Social media interaction can be revealing.
I retweeted a tweet by a friend – an observation about the tendency of Christians to justify any failures on “our side” (politically) by pointing out that “their side” is worse. The nearly immediate and sadly predictable response was that this man (a rock-solid conservative) must be a Hillary supporter. Naturally, if you are not 100% in support of the GOP and everything they do, you are a Democrat-lover!
I have watched the response to a tweet I sent out a while back with some amusement.
Trump. Comey. Russia. Schumer. Pelosi. Ryan. Impeachment. Wikileaks. Hollywood. CNN. Fox. I am SO over all of this and it is Trump’s 4th month of a 4 YEAR term.
My point was simple – I’m sick of it all. The news. The bickering. The pettiness. These last four months have been tempestuous, to say the least, and assuming the Pelosicrats don’t get their way, there are 44 months left, and perhaps another 48 after that.
Several people agreed with me – there is a great deal of politico-weariness out there. We are tired of slanted news, fake news, screeching politicians, and chattering talking heads. But I received some other responses, telling responses. “It’s THEM!” The fault never lies with us but always with them. CNN and MSNBC are slanted – FOX is “fair and balanced.” (I have a few friends who feel exactly the opposite, of course. Hillary is a hero. CNN is fair. Fox is faux.) Trump has been relentlessly attacked. Yes, he has, but he’s been a pretty relentless attacker, too, has he not?
But the most interesting response I got came from a man who told me to put on my “big boy pants” because there are “things worth fighting for” and if I’m not willing to fight I must not believe that. I was fairly stunned at that response. Unless I believe that the GOP is fully right and give my blind and unquestioning allegiance, then I am a moral and political coward not willing to stand for truth, justice, and the American Way!
Those are but two examples of a common issue I see in political discourse today. All middle ground has vanished. The American political system has devolved into extremes. “If you are not for me, you are against me.” Moderation is ridiculed as weakness (and in the SBC, no one wants to be labeled moderate, right?) – everything is 100% yes or 100% no. All trace of nuance or subtlety is gone. The other side never has a legitimate point. We do political discussions with sledgehammers now. Or nuclear warheads?
I am disgusted with a lot of what I have seen from the Republican party in recent years. I registered as a Republican when I turned 18 and have been a loyal voter since. After this last political season, I came to believe this party no longer represented what I believe (in its practice more than its platform) and I have declared myself an independent.
I was called, regularly, a Hillary-lover. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have a visceral and probably sinful reaction to the very sight of her on TV or in print. But the all-or-nothing mentality of modern politics dominates. Nuclear politics. If I don’t love her opponent then I must secretly support her!
I have a nuanced view of Donald Trump that is totally unacceptable to people on both sides. I did not and still would not vote for him, based on his character, his morality, his imperial tendencies, and his egotism. On the other hand, I think he has done some good things. Pence. Gorsuch. He has had some legislative initiatives I support and am happy about. He is neither all good nor all bad. I like some things and I don’t like some other things. Why does it infuriate EVERYONE when you either do not love everything about a politician or hate everything about him?
I maintain that in the fallen world of secular politics there is little but gray area. There is almost nothing of value in the abortion-loving, perversion-promoting Democratic party, but the hypocrisy, compromise, and cowardice so prevalent in the GOP make it hard for me to feel good aligning with them. I just do not trust them anymore.
Words fail in describing how little desire I have to enter an in-depth political discussion, though I realize that such are inevitable after a post like this. My intent is to stay out of them. I have a simple point in this piece, one that I have failed miserably in making with many folks. There are nuanced and subtle positions between the political poles. One can appreciate some things about Trump and be offended by others without being a Hillary supporter! The failure to jump on the culture warrior bandwagon is not, I believe, a sign of moral cowardice or hidden leftist leanings. It is often a strategic decision about evangelism, discipleship, and the purpose of the church.
There are many who want to drive people to the poles in any discussion, and I believe it is usually an unhealthy impulse. Both cage-stage Calvinists and the virulent anti-Calvinists want to frame that discussion as if there are only two positions. Us against them. But in reality there are a host of positions along the continuum and most of us are neither “fivers” or “antis.” Politics are not black and white. The GOP is not made up of a bunch of Jesus-loving folks who want to restore “America’s Godly Heritage” and not all Democrats want to destroy everything good in America. I realize it is easier to frame arguments if we drive everyone to the poles and allow only two options. But it is not intellectually honest or fair.
There are nuanced and subtle positions between the poles. One can appreciate some things about Trump and be offended by others without being a Hillary supporter! It is possible for a Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christian to believe that a Democrat has a position that is preferable to a Republicans! Our caricatures of untarnished heroes and unvarnished villains seldom fit reality.
I am going to continue to occupy and argue for the middle ground on many issues. I realize that many of you are going to continue to deny it exists and call it weakness.
Maybe we can have a nuanced discussion about it?
Dave, Thanks for putting so eloquently many of my thoughts on the current situation in our country when it comes to politics. The lack of ability to criticize without being pigeonholed is killing our ability to not just to discuss civillly differences, it to govern. Our politicians are just as much hamstrung by these issues as we are. Organizations like the Heritage Foundation and NARAL are making it almost impossible to find middle ground. The real caualities of these issues are the people our government is supposed to serve. The poor. The educator. The dwindling middle class. The senior citizen.… Read more »
I actually shy away from political observations now, quite a bit, because i think “it’s just not worth it.”
If I say anything that expresses anything less than absolute support for Trump I will get branded a closet lib, Hillary-lover, SJW, or some such thing.
If I agree with Trump, and there are times when i do, some tend to get just as offended. Frankly, tho, in my circles there are more of the former than the latter.
I might suggest the toughest read of my life, “After Virtue” by Alasdair MacIntyre as a means of providing an in-depth analysis of the dominance of emotivism, what we tend to call moral relativism. MacIntyre’s provocative last paragraph of the first edition is what led Rod Dreher to first consider and then outline at book length his rationale for what he terms the Benedict Option. I commend actually reading his book as well, read it slowly, carefully, after casting aside your preconceptions based on reading other’s reactions to the book, most of them haven’t read it, many haven’t even bothered… Read more »
They told you that? They said they haven’t read it? They said they haven’t even bothered to skim over it?
i dunno, maybe its a great book with timely truths inside or maybe you just want to silence reasonable objections to it.
Doc, We already have a form of community that serves us well and will serve us in the possible coming darkness: the local church that preaches the Word of God. We may have to adapt, we may have to lose our buildings. But we will survive by the grace of God or we will be whisked away to glory land by His grace. We may suffer loss of comfort and possibly life, but we have His Word and His Spirit. Our mission isn’t to survive, it is to preach the Gospel as long as we have breath even in the… Read more »
Thank you so much for expressing this. If I were still on facebook, I would probably just provide a link to this article as my political views.
The only way Trump comes out of this presidency with any reputation intact, is if Republicans hold him accountable, but I frankly don’t see that happening. I’m a bit of a political junkie, and night after night I watch surrogates and other Trump supporters who will defend absolutely anything that he does or says. Anything. I’ve actually heard them justifying the body-slam guy a few days ago, a guy Trump endorsed. Obama isn’t president. Clinton isn’t president. Trump is president, but we don’t work for him. He works for us. Gorsuch is the only thing I can think of that… Read more »
I would like to subtly agree with your post. It is sad, isn’t it, that in this burgeoning age of information, when we ought to be more well-read, more well-researched, more knowledgeable people; when the internet has broken the power of the Gatekeepers, on the internet it seems people have retreated further into their own ignorance, and heap to themselves Gatekeepers to keep themselves “pure”. Where I have seen this most is in the so-called “Conservative Media.” I have learned so many things over the years from Rush Limbaugh. I first began following him back in the early nineties when… Read more »
Jim – what a wise and insightful post!
I feel exactly the same way!
Jim, When a person isn’t following Christ, they are following after an idol. And they will do whatever it takes to prop up that idol. I was born in the 50’s so I imagine i have a few years on you. I don’t know if that is why or maybe some other reason, but I always saw Rush as for the hype that something is good as long as it agrees with me, and if it agrees with me [or is the closest thing to that] than it is good. It always seemed to be about the spin with him… Read more »
There are (basically) two theological viewpoints at war with one another within Protestantism. Roughly stated, one has a high view of the Bible and the other has a low view of the Bible. There are (basically) two political viewpoints at war with one another within Protestantism. Roughly state, one is Republican and the other is Democratic. There are those who generally allow their theology to drive their politics. There are those who generally allow their politics to drive their theology. What has surprised me is to learn that people who share both the same theology and the same politics but… Read more »
The more you talk, the smarter I gets!