions, not the least of which last week. But I can't bring myself to hate the Church, as would seem to be expected of me in some circles. But if I don't express the proper self-loathing, then I'm lumped in with those who would attend Sarah Palin rallies.

I guess I'm tired of people assuming I'm part of a monolith. Catholics have always been about unity in diversity, and that's still true, no matter what a vocal minority says. I'm willing to bet if I poll the people who read my blog regularly, there would be as diverse a collection of opinions here as anywhere else in the US. I'm also tired of people mistaking Roman law for anglo-saxon law. Being Catholic has never been about absolutism, but navigating a living tradition.

I wonder if it's a good thing that we can hear instant opinions from anyone about any subject matter. For instance, were my bishop to post that he likes Code Red Mountain Dew, we could hear about it instantly. He could even come on record saying he thinks all Catholics should drink Code Red Mountain Dew. But would it make it Church teaching? Nope, yet some are willing to elevate everything a bishop, cardinal, or Pope says as having the same moral weight. It's nice to know that the other side of this mess picks and chooses as much (if not more) as I do.