Since coming out of the "way", I feel like I can go back to thinking my own thoughts in my own mind. There is no more RIGHT and WRONG. No more Us vs. Them. I don't care for it, never have. I guess part of it has to do with my upbringing. My dad was/is? liberal minded in politics and my mom never spoke much about them. But, I was never told what to think regardless.
But the straight up I'm right and they're wrong rhetoric just rubs me the wrong way more than ever before. We are all in this mess together. You don't know what has shaped another's worldview and just beating your own drum louder and louder just leaves us all with tons of noise.
I was witness to such a conversation yesterday and glad I had good excuse not to be involved. I'll leave out all the details, but it boiled down to from point A. (one particular political party) leads to point B. BABYKILLAZ!!
War though? That's cool.
But the straight up I'm right and they're wrong rhetoric just rubs me the wrong way more than ever before. We are all in this mess together. You don't know what has shaped another's worldview and just beating your own drum louder and louder just leaves us all with tons of noise.
I was witness to such a conversation yesterday and glad I had good excuse not to be involved. I'll leave out all the details, but it boiled down to from point A. (one particular political party) leads to point B. BABYKILLAZ!!
War though? That's cool.
It's so rewarding watching you get stronger as you become more and more familiar with taking control of your own life. When we're christians we have no idea of the high price we pay for sifting our every thought though the distorted lens of our faith. We have to learn how to value ourselves and how to judge ourselves against our human nature rather than perfection but after that everything becomes more and more clear and we see things we never saw and find that we are so much more capable of solving difficult problems. You seem to be enjoying your new identity and I'm happy for you.
ReplyDeleteYes our society is going to have to accept much more responsibility for it's roll in creating this political dysfunction and learn to foster real understanding between divergent ideas if we are to have any hope of moving forward.
I don't worry so much about individuals, but I do worry about society. Thanks for reading and commenting, Dan. I haven't had much to say lately.
DeleteUs and Them
ReplyDeleteAnd ironically, nothing causes more of that than religion, with politics running a close second. I do, however, loves me some Pink Floyd :)
it boiled down to from point A. (one particular political party) leads to point B. BABYKILLAZ!!
Standard fare in political circles, isn't it? Me? I have to confess that I mainly see this sort of broad-brush painting from one side. Again, ironic, since it largely exudes from the side that is also pro-war. Yeah, babies get killed when missiles are fired. But it's apparently okay if it's the enemy's children. They're going to grow up to be terrorists anyway, right? And besides, doesn't the Bible say we should feel "blessed" to dash the heads of our enemy's children against rocks? Hallelujah!
I do, however, loves me some Pink Floyd :)
Delete:)
Jesus says to love your enemies so that you will be like your Father in Heaven, and then later burns most of all creation in a lake of fire eternally. WUT?!
That is just one example of how this all just doesn't make sense. The bible is more of a mirror than an instruction book. People will pick and choose the side of God (unconditional loving or justice and vengeance) and figure out some way to deal with the rest.
Jesus says to love your enemies so that you will be like your Father in Heaven, and then later burns most of all creation in a lake of fire eternally. WUT?!
DeleteRight? Or the one where he asks that all those who don't want to be his disciple be gathered, brought before him and slained. Good gravy! If that's loving your enemies, I'd hate to what he'd do to his least favorite person of all! Er. Oh, wait, nothing. He wouldn't do anything. My bad = /
The bible is more of a mirror than an instruction book.
That's a very enlightened observation. Yes, a mirror..i.e..a reflection of one's self. Because after all, that's what belief in God is; it's the believer projecting as "God". This would perfectly explain why no two conceptions of God seem to be quite the same.
I recently ran across (another) book that I'm slowly getting through, *The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion* by Jonathan Haidt. I learned about Haidt when I watched an interview on Charlie Rose in the past month or so. I was intrigued, so looked up Haidt.
ReplyDeleteI ended up wanting to read the book and found a PDF online: https://is.muni.cz/el/1423/jaro2013/SOC133/um/Haidt_-_The_Righteous_Mind.pdf
I thought I'd had enough of these social-psychology books. But the recent political atmosphere and me endeavoring to meander through it, has again prompted my interest.
Thanks for the link! I had Pink Floyd in my mind, too ;)
DeletePS: When I read the title of your blog piece, Pink Floyd reverberated through my head. :D
ReplyDeleteAnd it's still going... lol