Some additional perspective on General Rod Dreher and his Benedict Option™
While attorney and Iraqi War vet David French and professional foodie Rod Dreher debate the sense of the latter's Benedict Option™, let's not forget that currently self-appointing General of his Benedict Option™ (GBO) Dreher already has a book just freshly out, not the one he is using this debate to generate future publisher interest in, of course, but rather his previous, already written Dante book.
What, you might ask, is this Dante book about?
As followers of Dreher's blog over the course of his developing and promoting the Dante book only know too well, the book is about how Dante saved Dreher from the "dark wood" of depression and allegedly stress-induced mononucleosis caused by his family - those who know him best - not sharing his own vision of himself. His wife finally tired of his taking to his bed to sleep interminably and demanded he get professional psychological help.
Let this settle in for a moment. The general who is proposing to develop and lead us through our culture war campaign was driven to his fainting couch by his in-laws not liking him the way he wanted and ultimately booted from it by his long-suffering wife.
Is the phrase "folds like an origami under pressure" really adequate to describe this sort of petal-like character in a would-be leader of any sort of war?
And when contemplating the sympathy-sucking milquetoast depressive Rod Dreher of the Dante book versus the guerrilla general-to-be Rod Dreher of his Benedict Option™, the question obviously forces itself upon us: which, if either, is even the real Rod Dreher?
But, hey, I say follow him as far as the parking lot, at least.
