Food for Thought

Loose Canon was thrilled to note that Rod Dreher's Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party) was #46 this morning on Amazon. Anything below 10,000 is considered good. Rod is a former colleague and a fine fellow, who did terrific work ferreting out clerical sexual abuse. It's great to see him doing so well. And if his thesis is right, it's great to see trad vals thriving, too.

A convert to Catholicism, Rod describes "crunchy conservatives" as people who have mostly old-fashioned, including most notably Christian, values but do a lot of things usually identified with lefties (free-range farming, etc.) A review in Publishers Weekly describes crunchy cons as people who "voted for Bush but shop at Whole Foods." (The review, not overly perceptive in my view, is quoted on Amazon.)

The National Review (where Rod once worked, before going to the Dallas Morning News) has devoted an entire blog to the book. Rod himself weighs in frequently, including a post on how we care for the elderly--see below, some people euthanize them.) Amy Welborn, Beliefnet contributor Fredericka Matthewes-Greene (here and here), and others debate Rod's ideas--and offer confessions. (I won't tell you who got her navel pierced!)

If Rod is right about all this, one pleasant observation: Christian conservatives are quite likely to outbreed secular liberals.

I am heading to Natchez, Mississippi, later today--but don't worry, I've left behind a thought-provoking item for you to discuss among yourseves on Friday.