I’m a pretty positive nerd; I like most nerdy things I watch or read. Not every nerd feels the same way though. I don’t get it. Here’s a #TBT post about me not getting it.
When it first debuted in 1989 I was banned from watching The Simpsons. Compared to what’s on television now The Simpsons seems rather tame. But as soon as Bart said, “I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?” I knew that Springfield and all of its citizens would never light up our family’s television screen.
I never really watched The Simpsons, even after my mother stopped controlling my television watching habits, but I still know a lot about the characters.
I know who Moe is.
I know that Ned Flanders’s wife died at some point.
And I know all about Comic Book Guy.
Comic Book Guy is Springfield’s resident nerd. He owns the comic book store and every time I see him he is complaining about some part of nerdom. I know that Comic Book Guy is a caricature of nerds everywhere and his negativity is representative of a large majority of nerds.
I am very negative about negative nerds.
Sometimes it seems that nerds can only be happy if they’re complaining about the things they supposedly love so much.
People loved the original trilogy so much that they felt entitled to rake the prequels across the coals.
People loved Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek so much that they feel entitled to destroy J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek.
People loved the Avengers comic books so much that they feel entitled to nitpick everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
If we love our favorite nerdclinations we should look for reasons to appreciate them, not excuses to tear them down. I generally try to be a positive person and I carry that over to my nerdclinations.
Were the prequels perfect? No but I was happy to see the Star Wars saga continue.
Was Star Trek Into Darkness the best Star Trek movie? No but there hasn’t been a Star Trek television series on air since 2005 so I was happy for it.
Did The Avengers cover the depth of 50 years of comic books? No but I was so excited to see the Avengers assembled onscreen for the first time that it didn’t matter.
If we love something then we should look for reasons to love it. It’s much easier to be critical of something than it is to appreciate it. I want to get joy out of my nerdclinations, not just anger and bitterness. I don’t understand the concept of hate watching anything, much less something that I support and love.
We can expand this idea of looking for reasons to love something beyond our nerdclinations. We can often have the same mindset with the Church that we have with our nerdclinations. We say that we love the Church but look for reasons to criticize her instead of reasons to love her. The Church is imperfect but she’s also the bride of Christ. And if we love her we should go out of our way to show it.
What helps you look for reasons to love your favorite nerdclinations?
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