The Book of Proverbs says “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18).
I can think of a few politicians and corporate heads who should have pondered those words as cryptic warnings. OK, we ALL should consider them as warnings and change our ways, accordingly.
However, I was pleased with, if not slightly proud of, The Signal’s Editor Tim Whyte and his column on June 10. He spoke of his childhood and early teenage remembrances of attending Catholic church services as a family and the trouble he had relating to the liturgy and music. All that to say he does not consider himself “especially religious” today nor his remarks “rooted in fervent Christianity.”
My “pride and prejudice” in favor of Mr. Whyte’s wise remarks relate to his perception that our culture now seems to think it is OK to mock Christianity and Catholicism. He sees this problematic issue currently personified in the cultural phenomenon known as The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and their “performance art,” which some have called out as hypocritical hatred.
The biologically male group, which is scheduled to be honored (tonight) at Pride Night on the field of Dodger Stadium and previously on the Senate floor in Sacramento, satirizes and mocks Christianity and Catholicism in particular. Their nun-like habits, extreme makeup, and outlandish performances are religiously offensive and culturally shocking. And yet, there they were — receiving applause and standing ovations.
Whyte’s insightful remarks identified the hypocrisy of it all: “The Sisters say they oppose bigotry while engaging in it. And would the Senate or the Dodgers honor the Sisters if they similarly satirized Islam? Judaism? What if they wore blackface instead of nuns’ habits and called it ‘satire’?”
He went on and later answered his own question about the Sisters’ hurtful histrionics: “… they get a pass because Christianity/Catholicism is perceived as associated with conservative political thought (even though a lot of liberals are also Christians and Catholics). It’s considered OK to mock Christians and Catholics.”
Mr. Whyte correctly observed that hurtful hypocrisy “is not OK — whether you’re religious or not.”
Gary Curtis
Newhall
