I found the words “post-Mormon” especially interesting while reading Evan Hall’s essay on Bryce Harper at the Classical. Hall’s talking about the public perception of Harper and his Mormonism, the brash outfielder for the Washington Nationals who grabbed media attention when he responded to a reporter’s question with “That’s a clown question, bro.”
“It was almost post-Mormon, at least in the way that Bryce Harper won the exchange by seeming haughtily, indescribably cool,” writes Hall.
The essay’s a reaction to a different post that pigeonholed Harper because of his religion:
The embarrassment was pretty much entirely because Bryce Harper is a Mormon, and I’m a Mormon, and because nothing is quite as embarrassing as watching someone cynically reduce an athlete or celebrity with whom you share some significant similarity — a real kinship, spiritual and otherwise —- in the very way that you fear being reduced yourself.
Definitely a recommended read. While you’re at it, if you need any convincing about Harper’s greatness, check out the time he stole home.