Footloose

When I was a whopping 9 years old my siblings and I got to see "Footloose" in 1984 which given the make out scene was about the closest to a rated X movie we had ever seen.

Didn't pay much attention to the plot. Knew there was some kid who could dance and was a good fighter. Then there was some guy with a truck and some antlers. Totally grossed out by the french kissing. And there was this angry pastor who I was later to find out was John Lithgow.

Now fast forward 20 odd years and all of the sudden I'm starting to appreciate the political statement of Footloose, not because of being a pastor's kid and being banned from dancing in the Wisconsin synod, not because of going to parochial school where they guarantee to make your kid hate religion, and not because of the nightmares I endured of dating a just a mere handful of born again Christians, but because today

2009

I at the age of 34

have lost not one,

but three private dance gigs this spring alone because.....(are you ready for this?)

THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH WHERE THE WEDDINGS WERE TO BE HELD VOTED AGAINST HAVING A BALLROOM DANCE IN THE CHURCH.

Now I am not an expert on love or marriage. I am not an expert on weddings nor receptions. But from what I can tell since when the f%ck has the wedding been about people other than the bride and groom? And if the bride and groom would like to have something as sinful as BALLROOM-FREAKING-DANCING could the god damned (pun intended) church be so kind as to accommodate them on this simple and innocent request?

No, apparently not, apparently it is 1984 in more ways than one.

Now I'm going to say it again, as I've said before, if religions around the world would like to bolster their enrollment (particularly Christian ones) and not drive people away then maybe they ought to loosen up and ditch their outmoded, obsolete and outright insane and pointless rules.

I'm by no means telling them to ditch the fire and brimstone or the morality and laws, but the sects or strains of Christianity where they criminalize and villainize sex and attraction to the opposite sex to guilt trip and control the masses are going to do nothing but hasten their demise. Sex is meant only for procreation (dated one gal that believed that)?

Kissing should only occur after engagement (dated another gal that believed that)?

Dressing sexy for her husband would be considered immoral (guilty again in dating a girl that believed that)?

Are you freaking kidding me?

And now, ballroom dancing is a sin and should be banned.

It's kind of like watching the stock market crash as Obama implements (or even mentions) his socialist fiscal policies. The people wondering why the market is crashing and the economy tanking are just as clueless as the heads of the churches watching their enrollments drop and congregations shrink.