Rex Murphy: On 'Rad Trad' Catholicism, 'Battle Beads', and Belly Laughter

I am P.G. Woodhouse. His humor is a balm and his writing is a miracle of tone and phrasing. I also had a taste of him for the first time in high school, and since then, the story has revisited Stephen Leacock, though changed to The Knights of Pythia's marine excursion, later the sinking of the Mariposabel.

Laughter is a wonderful thing and more needed than this fragile, screaming and often downright mean amidst a flood of tweets and other online suffering. there is no. It does little to spark a smile or make you laugh kindly. It's so rare that if it does make an actual appearance, it needs to be pushed as hard as possible to as many viewers as possible.

Then kudos to Atlantic. Once a somewhat lofty mix of cultural and political writing, it's now clearly stepping into the National Lampoon or Mad Magazine tradition.

The Atlantic published the funniest article I've read in decadesscreaming from start to finish.

Scream from start to finish

The original title alone was a gem: How the Rosary Became a Symbol of Extremism. I laughed so hard I almost fell to the floor. (The title has since been changed to "How extremist gun culture is trying to capitalize on the Rosary.")

Minutes later, after composing myself, the article I read the first part of Text: “Just as the AR-15 rifle became sacred to Christian nationalists in general, the Rosary acquired a militaristic meaning for radical traditional (or “rad-trad”) Catholics. did. ”

Where to start. "Rad-trad" Catholics may. A true funny man, someone says like Wodehouse, has a genius for crafting hilarious phrases. A purely comic invention.

As much as cunningly delving into the "AR-15 has become a sacred object" and "Christian nationalists" (they may exist, I do not dispute). it's a good thing. Another bright and funny revelation. AR-15 — Sacred. Is it just the ammo? Or a 12-gauge shotgun, a .30-30 Winchester, and a modest .22 exhibiting equal cleric aura. I expect so from this author, but like all great humorists, he doesn't overload his description (a useful verb here).

1. Lex Murphy: Trudeau, Biden poses a real threat to Salman Rushdie not listed

2. Rex Murphy: The sound you hear may be the fragmentation of the country. No

Just one line puts the Catholic Rosary and the AR-15 in the same category. Or, going into more sophisticated language, we could say, in the words of Samuel Johnson, "together yoked by violence." The deep humor here is, of course, Leacock-esque in its insistence on pure and wild absurdity. Have rosary beads ever been used as ammunition? Has the AR-15 ever been part of your worship service?

You must know. Growing up Catholic and being taught by nuns is the most relevant and most relevant is a school called The Most Holy Rosary Parish School where I grew up with the Rosary. I "said the Rosary" - as the idiom had it - many times in class.

My mother was a "traditional" Catholic, to borrow an Atlantic humorist hipster epithet, but I don't think she was a radical person. I don't think so. She liked almost all Protestants, but she could be a little harsh with the United Church people. This was the 50's, remember.

We recited the Rosary every night. All the time, or almost all the time, I'm kneeling in the wooden chairs around the kitchen table. Usually after dinner and just before homework. * (See explanation below.)

My mother was a "traditional" Catholic, but I don't think she was a "radical" Catholic

We lived in a small house, but I can attest that my mother did not possess high-velocity weapons. The kitchen spatula was the closest thing I've ever seen to military use. We also very often recited another prayer, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary - a truly beautiful and sometimes even poetic prayer (mystical rose... Tower of David... Tower of Gold ) - and as far as I remember from my childhood, there are no guns in sight and no talk of militia activities.

Excuse me. My autobiographical dip has taken space from the Atlantic's peerless Jou Desprit, but let me assure you that every line is a cut diamond of pure enjoyment. It's a cascade of belly laughter.

Read just one more example. What do you think of this gemstone: “The 'Battlebeads' culture of spiritual warfare allows radical traditional Catholics to literally demonize their political opponents and sanctify the use of force against them ''

Battle Beads.

This Glory was written by a Canadian historian who is also an online hate researcher. The Governor's Literary Prize is already in preparation. who could have guessed

So beware of Catholic Nationalists with Radtrad Rosaries. (They may hide prints of the Lord's Prayer in their ammunition cases.)

National Post

* Homework: Assigned to schoolchildren in the Dark Ages Anachronistic Pain, c. 1950. That was long before Zoom learning was advanced.