THIS LINE IS POWERFUL: "It's easy to convince ourselves that we're motivated by love when what we're actually craving is the flattery of a frictionless existence."
Thanks for writing this. I'm in a faith community that is currently struggling with some huge and uncomfortable transitions, and reading this is helping me clarify my thoughts. I love these stupid fallible beautiful people so much and also I'm so angry at those stupid fallible beautiful people that are in leadership positions right now. They are meeting this moment (or ten) of struggle with fear instead of curiosity, and want to smooth my/others' anger over instead of take any accountability for the systemic reasons for all the anger. Every time this crisis has come to some sort of breaking point, my response has been to figure out how to package/present my anger in a way that will somehow facilitate change without further threatening fearful leadership and guess how well that's working?
So, I'm going to go eat Fastnacht pancakes with them tonight and see the silliest of silly talent shows (my son is going to do a Kung-Fu demonstration of what he's learned in 6 months of weekly classes and it will be AMAZING and I predict a lot of flailing), and then tomorrow remember that we're all (star) dust with them, and a week from tonight show up at the leadership meeting with the metaphorical bullwhip. COMMUNITY is so EFFING HARD.
It's SO HARD. And that's part of the beauty in it, but I'm also really, really sorry (and grateful for the ways you're leaning in). Let me know if I can be useful at all.
More than love, I believe this is about accountability. Wash someone's feet, ask for forgiveness, then you can tell the injured party to "just move on." I wish someone would do a parody and include 1) a 10-year-old pregnant girl washing the feet of her rapist, 2) a youth pastor grooming, er, washing the feet of a 12-year-old girl, 3) a priest washing the feet of an 8-year-old altar boy.
My best friend happened to be in Detroit for the weekend, and long-distance doordashed me a six-pack of paczkis all the way to DC on her way home. That's love.
What really creeped me out during the "He Gets Us" commercial is that my kids screamed "Jesus!" as soon as it started. They knew the manipulation was happening. It's so recognizable. Also, Jesus needs a commercial?! If I didn't already know that sportsball wasn't for me, this was a huge, glaring sign.
I do think there's something I didn't to into here about the experience of our minds metabolizing it as a commercial-- which of course we can see so clearly in kids, whose relationship to commercials is "can I name the thing they're selling!" Doritos! Cars! Jesus!
I shudder at the thought. Have you been to the movies lately? All the Jesus movie trailers too. I found myself asking, is Jesus in trouble? Why does he need so much attention? OMG it's working on me. The marketing is working.
The Volkswagen commercial was the one directed at me. I've owned several over the years, and kind of wish I owned one now. (I'm driving a Subaru.)
I saw the foot-washing ad, and I'll say that I always like it when people following nationalistic toxic masculinity infused "Christianity" are remined about the guy's core message. "If someone hits you, hit them back twice as hard. Better yet, hit them first so they don't get the chance to hit you" isn't actually a quote from Jesus.
Per your second point, I think that even though these ads emerged from a conservative source, it is really fascinating that they have taken on a lot of fire from the right.
Re: the VW ad... for me, the power of that ad was reminding me how much I love that Neil Diamond track.
I think the example you linked about the professor is inspiring and amazing and actually the point of the He Gets Us ad. If we all treated each other that way, one on one, the world would change for the better.
THIS LINE IS POWERFUL: "It's easy to convince ourselves that we're motivated by love when what we're actually craving is the flattery of a frictionless existence."
Thank you! It's the one I'm saving from this piece as a challenge for myself too.
That's the one that did it for me, too. Worth a lot of ad budget.
Thanks for writing this. I'm in a faith community that is currently struggling with some huge and uncomfortable transitions, and reading this is helping me clarify my thoughts. I love these stupid fallible beautiful people so much and also I'm so angry at those stupid fallible beautiful people that are in leadership positions right now. They are meeting this moment (or ten) of struggle with fear instead of curiosity, and want to smooth my/others' anger over instead of take any accountability for the systemic reasons for all the anger. Every time this crisis has come to some sort of breaking point, my response has been to figure out how to package/present my anger in a way that will somehow facilitate change without further threatening fearful leadership and guess how well that's working?
So, I'm going to go eat Fastnacht pancakes with them tonight and see the silliest of silly talent shows (my son is going to do a Kung-Fu demonstration of what he's learned in 6 months of weekly classes and it will be AMAZING and I predict a lot of flailing), and then tomorrow remember that we're all (star) dust with them, and a week from tonight show up at the leadership meeting with the metaphorical bullwhip. COMMUNITY is so EFFING HARD.
It's SO HARD. And that's part of the beauty in it, but I'm also really, really sorry (and grateful for the ways you're leaning in). Let me know if I can be useful at all.
More than love, I believe this is about accountability. Wash someone's feet, ask for forgiveness, then you can tell the injured party to "just move on." I wish someone would do a parody and include 1) a 10-year-old pregnant girl washing the feet of her rapist, 2) a youth pastor grooming, er, washing the feet of a 12-year-old girl, 3) a priest washing the feet of an 8-year-old altar boy.
My best friend happened to be in Detroit for the weekend, and long-distance doordashed me a six-pack of paczkis all the way to DC on her way home. That's love.
very, very good friend!
Thanks for this - those ads have stuck with me in a not quite comfortable not quite disturbed sort of way, but that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
I think for me, there's been value in sitting with them a while, for sure. Glad my writing bout them could be useful.
The $17 million would have been better spent to help the unhoused and all of the other scenarios in the ad. "Faith without works", etc.
Very well put, and also a good challenge for me
That was my overbearing thought while reading this entire piece ... what could have been done to actually help people with that amount of money?!
That's commie talk!
What really creeped me out during the "He Gets Us" commercial is that my kids screamed "Jesus!" as soon as it started. They knew the manipulation was happening. It's so recognizable. Also, Jesus needs a commercial?! If I didn't already know that sportsball wasn't for me, this was a huge, glaring sign.
I do think there's something I didn't to into here about the experience of our minds metabolizing it as a commercial-- which of course we can see so clearly in kids, whose relationship to commercials is "can I name the thing they're selling!" Doritos! Cars! Jesus!
I shudder at the thought. Have you been to the movies lately? All the Jesus movie trailers too. I found myself asking, is Jesus in trouble? Why does he need so much attention? OMG it's working on me. The marketing is working.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR JESUS IN THIS, HIS HOUR OF NEED, THU?
this is EXACTLY how it feels.
The Volkswagen commercial was the one directed at me. I've owned several over the years, and kind of wish I owned one now. (I'm driving a Subaru.)
I saw the foot-washing ad, and I'll say that I always like it when people following nationalistic toxic masculinity infused "Christianity" are remined about the guy's core message. "If someone hits you, hit them back twice as hard. Better yet, hit them first so they don't get the chance to hit you" isn't actually a quote from Jesus.
Per your second point, I think that even though these ads emerged from a conservative source, it is really fascinating that they have taken on a lot of fire from the right.
Re: the VW ad... for me, the power of that ad was reminding me how much I love that Neil Diamond track.
Me too!
Thank you for unpacking this in a way that touches all of the corners and reminds me of this: love is hard.
Keep being your awesomeness- and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Appreciate it, Dani.
I really like your writing about faith, Garrett!
(also, sorry to brag, but I am blessed with a great Polish bakery right around the corner and eat a lot of paczki year round)
Thank goodness you all have that bakery, Lee, to make up for the otherwise hopeless and desolate Montreal food scene.
"narcotized reassurance" - this is my new favorite phrase.
So convicting. Thank you for working through this for you and for us.
Thanks Erica!
I think the example you linked about the professor is inspiring and amazing and actually the point of the He Gets Us ad. If we all treated each other that way, one on one, the world would change for the better.
I discovered that story relatively recently and haven't been able to think about it.
also, unpaywalled version of the end link for anyone else who wants one: https://archive.is/F8fUW