A Musing on Chesterton
The thought just came to me: would G. K. Chesterton be happy or appalled to know that there is a group of folks who read him fairly selectively and then sew their favorite aspects of his thought, along with a few perceived conclusions, into an ideological crazy quilt resembling what he might call an "insane simplification"?
Just wondering.
Hi Pauli,
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking the same thing myself. I've seen people torture the works of C.S. Lewis in the same way. Coincidentally, I have an upcoming post on my blog regarding my thoughts on The Man Who Was Thursday. I'm hoping I can get it posted by this evening.
The thing is, if my only impression of Chesterton came from certain bloggers who will remain nameless, I would completely avoid him. Fortunately, there are others who have given me a much better impression of his influence.
the thing about reading chesterton is if you fail to recognize yourself and your foibles in what he lampoons, and see those foibles only in other people, then you can't help but become a total blowhard -- the anti-chesterton if you will. the wise person knows that just because he gets a joke doesn't mean he isn't also the butt of it.
ReplyDeleteOOooohhh... I think Frank nailed it!
ReplyDeletefrank is kathleen, btw. too lazy to relog in
ReplyDeleteIf the misuse of Chesterton by some in the Liberal MSM and Blogosphere bothers you; then the following should piss you off big time.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19437900/
Mr. Steve Adubato, MSNBC's Media Analyst, argued that the Anti-Catholic bigotry displayed by Robin Williams was brought on by the Church. While it is true the church did more than enough to justify criticism and condemnation; it certainly should not justify the bigotry displayed by Robin Williams. Let's take his reasoning to its conclusion. Because of the media's endorsement of the NY Time's Pulitzer for Walter Duranty they have no one to blame but themselves when people think they are a bunch of Pinko Commies. For those of you who do not know, Mr. Duranty used his column to write propoganda pieces for Joseph Stalin. Here is another example, because of the silence of Anti-War groups like SDS and Jayne Fonda over the actions of Radicals like the Weather Underground or the Symbonise Liberation Army; they have no one to blame but themselves when police laid the smackdown on them with the fury those groups needed. If we believe Mr. Adubato do those examples apply or is it double standards for Catholics?
the wise person knows that just because he gets a joke doesn't mean he isn't also the butt of it.
ReplyDeleteThat is soooo perfect, frankleen!
dianonymous
BTW, I am thrilled to see that this blog is active again. I was starting to have withdrawal pains. :)
ReplyDeletedianonymous