Lander, WY – Of course you all know that IIT’s founder Everett Polinski is smart. But as we all know, the real way to show just how smart you are is to not just write on Twitter, but to write a Twitter thread on Twitter. Tonight, Everett Polinski did just that, demonstrating at once his profound knowledge of political philosophy, liturgical analysis (including comparative), and sociology.

You really ought to read his epic thread here now about why Byzantines are like the Libertarian Party of the Catholic Church.

Full Unrolled Text:

Byzantines seem to me to be half former Rad-Trads (the men) and half former Charismatics (the women). They both find what they were missing in the former state in Byzantium. But why is this? I have a theory. (1/7)

The Byzantine rite is like the Libertarian party of the Catholic Church. Just like the real-life Libertarian Party is one part Ron/Rand Paul laisse-faire conservatives (defined as the RIGHT) and one part social laisse-faire social liberals (defined as the LEFT)… (2/7)

So also Byzantine men come from the Rad-Trad right of Catholicism. They want traditional practice, custom, and form in the liturgy. They come to the Byzantine rite because they find it EVEN MORE traditional, powerful, etc. than the Extraordinary Form of the West (3/7)

Byzantine women, on the other hand, come from the Charismatic left of Catholicism. They want EXPRESSION above all else. They want a liturgy in which they can FEEL and actively participate. And so, for them the Byzantine rite is EVEN MORE of these than a charismatic OF (4/7)

And so, just as the Libertarian Party is more fiscally conservative than the traditional Republican right and more socially liberal than many Democrat leftists on certain social issues (simply put as GET THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE WAY) … (5/7)

The Byzantine Rite is even more RAD-TRAD and even more CHARISMATIC than both the current right and left of Catholic liturgical experience respectively. And for the same reason as the Libertarian Party. (6/7)

The Byzantine Rite seems to be pretty much the party in the Church of decentralization, lived tradition as opposed to top-down mandate, as well as peace, love, and memes… Just like the LP, but with a few more thuribles and a few less AR15s. What do you all think? (7/7)

Originally tweeted by Everett Polinski (@EverettPolinski) on February 18, 2023.

Do you agree? Even if you don’t, join the discussion on Twitter. It’s happening.