Americans have had plenty of reason to feel bad about themselves lately, but it’s always nice to get a little reminder of why the United States is still a pretty reasonable option when it comes to picking places free thinking people might want to live. The fact that The Da Vinci Code hits theaters all across the United States this Friday may seem like a small thing, but the film is being banned left and right by other, more spineless countries quick to fold under pressure from religious extremists crying out for oppression and censorship.
Sure, there have been a few half-hearted protests from right-wing Christian blowhards here in America, but for once it seems like most people are at least trying to be reasonable. Don’t get me wrong, most hardcore US Christians hate being forced to think for themselves as much as anyone, and the thought that this movie might make them question their beliefs has them just as scared as it does extremists in places where the film is being banned, like Thailand or Greece, where hordes of Grecian soccer moms are flooding the streets screaming for the movie to be shut down. I’ve never seen so many GMILFS.
What’s the deal? Why are people so pissed? The book presents the idea that Jesus snuck off and had babies with that hottie Mary Magdalene. Worse, the fictional story blames the Catholic Church, and a Catholic Church secret order called Opus Dei for hiding it. All of that’s told part of a fictional tale though, so what are we so afraid of here? Unless perhaps there’s a grain of truth in it? Because otherwise, there’s no reason for any of this furor. The most insidious thing in the attackers of Da Vinci is that they’re cloaking their protests in secular babble, which really has no basis in what’s happening. The accusation is that Da Vinci Code tells lies about Christianity. Well yeah… that’s what fiction is. It’s made up stories, lies! Historical fiction is nothing new, I don’t see anyone protesting the upcoming movie 300, based on Frank Miller’s fictional retelling of the battle of Thermopylae. He made that entire story up! It’s a bunch of fiction! It’s not what really happened at all! Where are the marchers? Drop the secular pretense.
Maybe Americans are just too burned out on immigration protests to bother marching against Hollywood. But whatever the reason, unlike Greece, Thailand, India, or even South Korea (where the government has wisely approved the movie in spite of massive protests), our lunatic fringe element is quite rightfully not being listened to by either the government or the general population, as sensible citizens seem to have been able to figure out that: 1. Da Vinci Code is fiction and should therefore have no impact on people’s beliefs. 2. Even if it were being presented as fact, in a free society people are allowed to present unpopular ideas in a public forum, whether you like them or not. 3. Nobody is forcing anyone to see Da Vinci Code and those afraid they might be lured into hating Jesus by seeing the movie can simply make themselves heard with their purchasing power by avoiding it, thus protecting themselves from thinking about their beliefs without stopping those who want to see it from doing so.
This sort of sensible behavior has been a rarity in the United States these past few years, where extremism has run as rampant here as it does in any of the third world, third rate nations we send our money to. I’m taking this as a positive sign. Maybe common sense is on the verge of prevailing. If not in the US, then where? We can’t expect France to stand up and be practical. Mexico? Their entire economy is based on how many people they can send across the border into California and Texas. They don’t have time for things like free speech, they’re too busy swimming.
So maybe it’s a little thing, but when The Da Vinci Code opens Friday in America with hopefully almost nothing more than the usual fanfare, smile a little, and then support free expression by buying a ticket. The same goes for any country with the sense to ignore all the oppression motivated moaning and simply let people see whatever it is they choose to see. I hear Australian religious leaders have given their flocks permission to see it if they want to. Good for them… I guess. Of course it’s kind of insulting that grown humans need permission. We’re not children Opus Dei, we can make up our own minds about what we watch. And if your religion is based on beliefs so weak that they’re easily broken down by something as dumb as a summer Hollywood movie, well maybe then people have no business bothering with your religion in the first place.
