The iconic movie moment I wish the US would recover is this: Jesus sat with people who thought and said all the wrong things – heretical Samaritans, big-government tax collectors, libertine whores. This flies in the face of our cultural protestantism (lower case), which isn’t about religion at all, but about ideology. The constant obsession with belief – what this person thinks, what that person said. We’re constantly told what the topics are and asked to express an opinion. We’re constantly arguing with, penalizing, or enraged about positions people have taken, and taking ones of our own. We didn’t heed the Dystopians’ warnings about thought crime and, whether it’s widely realized or not, it’s tearing the culture apart, enhanced by and illustrated by the arguments in social media. It saddens and wearies me. I need a comforting place where the door shuts, beauty lives, and ideology doesn’t intrude.

— Asher's Maxim 374

Asher Black

Asher Black is a former literary and review editor who writes, thinks, reads, listens, and is interested in the interior darkness of the soul.

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Thanks to all 5500 (approx) Twitter followers. Maxims, ramblings, insights, and random ideas expressed are those of the author and not any agent, publisher, or bookseller.

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