Opinion of the Flying Spaghetti Monster argument

[Sol]

The 2000s were the recent high water mark of evangelical cultural power in the U.S., in a way that's genuinely hard to remember now. The only reason why the Flying Spagehtti Monster had any sort of widespread appeal was because it spoke to the 20-30% of Americans who felt profoundly alienated by the hegemonic marriage of right-wing politics and conservative Christianity that characterized the Bush administration (see also, Jon Stewart, r/atheism, Lady Gaga as cultural lightning rod).

Now it seems sort of pathetic -- a lost icon from a bygone era.