Walking in the Valley of the Shadow …. of Pizza
MICHAEL writes:
I am a regular reader who finds solace in your posts. I am a Catholic living in Marin County, California. If you know anthing about this place, you know that I am very much alone. As one friend in North Carolina puts it, I am “deep inside enemy territory.” In the interest of keeping the peace, I keep my faith and views to myself unless I know I am among kindred spirits — and thankfully, there are a few. Thoughtful debate of differing points of view? No, thank you — we’re liberals. Anything that does not cleave to the progressive orthodoxy is shouted down, mocked, ridiculed and ostracized. I am grateful for your site and others like it, for I would be still more alone without them.
One needn’t go as far as New Zealand to experience cultural decline through pizza. Not three miles from where I sit is a pizza hotspot, quite popular with families in our upper-middle-class area. There is a large playroom for children, a wide selection of craft-brewed beers, and a cool, hipster vibe. It’s run and frequented by Brazilians, which gives it instant cachet. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brazilians also make up a large portion of the nannies and childcare providers in the area, and they often bring the children in their care to this place. It’s a lively scene, parents socializing while drinking and munching pizza; kids playing; large-screen TV’s showing sports, and a brewing apparatus on full display behind glass walls.









