Spiritual advisers

I remember, in the misty past of the Democratic presidential nomination struggle, when Obama's minister problem was much in the news, I was home ill from work one day and watching with Amanda "The View."  Elizabeth, dressed fetchingly, kept referring to Obama's spiritual adviser, how his choice of Rev. Jeremiah Wright as his spiritual adviser exhibited very poor judgment, because after all Rev. Wright was not just his pastor but also his spiritual adviser, and you can tell a lot about a person by the spiritual adviser they choose, and Obama's spiritual adviser shows he is not to be trusted.

It seemed to me an odd way of talking--for some reason, it put me in mind of a supermodel, dressed to the nines, sauntering down the runway with the head of a very small poodle peeking out from some outlet in the bodice: spiritual adviser = very small poodle.  I thought all this business about spiritual adviser showed that Elizabeth is daft, which she is, but I have since realized that she is daft in the same way as a lot of her think-alike pals in the God-wing of the Republican party.  Indeed, such is the cachet of spiritual advisers that there is a cross-over appeal: some new-age Democrats, especially if they have a Hollywood address, are apt to keep a spiritual adviser among their attendants.

So there is no reason to be surprised that Governor Mark Sanford has a spiritual adviser, and I was pleased, when reading of his troubles, finally to have some light shed upon the duties associated with this position.  Sanford's spiritual adviser accompanied him on a trip to New York, the purpose of which was to break off the affair with his South American soul-mate. Apparently the three of them went to church and dinner, then parted, one in one direction and two in the other.  Really weird, and James Wolcott, in his inimitable way, heaps on cheerful derision:

I'd love to sign on as someone's "trusted spiritual adviser." That strikes me as a pretty sweet gig. It's true that my spirituality isn't orthodox mainstream jiveass Billy Graham Judeo-Christian, consisting mostly of koans gleaned from the Buddhist magazines I subscribe to and old Alan Watts talks, but I'm sure I'd have as much to contribute with my thoughtful nods and arm pats as Reverend Whozit from the Church of the Weeping Disciples. All I ask is that someone who's recently screwed up his life consider reaching out and giving a rookie like me a chance to prove himself in the spiritual-adviser racket. Your secrets would be safe with me, unless of course the check bounces, at which point all bets are off.

Amen, James.  You're my soul-mate.

Comments

[jonathan]

new thing to me, in my country no one has spiritual adviser. That is personal though. But spiritual adviser are given to those who are sentenced to death.