Surprised by Grace

Erik Lokkesmoe takes on the subject of why Conservatives have a hard time breaking into the entertainment industry (which seems to be a hot subject these days). He hits a lot of high notes, but misses some and makes some confusing points as well.

His second "mistake," for example, hides a key problem with a certain type of conservative trying to break into movies or music or whatnot.

Mistake #2: We don't quite understand common grace – the idea that the good, the true, and the beautiful can be found in the most “unlikely” of places (Broadway) and people (liberal artists). Without a strong belief in common grace, we will either get angry at the culture or withdraw from it entirely.

First of all, is it really all that unlikely to find something beautiful on Broadway. I saw Lion King there and it was very enjoyable.

Common grace is all well and good, but the implication is that conservatives are just better than most of the people they work with. I don't know how you engage successfully in a collaborative art with people you despise, even if you believe in random flashes of inspiration.

Much of it is exhortations that Conservatives not set out to make specifically Conservative art. Rather they should just try their hardest to make art, and hope that their art reflects their values.

He also seems to deplore conservatives natural antipathy towards art and artists. He opposes boycotts (hooray!) and favors voting with your wallet for work that you like. On the other hand, he doesn't address the connection between hatred of art and hatred of anything effeminate. Art is effeminate by it's very nature (in some peoples eyes). A man choosing to be an actor or a set designer or a dance and so on and so forth is probably not really a man. He alludes to this when he says that parents should encouraged talented children (rather than reenacting "Dead Poets Society" for example), but he misses his mark when he focuses on the money making possibilities of careers, rather than the "fruitiness" quotient.

Of course it's possible that he's liberated enough that it didn't occur to him. I wouldn't think the same would apply to his audience.