NOVAE MILITIAE

I certainly don't have a problem with well-reasoned, dispassionate criticisms of Rod Dreher's "Crunchy Conservatism" and the new agrarianism/traditional conservatism for which it stands.  National Review Online ran a temporary blog in the months after the publication of Dreher’s book that contained some blog entries by critics of the book, such as Jonah Goldberg, which are illustrative of the kind of well-reasoned argument I mention here.  I have been taken aback, however, by the shrillness, freneticism, and just outright bone-headedness of some of his critics, particularly exemplified by this blog: http://concrunchy.blogspot.com/ . Even some of Dreher's less rabid and more credible critics manifest what I consider to be an unreflective, overly emotional reaction to his book. While that reaction might be expected from people who embrace certain ideologies or a philosophical bent that I won't mention here, I am especially mystified that a Roman Catholic would react so negatively to Dreher since he borrowes so heavily from traditional Catholic social thought. I'm still trying to figure out why it is Dreher has hit such a nerve. I have my ideas, but I'm keeping silent about them for now.

UPDATE: I see tonight from the most recent entry (July 2) on the Contra Crunchy Conservative blog linked above that its owners may be thinking about terminating that embarrassing thing. Looks like they may have gotten the message that they came across merely as a bunch of obsessed, self-important boors and shrews. Or "knotheads" as Dreher calls that pack of goofs when they show up on his blog to harrass him.