I'll cut to the chase: I'm a loyalist.
So.... what does that mean, exactly?
Part of my returning to the blog this year and reshaping my blogging picture includes reposting old posts from previous eras of my life. After some thought, I recently added four posts regarding my political perspective journey, with the fourth one culminating with some convictions I've had from the beginning.
For reference, here are the links to the four posts, in chronological order:
April 18, 2005: The night I officially became a liberal
June 14, 2009: The night I officially became a conservative
November 3, 2010: The night I officially became a moderate
September 3, 2012: Re: politics: underneath, I've always been this way
I imagine that the casual reader just glancing at those four headlines might think I'm either a lunatic or a flip-flopper. While I don't think I'm a lunatic, I could see why one might think I'm a flip-flopper. After all, I have flip-flopped my perspective on various topics from time to time. Specifically, I think both capitalism and socialism have merits. I also have things I don't like about either economic system. That said, I'm not as market-inclined as many other people are. I don't know how stocks work, and I'm not sure I care all that much. So, regarding economics, I simply pray and wait, and I don't opine on this. (At least not any more than I just did.)
There is also something to be said for feeling pressure to care about topics I don't care about. For example, I also don't particularly care about the topic of drugs, specifically around legalization or criminalization. The simple reason is that I don't use drugs. I've never used, and I don't ever plan to use. I have concerns about use of drugs in general in that they have addictive qualities, many of which tend to be destructive. To wit: the younger brother of a classmate of mine died of a heroin overdose a couple years ago. He was only 26. I resonate with that. But with the topic of, say, marijuana, I've heard arguments on both sides: 1.) marijuana is a drug and therefore should be illegal. 2.) marijuana is no more destructive than alcohol is, and alcohol is lawful for a consumption base of mature age. As far as I'm concerned, both arguments sound valid to me, and I'm in no rush to cast my own judgment. Not yet, anyway.
There are of course many other topics that I feel similar about. I'm not going to rush to judgment on any of those things, either. A few things I learned from my young-adult days: 1.) I chose to develop opinions on all sorts of topics, not because I particularly cared about them (although some things I did care and still do care about); 2.) when I did so, I found myself really angry any time politics or general news came up; 3.) in my anger and in my fear, I developed an "us" vs "them" mindset regarding the people around me that I now realize robbed me of the opportunity to get to know more of them, to make more friends (and even to date a few people that I think may have been interested in me...); 4.) I did all these things because I wanted to belong (i.e. "fit in") with certain select groups of people that at one point were in my life when I was in an especially rough season.
I look at some of these things I decided to form opinions about, and learned that I was also forming an identity in the process. The truth is, what one thinks and what one believes is a key part of one's identity. It is off this point that I now introduce a new topic series, one on a topic so pervasive that challenging any part of what people consider their identity will likely trigger angry responses.
I get it: identities are personal. Let's first admit the obvious: my identity is personal to me. Your identity is personal to you. His or her identity is personal to him or her. And so on.
I imagine the next question then goes like this: why, then? Why dare challenge people on what they think their identity is? Why challenge them with what you think their identity should be? They've been through enough. Let them be. Let them do what they want.
Well, that's actually the point. "Let them do what they want." And the questioner would be right; I cannot force anyone to change his or her mind. (I learned that the hard way regarding a disagreement that I actually cared a lot about, and one that had nothing to do with politics!) And from my human point of view: it is so incredibly hard, especially when I want someone to see something that I see that is important to me, even critically so. I don't think there is a human alive who doesn't have that view.
"Let them do what they want." Here's the thing: our choices affect ourselves. (OK, so what?) Our choices affect others. (So?) Even though we are not responsible for others' choices, our own choices can and do also affect choices that they make. Um, yes, that's right. And, whether or not you believe in God, let alone Jesus as the Messiah, our choices affect Him. Doesn't matter if you don't believe. He still exists and is affected by what you do and don't do. Our choices affect not only our futures but also our eternities. And what informs our choices? Our identities, or namely, what we believe it to be. What we think of ourselves affects what we do, and consequently affects (even if minuscule) what others think of themselves, as well as their choices. From there, it is a never-ending chain reaction of choices and responses. As such, we really are in this together, which ironically I suspect is an opinion of those who also hold the belief "let them do what they want."
"Let them do what they want." But... "we are (also) in this together." Hmm... Is there anyone alive who really believes only one of these statements but not the other? There is more to excavate from this, but I think I best save that for another post.
To circle back to the question from the beginning of this post that I've left open this whole time: even though one reason I might flip my perspective on various topics is particularly because I don't care to be rushed to form a passionate opinion on it, I also will change my perspective based on who I'm forming friendships and close relationships with. The fact is, I have friends on both sides of the political aisle that I care about and tend to be loyal to. I care about and am loyal to my Democratic-voting friends who just want all people to be treated fairly (and in my words, to be treated well). And I care about and am loyal to my conservative-voting friends who want our nation to be restored to what we were when we were at least trying to follow the Bible, when we were trying to trust God, when we were also following a system (one laid out by the Constitution) that, at least for a while did honestly and truly work, and can work again. And in each case of friends on one side of the political aisle or the other, what I do hear is a common cry for us all to do better. (Common ground! What a concept!)
I agree with all of you. I think we can and ought to do better. To that end, my two fundamental views are this: 1.) the Bible is the Word of God (and a reliable history book); and 2.) people matter (their lives, their dreams, their wishes, etc). Even though I also care about several other topics, they pale in comparison to these two truths, or fit under these two truths. And when I engage with my various friends in terms of talking about what's going on around us, I owe it to each and every one of them to listen to them and hear what they have to say. I don't have to agree with what is said or even to understand it. (As a matter of fact, that's a great opportunity to ask them further questions!)
I will close this post by linking you to another post I wrote a decade ago on how I felt about the state of our nation:
September 29, 2009: A message to politicians and politically-inclined people
My message: I believe our nation is in serious trouble, folks, and have for many years. And if I thought we were in trouble in 2009, I believe that in 2019 we are in even worse trouble. Not explicitly because of who's in office (although I know many I'm connected to believe strongly about it), but because of how all 300+ million of us have progressed in our attitudes, our beliefs, and yes, in our identities.
More to come.