What does "Mc" mean -- as in McMansion?

Every culture produces objects that betray the essence of that culture.

In our day, a McMansion is one of those objects. That is because we live in a McCulture culture.

The key is understanding the "Mc" prefix. A "Mc" in front of something means that it is an inauthentic copy of the real thing.

We know there are the real things. But we settle for the Mc-versions of them:

McMansions

McChurches

McCauses

McNobels

We settle for all of these because we are largely comfortable living in our McCulture.

A "Mc" renders a thing inauthentic because:

1. It is a mass-produced copy of the authentic thing. A McMansion, for instance, is no mansion at all. It is a stage-set of a mansion. Cosmetics is a very important element of Mc-things.

2. Because it is mass-produced, a Mc-object takes little time to produce, little time to cultivate. It requires little time to get to know. Mc-things save us time (or so the illusion goes), so we can have time to work for the next Mc-thing.

3. A Mc-thing is ultimately not nourishing. That is because a Mc-thing is not animated by life from within; it is camouflaged by decor from without.

Logos2Go

Matthew 23.26 First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Matthew 6.5-6 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Haggai 1.9 You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the Lord Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.