My beloved late Slovak grandmother left me with some eternal moral maxims, among which one of my favorites is Samochvala smrdi — which means, “Self-praise stinks.” And nobody likes the kind of blogger who is always posting notes from readers telling him how great he is and how he’s right on everything. But when I saw how vicious some of the comments were on my post thanking e-mailers and Facebookers — basically inveighing against anybody who dared to say anything nice about me — I thought it would be right to post just one of the e-mails. Here goes:
I’ve always appreciated your posts as a learned participant in all things Episcopal and Catholic. I’m also a gun-toting conservative Catholic Texan who would make K-Lo look like a liberal Senator from New York. I’m generally predisposed against gay marriage and pretty much the entire celebrated lifestyle (metrosexual, I aint). Still, your post struck me as thoughtful and kind. I am still against it and will make damn sure Texas never goes down that road, but seeing the 10th being put to good use and not having unelected judges be a part of the decision-making process makes me happy. Furthermore, your kindness and thoughtfulness in that post made me appreciate that folks on the other side of this argument from me deserve my respect and kindness as well. Let’s let the democratic process run, whether I win or lose. Just keep the damn judges out of it!! Thanks again!
Thank you, sir. Your words mean a lot to me and I will endeavor to be worthy of them.
And Grandma: Sorry, I’ll do my best not to make a habit of it.