Higher Ground

Last year, the movie: "The Kids are All Right"
Examined a crucial cultural conundrum.
This year, the movie: "Higher Ground"
Explores the role of faith in a secular society.

Vera Farmiga both stars and directs,
Thus contributing a matchless performance.
She mirrors the struggle of a reasonable person
Attempting to cope with an unreasonable church.

If you are not Christian, and see this film,
You might immediately exclaim
I knew that's what they are like:
Ignorant, misogynistic, judgmental creeps.

The portrayal would justify all those epithets.
So much so that it almost seems like a parody.
Yet such travesties do exist, and as such
May be looked upon as representative of the whole.

One critic refers to the church as evangelical,
Another calls it mainline,
When in fact it is neither, but the very worst
Kind of fundamentalism cult.

What makes it a cult is the attempt by
The pastor and members to practice mind control,
And to silence or ostracize anyone who strays
From their norms of belief and behavior.

Any thinking person would flee the scene,
If confronted by such a group.
That's what the heroine has to do
In order to obtain mental stability.

Most telling, the end birthday scene
Is attended by the parents, aunt, and
Grandparents of the little birthday boy,
All of whom have divorced their spouses.