Reinforcing the Da Vinci Code

I was at the bookstore today, and they have a whole table full of books about the DaVinci code. I'm sure you've seen them; they're not new: "Debunking the DaVinci Code," "Don't Believe the Da Vinci Code," and stuff like that. The thing that strikes me as funny is that The Da Vinci Code is a work of FICTION. It has never been billed as anything other than a plain old novel. And yet all these people--mostly conservative Christian types--have written books refuting its "claims"! Don't they realize that by doing so, they're essentially legitimizing it? People suddenly have a reason to check it out. "Hey, maybe there's something to this Da Vinci code thing after all! After all, nobody ever wrote a book called 'Debunking To Kill A Mockingbird'."

Imagine you're walking down a street--maybe it's a street you walk down every day. And on your walk, you pass an alley. It's just a plain old alley, and you walk right by it every day, so you think nothing of it, and you just walk on by. Now imagine it's another day, and you're walking by again. But this time there's a guy standing at the opening to the alley holding a "Don't Go Down This Alley" sign and shouting, "Keep moving people! There's nothing important in this alley! Just keep walking!" Suddenly that plain old alley that never meant anything before becomes very interesting.

So apparently there's something to this Da Vinci code after all. Quick! Everybody run to your local bookstore and read about what the Christian right doesn't want you to know.