Underoath couldn't take the heat . . .

. . . so they got out of the Vans Warped kitchen.

Yes, Underoath had a tough decision to take. Every day on the Vans Warped tour this summer, Fat Mike from NOFX would get on stage and mock the members of Underoath. Swearing, mocking, and derisive, Fat Mike mocked the faith of the members of Underoath, called them stupid, unmodern, blamed them for war, etc, etc. When Underoath took the stage, they ran the risk of vulgar insults, booing, and thrown projectiles. Not only that, but they faced the risk of a boycott at the merch table. Now Underoath is not the first Christian band to play the Warped Tour (MxPx, Relient K, Letter Kills), but few have faced the kind of mockery that Underoath faced.

Underoath left the Warped Tour early. Was this the right decision? I'm not sure. What is the point of staying in a trying environment and surrounded by temptation constantly? Would Underoath have made a statement about their faith by staying on the Tour and subjecting themselves to further ridicule? In my opinion, the only message that would have sent is that Christians are push-overs who will take any type of abuse on the chin. Would people have remembered anything except that Underoath were the Tour joke? No, I think Underoath did the right thing but standing up and saying "We're not going to be part of this any more." It has been said that discretion is the greater part of valour - I think that Underoath showed discretion by leaving the Tour instead of foolishly choosing it as a hill to die on.

After watching MuchMusic, I went to a Liberal Party Leadership Debate today. It was pretty boring, I didn't stay long. I thought I'd have a lot more to say about it - strangely, I've spent so much time typing out that bit about Underoath (it took a long time because I was listening to a Ravi Zacharias podcast at the same time, and it's difficult to listen and write at the same time) that I forgot anything interesting I might have had to say about the Liberal Leadership Debate.

Let's just say that I still disagree with their social values. Imagine that. Otherwise, I found Ignatieff inspiring.