Can it be true? Can a blue jeans advertisement perform like a magician’s top hat, producing irony, racism, sex appeal, body positivity, Nazism, and eugenics all at the same time?

Apparently so.

Recently, American Eagle jeans featured actress Sydney Sweeney in an ad that caused some heads to explode among our ever vigilant supervisors of woke culture. In the 15-second clip that was the center of this firestorm, a reclining Sweeney, dressed entirely in denim, is zipping up her jeans while she says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.” She then faces the camera and says, “My jeans (or genes) are blue.” She then looks up and off-camera, laughing a bit, either at herself or the ad.

Is this ad sexy? You bet. Is it clever? Yep. Effective? Affirmative.

Yet as Brandon Morse and other commentators have noted, Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle were immediately blasted by charges of racism, Nazism, and somehow advocating genetics. Blue-eyed, blonde-haired, and white, to them Sweeney was an Aryan poster girl for Hitlerism and white supremacy.

And here’s where irony comes into play. First, the Democrats are investing millions of dollars and countless hours trying to figure out why a majority of young men despise their party, but then some of them savage an ad that would likely draw a two thumbs up response from those same men. Next, the charges that the ad, Sweeney, and American Eagle are racist are themselves racist against white people. The eugenics accusation is beyond belief, but there you go. That these wild criticisms have drawn loads of positive as well as negative attention to both Sweeney and American Eagle jeans is another in this series of ironies.

Finally, there is irony in the fact that these detractors still haven’t learned that a whole lot of other people have moved on. They’ve broken away from the worn-out creeds of political correctness and the ridiculous woke posturing, and if they pay any attention at all to Sweeney’s label-loving critics, it’s with scorn or laughter. They’ve realized there’s far more to life and living than the day’s news headlines and the bogus issues embraced by divisive, dogmatic ideologues.

We see this quest for meaning and happiness in the uptick of religious beliefs and practices among young people in our country. They’ve pulled back the wizard’s curtain of politics and seen the emptiness backstage. They’ve had enough of the therapy-talk so prevalent in our culture, and are finding more meaning in prayer and God-talk.

We see this same quest for truth, goodness, and beauty among some of our college students who are looking for an education rather than indoctrination. Small colleges across the country – Catholic, Protestant, and secular – that offer great books courses and their variations, and that stress free speech and discussion, are holding their own or even thriving in a time of declining college enrollment nationwide.

If we look hard enough, we also find evidence of this quest for meaning and joy in the often hidden desire for normalcy in relationships, where politics isn’t a cause for rejection, where romance isn’t a word to snicker over or a sign of some psychological disorder, where young men and young women can fall in love, marry, raise a family, and build a home. Our culture neglects the value of marriage and family, yet for many Gen Z people I know those institutions remain a flame in the darkness of our culture.

It’s time we all moved on. The charges of Nazism, racism, and the like that are so often leveled at our culture have gown old and dilapidated. The wheels are off that bus now, and only a few tiresome, babbling passengers remain seated on it.

If you’re looking for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” shrink the political arena to its proper intended size, and then, taking common sense as your guide rather than some hide bound ideology, turn away and strike out into the broader world of life, where you’ll experience mysteries, real truths, and beauty.

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The republication of this article is made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal. 

Image Credit: Jcjeansandclothes, CC BY-SA 3.0