More thoughts on "Crunchy Conservatism"
Rod Dreher's new book "Crunchy Cons" came out this week and is generating a lot of discussion, including its own blog at National Review Online (Warning!: some of the contributions are the blog-equivalent of degenerate neutron star matter - very heavy).
As I mentioned here before, there are aspects of Dreher's thesis that seem to apply to Lisa, me, and our social circle - particularly at church (less so at work, but there are examples there as well). Other aspects are a poor fit: e.g., if you saw me in a pair of Birkenstocks, you could safely assume that I was dead, and that I had fallen prey to an undertaker with a twisted sense of humor.
As the debate has progressed, I've been intrigued by some of Jonah Goldberg's criticisms of the crunchy con notion, particularly his assertion that crunchy conservatism defines itself (at least in part) by "externalities" like shopping at Whole Foods, eschewing synthetic fibers, and wearing those goofy Birkenstocks. Goldberg further criticizes the crunchy con idea of distinguishing itself from "classic" or "mainstream" forms of conservatism that are, in fact, caricatures.
Guess I'll have to buy the book and decide...