Tag Archives: Republicans

Christianity, or something else?

03 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Church, Politics, Theology

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It’s now January 3.  But really, it’s just another in the continual drumbeat of politics.  2018 is a Congressional election year.  And so we will hear the non-stop onslaught of how this and that will affect the election.  It’s not about the policies ultimately, it’s about who has power.  I get it to some degree – whoever has power determines the policy to a great extent.  And yet…

Woven into this narrative is Christianity.  Or certain types of Christianity.  It’s Christianity that is wrapped up in allegiance to political parties.  Will the Evangelicals come out for the Republicans?  Will the Mainliners or Progressive Christians come out for the Democrats?  Since when did it become normal to make Christianity just a subset of partisan political loyalties?  Since when did the church allow itself to be just a tool for political power gains?

I’m not interested in a Christianity that requires a swearing of allegiance to one of the political parties of the empire – As if the political party were the foundation of life and belief.  It is not.  Nor should it ever be.

If that is all Christianity is about, then it’s no long a religious or faith system by which a person lives their life.  It’s just another membership.  It’s anything worth living into or guiding my life.

No where in the bible has it ever said that the kingdom of God is reliant on the Democrat or Republican parties, their policies, or their power.  No where.  When our faith becomes too closely aligned with the power structures of the earthly empires of the world, it is no longer faith in God, but rather faith in government, politics, and partisanship – these become idols.

Policies from politicians will not save us.  Politicians will not save us – no matter how great they try to make the country.  Politicians will not save us – no matter how much hope they think they give the country.

Christianity isn’t some subset of politics.  If it is, it is misguided.  If your god fits nice and neatly into your partisan political beliefs, then you have an idol.  God, on the other hand, should challenge our beliefs and desires.  We should be the ones to alter and change based on God’s will and God’s word.

I want a Christianity that challenges me – personally, in my beliefs, in my political preferences, in how I live and work, in my relationships with people and creation.  I want this because it exposes the reality that is – I am not in control and I don’t have all the answers.  If your version of Christianity makes you really comfortable, then I’m willing to say, you’re missing something.  Christianity should make you uncomfortable – uncomfortable with the reality of homelessness, hunger, addictions, violence, war, sex trafficking, brokenness, and more.  It should make you uncomfortable enough to get up and start doing something about it in response.  This is how God works.  We pray, then God makes us uncomfortable and invites us to respond in trust to what God is up to, and then we respond without knowing what will happen.  It’s scary.  Actually, it can be frightening.  But it reminds us that we aren’t in control.

Being different in a world that requires you to pick sides

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Humanity, Politics, Society, Theology

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I’m going to clarify this a bit.  Not everywhere requires you to pick sides.  That’s because most of the world isn’t caught up in just two options.  It’s more an American thing.  We have this strange fascination with only offering two options for so many things.  It’s weird given how much we supposedly love freedom and choice.  But really, we pretty much love forcing people to choose one side or the other.

There are some exceptions of course – the most important being ice cream, but beyond that, most important decisions are limited to two “practical” sides.  Maybe this isn’t true across the board, but it seems true when it comes to things dealing with our identity.

You have left vs. right in politics, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative.

In religion here in the US, most people see the dichotomies of Christian vs. atheist, or conservative vs. liberal Christian, or fundamentalist vs. progressive Christian.

Even when we get into sex and sexuality, there’s two choices of male or female, “normal” vs. “abnormal”, straight or homosexual.

Of course we know that so often, many people don’t fit into these definitions, regardless of whether we think they should or not.  The mere fact that they claim that they don’t means that our A or B choice has flaws in it.  We see that in the sexuality discussion.  I think we’re aware of it when it comes to religion, although we aren’t good about talking about it, and we seem to be oblivious to this when it comes to politics.

So what’s a person to do when we they don’t fit into the “required” norm of picking a side?  Let’s just focus on religion and politics for now.

First, Expect that other are going to try to force you to pick.  Doesn’t mean you have to, it’s just that you should be prepared for this.  Just realize, this is the norm of society.  So many can’t even conceive of there being other options.  That’s not a judgement against others, it’s a recognition of reality around us.

Second, decide on a course of action.  You can either pretend to go along with this expectation, or you can chart a different course.  What might that different course be – looking at the ideal and moving towards it.  It might be lonely, and it might raise criticism.  But, really, is just sticking with the norm a good option?  If we ever want to change the dynamic, how is that going to happen unless there are people willing to step outside of the norm and just start living differently?

When forced to pick sides, you have another option usually.  Listen, express understanding, and invite people to see the world differently. Expect resistance and even harsh attacks.  But don’t give up.  Keep inviting and keep living.  Keep moving towards the ideal.  When people get tired of fighting and being attacked and attacking and being hurt and hurting, they will want another option.  That’s when people who refuse to pick sides will be heard.

 

The Sit-In

23 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in Politics

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About 40 Democrats in the House of Representatives have decided to do a sit-in.  They say they aren’t going to move until the House leadership brings up gun control legislation for a vote by the full House.  They even have a hashtag trending to go along with this.

Put aside the issue of gun control for a moment.  No really, put it aside for a moment. Let’s talk about tactics.  If it helps, insert another issue – maybe one the Democrats don’t like.  And for fun, change who is in control of the House of Representatives too – the Democrats.  So, just for fun, let’s say there are approximately 40 Republican House members who decided to do a sit-in on the floor of the House chamber over one of their pet issues.  Maybe it’s abortion, or tax law, or trade, or something else.  It doesn’t really matter what the issue is.  This is the tactic they use.  They even get a social media hashtag.  The exact same tactic.

My question is, would you have a different feeling about this?

You shouldn’t.  The tactics that are used matter.  The tactics are the public show and the statement about so much more than the issue at hand.

Let me be clear, gun control is a serious issue and deserves to be debated.

Doing a sit-in in the House chamber is childish at best.  It reminds me of a group of kindergartners who whine and pitch a fit on the floor in your kitchen and refuse to move because they aren’t getting their way.

It’s short term political theater.  And it drives me nuts.

It’s a “my way or the highway” way of thinking about legislation.  It only gives the Republicans an opportunity to come out looking bad, so why should they cooperate?  The longer it goes, the less likely it is that the stunt will be successful.  Now it’s a game of chicken and whoever blinks first loses.  Since the Republicans control the chamber and the agenda, they aren’t going to blink.  It was a smart move by Speaker Ryan to adjourn until after July 4.  No one will be paying attention to this for that long.  And the Democrats will end up giving up and not getting what they want. And what will that have accomplished?

Here’s something longer term.  When you pull a stunt like this, you should expect to have the same thing happen to you when you take over control of the chamber.  There really ought not be any complaints when the Republicans pull an equally juvenile stunt for short term gain.  But of course there will be.

Again, switch the Democrats and Republicans – how are you feeling about the tactic?  Or is your loyalty to party more important?  Is your side winning most important?  Do the ends justify the means?

The ends do not justify the means.  There are rules in the House of Representatives so that it can function like a group of adults – or it is supposed to. The House of Representatives was set up so that the majority has complete control of the chamber.  The way to change that to get the legislation you want to come up is by getting different people elected, or to cut deals, to work within the system.  That’s the rules.  As Obama famously said: elections have consequences.

Yes, I know there is a lot of jerrymandering.  Both parties are guilty of that.  Again, elections have consequences, in that case it is the elections of state legislatures.

Taking over the chamber is childish and diminishes the chamber.  Congress already has enough issues with people trusting it.  Now you have a bunch of whiny children taking over the floor.  This is not the way to get a vote on gun legislation or any legislation for that matter.  This is a way to further divide people and think in a winner/loser mentality.  My hope is this tactic fails.  Not because gun control isn’t worthy of debating and voting on, but because long-term, this tactic is harmful to our way of governing.

You may not like hearing this, but it is true – How is this type of tactic any different than Trump warning people there would be riots if he didn’t get the nomination. It was a childish statement of crying and pitching a fit and demanding things be done his way.

People who have childlike, winner-take-all mentalities issue threats, do sit-ins, and generally try to muscle their way to get what they want regardless of the opposition or anyone else.  That is a form of tyranny – the rule of humans over the rule of law.  The rule of one person, or a small group of people, who decide what the law will be because it’s what they want.

Those who embrace liberty and freedom do things differently.  They live according to an agreed upon set of rules recognizing that sometimes they will get their way and other times they won’t.  But they know that the rules are mostly fair and strive to apply equally to all.  They follow the rules established, think long-term, talk and discuss, consider opposing positions and make a decision.  I’m not saying the Republicans are saints here – not by any means.  I am saying the Democrats aren’t helping themselves here.

They had other options.  But they decided to make a power play.  It will fail as it should.  Which is a shame.  Gun control is an issue that we should be debating and coming to some kind of consensus about as a nation.

Integrity in partisan politics

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Humanity, Politics

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This could be shortest blog post I’ve ever written.  I could have just written this statement after the title – “It’s a rare find.”  But I can’t just leave it at that.

The whole flap about Republicans who have endorsed Trump but are now complaining about his comments about the judge have caught my attention.

There are several Republicans who have even gone so far as to say that Trump’s comments are racist – people like House Speaker Paul Ryan.  I agree.

But here’s the thing – is this really the first thing that these people are upset concerning Trump?  If they were really upset, why don’t they do what most people would in a similar situation – rescind their endorsement of the guy.

I get it, they all have their political careers to look out for.  So they think they can get away with distancing themselves from specific statements, but still maintain their endorsement.  I wonder how many statements they’ll have to back away from statements before their endorsement will break.  What would it take for them to rescind their endorsement?  Clearly a racist comment won’t do it – I don’t see anyone backing away as they should.  And considering Trump’s other comments against just about everyone who isn’t like him on the planet, I’m not sure who’s left to insult.  And yet, there’s the endorsements.

I wonder if these lawmakers realize what an endorsement really is – it’s not just something you do to save your political skin.  It’s a statement that says “I support this person and what they stand for.”

Here’s my statement to the lawmakers who have endorsed Trump, but are upset by his comments – I can’t trust you or take you seriously.  Words are empty without action to back it up.  Put your money where you mouth is.  Put up or shut up.

As for Trump – Here was his statement to Sean Hannity regarding those that endorsed him who are railing against him:

“They can’t get over it,” Trump told Hannity. “So they have to get over it, ideally. As to whether or not they endorse me? It’s OK if they don’t. But they have to get over it. They shouldn’t be so angry for so long.”

For the candidate who has built his entire campaign based on tapping into the continuing anger of a segment of the public, isn’t it ironic that he would say that those who criticize him “shouldn’t be so angry for so long.” That would be great advice for his supporters, only he’ll never say that to them.  He needs them to be irrationally angry.

And no worries, this isn’t some kind of endorsement of Hillary.  The Democrats have plenty of challenges with integrity as well – enough for a book, or a multi-volume set.  Too much to go into in this blog post.  Most of their politicians wouldn’t know integrity if it came up and slapped them across the face.  I just couldn’t stand by and watch this specific example and not say something.

You want to know why people are upset – because they see through the veil and the fakeness of so many things going on in government and politics and they can only just shake their heads in disgust.  Where’s the integrity?  And yet, we are told we have to continue to support one or the other political party.  We’re told we have no choice, that not voting for one candidate is a vote for the other.  We’re told rhetoric that is based in fear and anger – get on board, or else!  We’re told that government and politics is the foundation of life and that everything comes down to these things.  We’re essentially told that these politicians are our saviors – that they will save the country.

We’re told a lot of things.  Most of it is bunk – rhetoric designed to make us compliant and do what we’re “supposed” to do.  Modern day politics has become a sort of really bad religion, one the Pharisee’s would have been proud of I’m fairly certain.

Want to change this?  Stop putting your faith in politicians and government and political parties.  They are flawed.  Stop putting your hope in people who are going to “save” the country.  Stop worshiping at the altar of partisan politics.

Life is so much better when we shift our faith and hope to an actual savior and to things that matter so much more.  Politics isn’t the end-all, be-all of life.  That statement is heresy to the religion of politics and government.

You want integrity in politics?  Then let’s shift politics to it’s rightful place, away from the most important thing in life.  Stop going to the rallies.  Stop parroting the rhetoric of candidates.  Stop donating.  Stop putting up signs.  Stop attacking political opponents.  Start demanding higher standards of our politicians.  Start voting for people you really believe in, rather than the lesser of two evils.  Live in integrity in your own life and encourage those around you to live in integrity.  Put your faith and hope where it belongs – in God.  That’s how anything changes – it has to start somewhere – why not start with you and I?