The question that keeps circling in my head is why would parents send their kids to these events?

I’ve been to churches where their youth groups are Acquire the Fire regulars. From the view of a layman who’s not gone to one of these personally, the kids come back a couple notches more psyched about evangelicalism and steering clear of the seamier parts of our culture. Those are good things.

However, there is a tendency in Acquire the Fire (and other more zealous quarters of evangelical thought) to demonize the secular forces in our culture. You’re supposed to demonize the devil, but not people who might be under his influence. That seems to be the main flaw in the Acquire the Fire shtick.

Kids coming back from one of these events are often told to expected “persecution” at school. Such kids may be in a more combative mode, getting into First Amendment fights with peers, principals and school boards, when they should be doing more spiritually productive things.

As far as the “aesthetic of fascism” goes, it may well be that the psychological elements of effective propoganda often transcend the message proper. Recall that the term propoganda originally came from the propigation of the Catholic faith.

If done in the right cause, propoganda can be good. However, even well meaning people can wind up going over the top and leading folks somewhat astray; that may well be the case here.

I’ve got a post in the works on this that should be up later today.

Gracious of you to put up with another writer being quoted in a post linking to your work.;^)

I agree, a bit of Hedge’s comment is out of context for a quick quote - he packs a lot in his book, and doesn’t give Luce more than a paragraph. I can’t do his work justice on BDBO, there is a great deal I am trying to learn and understand without experiential reference points in my own life.

Has anyone done a long term followup on some of the teens that have embraced BattleCry? The question that keeps circling in my head is why would parents send their kids to these events?

I want people, particularly Christians to start thinking; read your piece, look at the videos, and pick up a book like Chris Hedges or Michelle Goldbergs to gain an historical perspective and an deeper understanding.

Your rare ability to put us there, to write so compassionately and humanize participants without compromise is a good stepping stone.

The transcript of your NPR interview is up, one of your salient points is:

It is – and I use this word very advisedly – it is the aesthetic of fascism. Ron Luce isn’t a fascist, but it is the aesthetic of fascism. And one of the strange things about Ron Luce is it’s also the aesthetic of [LAUGHS] Stalinism, that these red flags that they wave - and you’re not a member of this movement – you’re a trench mate. It is designed to draw very stark lines and to dehumanize those who are on the other side.

BOB GARFIELD: It sounds monstrous. Is there any benign way of viewing this?

JEFF SHARLET: Yeah. Yeah, there is. A lot of these people are there not because they hate the world so much but because they want to be engaged with the world. Unfortunately, Ron Luce and his angry rhetoric are the ones who get to them first. And I feel like sort of the benign read of this is if someone goes and talks to them and says, look, you know, we care about you too, and we want you to feel proud of what you believe in and so on, but that doesn’t have to be framed by hating other people, I think these kids will respond to that beautifully and brilliantly.

These are some of the gentler and kinder kids I’ve met. They don’t want to be in a war, but that’s all they’re being offered.