Of the many eye-opening experiences for rustic freshmen coming to Madison for the first time, the discovery of The Onion always seems to be a particular highlight. A subsequent flip through the weekly’s satirical pseudo-news always ends in Dan Savage’s “Savage Love,” a column about, well, sex.

The column has not only been running for 10 years in The Onion but has also been syndicated worldwide. Savage’s latest venture had him traveling to exotic American destinations like Las Vegas and Plano, Texas, to write his new book “Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America.”

He uses the seven deadly sins as a jumping-off point to attack prominent social conservatives like Robert Bork, William Bennett and Bill O’Reilly while fleshing and defending his oft-outspoken liberal views. Savage talked with The Badger Herald about recreational marijuana use, professional virtuecrats and a little hobby he picked up while in Texas.

The Badger Herald: What was the writing process like?

Dan Savage: The process was miserable. I had read Robert Bork’s ‘Slouching Towards Gomorrah’, and in it he writes that Americans shouldn’t be free to choose which virtues to practice or not practice, which I felt was deeply creepy. And I’ve been annoyed listening to people like William Bennett talk about how people lack virtue.

Most of the people I know who are engaged in the activities Robert Bork and William Bennett believe are immoral are really virtuous about how they go about it. Most people who I know use recreational drugs do so very carefully and responsibly, but you never hear about them. To William Bennett, you’re either sober or a heroine addict, monogamous or a slut — there’s no in between.

Most of the people I know are somewhere in between, and I wanted to defend those people.

BH: Speaking of that in-between area, would you explain your stance on recreational marijuana use and why you think it’s received a bad rep?

DS: It’s received a bad rep, because of the determined efforts of the federal government to make marijuana into this … you know. Now we’re told it’s all about terrorism; before it was because it made us all rapists; Ronald Reagan said it made you grow breasts.

It’s ridiculous. Marijuana is harmless, especially when compared to alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana is a clump of daisies compared to alcohol.

BH: Is this image irreparable?

DS: People are changing it. Pro-medical-marijuana initiatives tend to pass, but it’s still an uphill battle with recreational-marijuana initiatives. The irony is, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, marijuana is the most widely available drug in the United States. It’s everywhere, despite billions and billions of tax dollars spent trying to eradicate it. This is never going to happen.

BH: What was your experience on ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ like?

DS: He tore my lungs out. Bill O’Reilly’s interview style is to ask you a question, and when you try to answer it, he asks you another question and interrupts until he finds a question you weren’t necessarily prepared to answer.

BH: When you go into that kind of situation, do you relish the opportunity?

DS: I enjoy it very much. I go on a lot of conservative radio stations and argue with the hosts and listeners. But O’Reilly doesn’t engage in an honest argument, he just tries to trip you up.

BH: Can you explain the term ‘professional virtuecrat?’

DS: It’s someone goes out and writes the big book of virtues and complains Americans fall short of what they believe. They’re boring, scolding, holier-than-thou, busybody puritans.

BH: Is that applicable only to social conservatives?

DS: That particular stripe is, but there are ‘lefties’ too — people who think everyone should eat tofu, vote for Ralph Nader and be idiotic. But lefties tend to be busybodies who try to make you feel bad.

BH: Where do you stand in that spectrum?

DS: I consider myself a ‘moderation-ecrat.’ [laughs]

BH: What was it like being in Texas with a gun in your hand?

DS: It was fun. I wish Bill Bennett would extend me the courtesy of going, ‘Well, Dan Savage really likes this cock-sucking thing. I may not see what the joy in that is, but he’s not hurting anybody, so I’ll let him do it.’

In that same spirit, I thought, ‘Maybe there’s something to guns.’ I had never fired or even held one. So, despite my loathing of the gun culture, I thought I’d go and learn to shoot. Lo and behold, I discovered I really enjoyed it.

BH: Weren’t you intimidated going into such a conservative state like Texas?

DS: Most gay men, myself included, don’t read gay to straight people. So I didn’t have to defend myself, because I didn’t run around Plano, Texas, in a pink dress shooting a gun.

BH: Are you ever stopped and confronted by people that don’t like your ideas?

DS: People that stop me to yell at me are usually gay people that don’t like the stuff I’ve written about AIDS. So I don’t get attacked by conservatives.

BH: Ever been confronted by a reader that didn’t like how you handled his letter?

DS: That has never happened, but you would think it would, considering how rude I can be.

BH: You’ve been doing ‘Savage Love’ for 10 years. Have you ever been close to calling it quits?

DS: No, I really enjoy it, because I basically get paid to bullshit with my friends about sex. I don’t think anyone ever gets tired of that.

Dan Savage will be reading from “Skipping Towards Gomorrah” Saturday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. The event will be held at the Orpheum Theatre, 216 State St.