Wednesday, November 26, 2008

being known for what we are against


The biggest problem for Republicans reminds me of the Southern Baptist church culture I grew up in and the Fundamentalist culture I grew up around. 

The Republicans are known for what they are against. They are not known for what they are for. Sadly, many Christian groups have had the same problem. I wonder if this negative relationship is why there is so much alignment between certain Christian groups and the Republican party (and consequently why so many Christians have left both groups).*

Here are some thoughts from The Next Right.

*everyone is against as many things as they are for, whether left or right, fundamentalist Christian or progressive. 

3 comments:

RDF said...

Rick,

With regards to your comment "*everyone is against as many things as they are for, whether left or right, fundamentalist Christian or progressive." Could it be that human nature is simply being acted upon by the Newton's third law of physics?:

"Whenever a particle A exerts a force on another particle B, B simultaneously exerts a force on A with the same magnitude in the opposite direction. The strong form of the law further postulates that these two forces act along the same line. This law is often simplified into the sentence 'To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.'"

That said. Can we change or are we caught on a universal ebb and flow?

Your friend,

Down in Deaconville

DJ Word said...

I think we all think of things we are for and against, whether liberal or conservative. I agree that it is the normal way of thinking.

However, on the right I think they suffer from 2 things more than the left.

1. they talk about what they are against more openly and through their media outlets, whether it is Fox News, Rush or Southern Baptists. This has allowed them to be defined by their "not."

2. I think they let themselves be ruled by the negative more than the positive. That is the thing we all have to be careful about. It is one thing to think "I don;t like that." It is another thing to allow yourself to be ruled by the negative (plus, some forms of Christianity spend all their time on this).

I think the ebb and flow is there, but we do not need to be ruled by it.

pax,

Rick

RDF said...

Someone else used the exclusion/villainization (word?) approach of negativety and hate pretty well...hmmm...Hitler(I know lots of others too)? Funny how the rules of whipping a cowd into a frenzy have a consistent formula with some groups. In the case of the right wing Christians - how in the hell do they miss large parts of the bible in favor of exclusion and hate? Isn't there something about love thy neighbors? Oh, neighbor is subject to interpretation...never mind.

Peace