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http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/douthat/2015/02/10/the-case-against-the-case-against-the-crusades/?_r=0&referrer=

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2015/02/11/is-it-really-a-church-youre-leaving-sean-palmer/

We turn the Vaccination Issue into a Culture War

 But in 21st century America, we only have one type of issue, and that is culture war.

• HT Dreher
• Kira Salak

Englewood Review of Books

The Golden Life of Bruce Jenner

If you visit the supermarket check out this week you’ll see the new shocking chapter of Bruce Jenner’s life. The rumors are confirmed that he is “transitioning into a Woman“.

Having not kept up with the Kardashians myself this of course grabbed my attention. My impressions of Bruce Jenner and those of my generation mostly remember him as the all American bi-centennial athlete who took the gold at the Montreal Olympics in the Decathlon. Olympic Gold was converted into real gold through celebrity endorsements of Wheaties, Tropicana Orange Juice, Nikon Cameras and more. In 1980 Sports Illustrated did a piece on him at his Malibu Beach home depicting him as “Mr. Fantasy”, embodying the ultimate American dream.

Hey, Mister Fantasy Man … otherwise known as Bruce Jenner, Olympic hero, TV personality, rising movie star, enactor of the common man’s dreams: he sails, he surfs, he flies planes, he races autos. He’s living, baby, really living!

At the time the article was being written he was going through a romantic transition, possibly an “upgrade” if one wishes to rate romantic partners. His marriage of eight years (2 sons) was ending and he was now beginning to share his life with a former girlfriend of Elvis, “Mr. Fantasy” of a previous generation. He would marry actress/model Linda Thompson with whom he would have two more sons in a marriage that would last 5 years.

He would disappear from my radar but go onto a third marriage and find reality TV stardom in “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, having two more daughters in the third marriage. This marriage would last 22 years until their separation in 2013 and divorce in 2015. Kris, his third wife was apparently not happy at all with his increasingly friendly relationship with his second wife, but the bigger bombshell would drop later.

None of this is what the tabloids are clucking about, however. The big news is that he’s/she’s decided to “transition” into a woman. His mother declares “she’s never been more proud” of her son. The family is “supportive” and people magazine declares the quote that Bruce Jenner is “finally happy”. I’m still baffled by the choice of picture that People selected for the piece. Are they making another statement?

The Elusive Quality of Happiness

I’m not looking to take a cheap shot at Bruce Jenner nor make a statement about people on a transgender journey. What is more interesting to me are competing narratives of desire and our human capacity for fulfillment within them.

Jenner’s mom’s comment was illuminating. Think about these desire narratives:

• The Sports Narrative: Jenner declared world’s greatest athlete. Mom is proud
• The Big-Man-On-Planet Narrative: Fame, fortune, looks, romance, thrills, “Mr. Fantasy”
• The Romance Narrative
• The Family Life Narrative
• The Wealth Narrative
• The Transgender Journey narrative variant of the Narrative of Expressive Individualism “I’ve got to find myself” or “I’ve got to be true to myself” or “I will ‘make it’ if I can somehow find harmony between my external attributes (gender, career, lifestyle, etc.) with my internal intuitive inklings”

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