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In Small Town, 'Grease' Ignites a Culture War

...a month after the performances in November, three letters arrived on the desk of Mark Enderle, Fulton's superintendent of schools. Although the letters did not say so, the three writers were members of a small group linked by e-mail, all members of the same congregation, Callaway Christian Church.

Each criticized the show, complaining that scenes of drinking, smoking, and a couple kissing went too far, and glorified conduct that the community tries to discourage. One letter, from someone who had not seen the show but only heard about it, criticized "immoral behavior veiled behind the excuse of acting out a play."

Dr. Enderle watched a video of the play, ultimately agreeing that "Grease" was unsuitable for the high school, despite his having approved it beforehand, without looking at the script. Hoping to avoid similar complaints in the future, he decided to ban the scheduled spring play, "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller.

Unsuitable for high school? It's ABOUT high school, you know, a little something called reality? The fact is the script was changed to be MORE conservative, and it still wasn't enough for these puritanical fascists.

What exactly is the culture war in America? Some say it is a struggle to define America. I don't agree with that, for America was defined at its birth. This country is about freedom from tyranny, yet tyranny is exact what the Christian(TM) right wants. No matter how many times I read a story like this, I find my jaw dropping with each new absurdity. If these people had been around during the time of Christ, they would have condemned Him as immoral, for he hung out with prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors.

Despite it all, I do understand where they are coming from. It's a spiritual conflict; we live in a post-existential time when many people are simply struggling to spiritually survive in a sea of empty materialism and sensory overload. Our culture seems to have lost its soul. We have no appreciation for art or beauty, hence, no truth. Post-modernism tried to destroy any meaning life has, and I think it succeeded in destroying art, which pretty much proves that art does have meaning. A society with no appreciation for beauty cannot be spiritually fulfilled. And here in this high school play controversy we have another example of the lack of appreciation for art. (By the way, what comes after post-modernism? Post-post modernism? Is this why we seem to be going backwards? We've reached the end and have nowhere to go?)

Creation-evolution, censorship, video games, the FCC, and nipplegate; terrorism; capital punishment; English-only and immigration; environmentalism and global warming; family values; fundamentalism; feminism; Iraq War; Cartoon War; judicial activism; media bias; Patriot Act; euthanasia and Terri Schiavo; separation of church and state, public displays of the Ten Commandments, religious freedom, Pledge of Allegiance, school prayer; sexuality, reproduction, and contraception; abortion; homosexuality, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and gay marriage; sexual education and abstinence only; stem-cell research...

Stop the Earth, I want to get off! I'm running through a world that's lost its meaning; it's simply spinning because that is what it has always done.