I didn't know what thread to put this in so I went with random. If you enjoy my style of posts and/or you are in the mood for a rant, then please read. You'll probably want to just skip though. I'm guessing that CBC and maybe two other people will actually enjoy this. Here goes:
This article is 3 years old.
http://forward.com/the-assimilator/171979/how-many-sins-can-one-hasid-commit/It's a review of and a social commentary on The Aveiros Song (the little rap parody by Binyomin Miller.)
Just wow. The liberal critics of religion love to say how faith takes away your critical thinking skills. Pretty IRONIC considering the wilfull lack of critical thinking exhibited in this article. The author starts with an agenda, can't find affirmation for it in the facts, but goes with it anyway. In other words, he says, "Here is what I found out, but that doesn't match what I already wanted to say about the topic before I started writing, so I'm gonna write what I wanted to all along anyway."
And what does he write? Only exactly what you would expect him to write. What a one-trick-pony.
Like they say, when all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
And the non-thinkers all fawn over such tripe for being sophisticated and brave. Simplistic and intellectual cowardice is what it is. It's the easiest crap to write. In fact, it's written before you even start writing. You want to think? Go learn a Tosfos and tell me what you read in your own words.
But you know what the worst crime is in this article? He didn't get the joke.
His desire for confirmation bias actually rendered his brain unable to get the joke! And the sad thing is... the joke was actually about guys like him. He actually should have been able to relate *and poignantly so* to the joke. And in case we are all confused by now what the joke really is, I will spell it out. In addition to the clever word play and the creativity of the Aveiros Song, what makes it most funny is the painfully accurate portrayal of the pintele Yid, that in all his fervent rebellion against his own identity, he cannot escape his identity.
It's mind-blowing that an author who built a career on that didn't get it when that was the subject of a Purim shpiel.