The theme of the annual convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America this weekend in Cleveland is “Theology’s Prophetic Commitments,” and it speaks to what contemporary theology frequently understands to be one of the most important motivations for and outcomes of theological work: freedom. In what freedom consists, whence it comes, and how theological life becomes a free life — these are all contested matters. Even freedom itself is not accepted by many theologians as holding such a central place in theology. Those who defend freedom’s centrality, as I would, often argue that freedom is an “integral” phenomenon, and this is the language often used in Catholic thought. Freedom as “integral” means that spiritual freedom is bound up with material freedom, and social with individual. The human being uniquely (so far as we know, anyway), and “all creation” as well (with many conversations about differentiating and defining what counts as created, sentient, dignified), has a “right” to live in a world wherein we can both be ourselves and invent ourselves, where we can live sane lives, subjects in and subject to the world in non-exploitative ways.

This comes to mind as I was reading two articles about rock culture recently, both in the New York Times. One, reported by Ben Sisario, describes how rock concert ticket pricing has changed dramatically over the last decade, with expensive “packages” increasingly the norm, wherein fans can pay high prices for great seats, “meet-and-greets,” swag (band-related paraphernalia), and general VIP treatment.  A good number of North American rock fans can pay these high prices, and they don’t want anything less than a “premium” concert experience, turning a rock show into a mini-vacation or kind of spa event. I have rued and lamented this development ever since I saw it first introduced about fifteen years ago, with “golden circle” seating, backstage access packages, and dollar signs attached to proximity to the band. The decline in album sales in an age of illicit downloading, and the monopolization of the concert scene by Ticketmaster/Live Nation, has only encouraged more bands to go this route. It is slightly uncouth to say this, but rock shows are different now that so many wealthy middle-aged men can buy up the good seats.

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