A House Divided...

I find myself a lot in the midst of contradiction.  I have served in the Army for over 22 years, yet I am a lover of peace, not quite a pure pacifist, nor am I a conscientious objector, but at the same time, I can’t really come up with how or why war is ever “right”.   I am Christian, but have been told that by other Christians that I really don’t believe the “right way”.  And, I truly appreciate hearing about, and learning from, people of other religious experiences.  I initially registered as a Republican, then I registered as Democrat and now I’m registered as an Independent.  I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats.  I lived in Alaska for four years and never went hunting (that may seem like not much of a contradiction but believe me, there are many who can’t believe it).  I love books but have a difficult time reading for more than 30 minutes without wanting to take a nap.  Probably my most troublesome contradiction is that I have family and friends who feel very passionately on both sides of the partisan aisle and are divided about so many of the social issues that are headlined today.   It really is troublesome at times.   Most of us have experienced it.   How many people at least silently obey the rule of not talking politics or religion at Thanksgiving?  

Things seem to be getting pretty bad now though.  The term “hyper-partisanship” is used much more often than simply partisanship these days.    Bipartisanship and compromise is cause for many to throw a politician out of office.   Though I have friends and family that have clearly chosen sides, I truly want to believe that my friends and family would agree that we are all in this together and that we all bring value to the table.  

I’ve been amused when I hear about our Founding Fathers or the Constitution being “clear” about a specific issue.   The fact is though there were deep divides among our Founding Fathers on just about every issue that continues to divide us today, including the argument of big government vs. small government as well as the separation of church and state, and what that really means.  John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were miles apart in their positions regarding the role of government. – yet they were among the closest of friends.  But does anyone remember the disagreement, and subsequent duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton?   That didn’t end too well.  It ended with the death of Alexander Hamilton and the complete ruin of any political aspiration and further contribution of Aaron Burr.  

Name calling is big.  Liberal is used as dirty word by many of those who consider themselves “Conservative”.  And those that are conservative are often referred to as “right wing nuts” by those who consider themselves liberal.    

Liberal:  one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways: an advocate or adherent of liberalism especially in individual rights  

Conservative - tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : traditional;  marked by moderation or caution; marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners

 

Really? Is there not value that can be found in both of these viewpoints?  Today, it seems that the viewpoints may best be defined in the same way.  The one thing that both view points share is that their viewpoint is right!  They have all the answers.  The other viewpoint is just plain wrong!   In fact, the other viewpoint is not just wrong, it’s worthy of being mocked and even demonized. 

Visceral – is characterized by deep and crude or elemental emotions rather than fact or intellect. 

There is a plethora of visceral viewpoints being posted on the internet these days.   I think it would be worth our while to step back and actually consider that we might not have it right – all the time.  The truth is, from an evidenced based standpoint -  

·         Very few fiscal conservatives are right wing nuts.  In fact, not all fiscal conservatives are social conservatives.  And not all social conservatives are haters.  

·         Very few liberals are communists or atheist.  

·         If a citizen has thought enough about his politics to consider whether he is a liberal or a conservative, there is good chance that he is a patriot.   

Patriot: devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty. 

·         Conservatives are not out just to make the rich richer.  Conservatives are not all selfish, bigoted war mongers.

·         The government is not all bad, unless we are all bad, because we are the government.  

·         Social Security Retirement, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance and Veterans Disability Compensation is NOT welfare!  

·         There is no evidence to support the idea that Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush or Obama are the anti-christ.  

·         Our children are still aloud to pray in school.  There has been no legislation, nor Supreme Court decision, outlawing the right of our children to pray in school.  

·         President Obama does recite the Pledge of Allegiance, was born in Hawaii, considers himself a Christian, and does not want to take your guns away.   

And the fact is, none of us know it all, and when we act like we do – that our right is the only right, we usually are just making a fool out of ourselves.    

These arguments go much further back then our own country’s history.   In Biblical times the same arguments were common and passionate.  One of the greatest narratives of the Gospel is that Jesus often found himself debating the role of religion in government and our understanding of God in our lives.   Jesus’ message was radical.   It definitely went against the traditional understanding of both the religious leaders and politicians of his time.   The leaders were pretty certain that they knew it all.   But Jesus’s message was that they did not, and worse than not knowing it all, was that they didn’t know that they didn’t know!    Jesus demonstrated a great deal of patience for those who knew they didn’t know it all and were seeking his wisdom and knowledge.   He was well aware though, that there were many, mostly in leadership positions, which just were not even open to considering that they may not know everything.   

As I consider the gospels, I see so many parallels.  The more things change, the more things stay the same (lol – that’s one of those statements I think I may understand only on a visceral level).  

So, which is right? Well – I suppose again, my faith says, that I will know them by their fruits.  When it is clear that a position is consistent with what I understand will help in building the Kingdom, loving God and loving my neighbor with all of my passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence, then well, that is what is required…   

I wish I could say I do not get caught up in the passion of my arguments and forget that we are all children of God and we are all in this together, but I do.   I need to keep working on it.   I believe we all do, because I also believe that this hyper partisanship is a greater risk to this country than any other issue we face. As Abraham Lincoln said - A house divided against itself cannot stand.