And as they finish choking on their disbelief or looking at me as if I just said "you have to try sticking your finger in this socket," I explain...
I haven't read nearly as much of it as I want, because usually I'm looking at a blog here and there to give my brain a quick break from the endless stream of emails and phone calls and visa applications and troubleshooting that make up my workday (oh come on, you do it too... unless you are my mother or my friend Barb, who are both just far more focused than we mere mortals) and that's not nearly enough time to read and actually process this particular blog. But I want to, and you should too, because the writers say things like this:
"My point is NOT that we should change our views for Christians’ sake. Not at all. They don’t care what we think. My point is that they are something like half the country — and as long as we carry this false and negative understanding of their culture, then we are cutting ourselves off from having a productive social and political relationship with HALF THE COUNTRY. We may as well quit politics.
Please understand what I am NOT saying: I am not saying that we should try to find common ground with a group that stands against everything we believe in. I’m saying: “Surprise! This huge group stands for almost everything that we stand for—and they’re on the move, organizing tens of millions of Americans around our own very same values: people over profit, the environment over mindless growth, meaning over consumerism, means of making a living and health care for all, care for the needy, peace and more.” But we are divided from them by stereotypes and misconceptions."
And I'll be damned if that's not the most radical, and radically important, thing that I've ever heard anyone on "The Left" say. If we listened, which I'm a little too cynical to think many people will actually do, I honestly think it could change the world.
3 comments:
That's awesome. As someone who grew up Roman Catholic blue-collar, and, well, I admit, in many ways is still Christian, this guy touches on things I've been thinking for years, but haven't been able to articulate, and I'm beyond gladness that there is somewhat out there who is preaching this.
I get very tired of Christian Bashing, especially around here (but it's so easy and trendy!), but haven't had the cojones to really stand up and say "Hey Now..." around my friends and the majority of folks. It takes a lot of energy to put ones neck out among people who more articulate and politically knowledgable and savvy than myself. It also doesn't help that we live in an area where the dominant intellectual culture is a bubble where all Christians are like TV evangelists and all black people are just so grateful to be "acknowleged" (labeled by whites) as "people of color" (which would get you a fist in the face, if not worse, in Baltimore). It makes me just as guilty not to speak up though, yes...
My original point is that this blog demonstrates why folks like me, who share many values with liberals, are very reluctant to be called that term or identified with them. The attitudes and stereotypes this guy alludes to are just as fear-based and divisive as those we're trying to fight.
Thanks for posting this post! It's an inspiration for me to be a little bit more vocal in my values when these discussions come up...
Wow, famous. Mentioned by name is this prestigious blog :-)
If you haven't read it already, this weekend's cover story in the Washington Post Magazine--The Trials and Tribulations of Hashmel Turner-- might be of interest to you. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to hyperlink in the comments section, and I'm not even sure if the whole link will make it into the post.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120401575.html
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