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Debate on the smart cards will soon resume here and in other states close behind. In the meantime, I have promised myself that I will regularly extract a dollar bill from the limited assets within my impractical billfold and stare at it. I will contemplate anew the unique, stirring remainders of the beautiful inefficiencies of our freedom, and I will trust in God. I may count the numerous cards within and be grateful for little checks, little balances. I will let myself be inspired by remembering that a cluttered wallet is an ideology to be preserved and defended, and that one made thinner by being relieved of the bulkiness of liberty is none the better.
William Crew is director of communications for Assemblyman Jack Gibson (N.J.).
Dogma"I sit there every Sunday and I feel nothing," says Bethany. "I can remember sitting in church when I was a kid and being moved—like everything meant something, like I was important. And the stories of all these holy people were so inspiring. Now I sit there and think about my checking, and what I'm going to wear to work the next day."
It sounds like something straight out of a Bill Hybels book. But it's not. It's from the script for Dogma, a forthcoming film by Kevin Smith, one of Hollywood's coarsest—and most popular—directors. Smith's previous film, Chasing Amy, centered on a young man's love for a lesbian. Now he has turned his sights on the ills of religion—specifically, Catholicism.
Here's the basic plotline: Once upon a time, the Angel of Death, at another angel's prodding, decided to become a conscientious objector. For their insolence, God banished them to Wisconsin for the rest of history. But the angels (played by Hollywood darlings Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) find a "loophole" that may allow them to return to heaven. In an effort to get more people into church, one Catholic parish has reinstituted plenary indulgences, but only as a special, one-time offer. Those attending the church for the rededication ceremony will receive a clean slate morally, and all their previous sins will be forgiven. So the angels set out to enter the church.
There's only one problem: God doesn't allow loopholes. If the angels manage to finagle their way back into heaven, negating their banishment, all of God's other decrees will be up for grabs as well, from "Let there be light" on down. Existence will be canceled. So the forces of God enlist humans to stop the angels.
First on their list is Bethany, a counselor at an abortion clinic (and a descendant of Joseph and Mary). She meets up with Silent Bob and Jay—lovable dope-dealing characters from the director's past three movies—and Rufus, the thirteenth apostle (left out of gospel accounts because he was black). I won't spoil more of the plot; those who want to read a version of the script can do so at the semiofficial Web site (http://www.newsaskew.com).
Thus far Dogma may sound like just another antireligion flick created by a pagan filmmaker. But there's a wrinkle. The script is often critical of Christian (especially Catholic) practices, but not so much of Catholic doctrines. It has a deeply "inside" feel to it—as if it were written by an editor of the Door, if he were Catholic and potty-mouthed.
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