So….Last week I read an article on the devolution of conservatism in the U.S. It was helpful to me in sorting out the recent history of the conservative movement in this country. And it also helped me to think through further the relationship between the devolution of conservatism and the rise of right wing Christianity’s out of balance influence over the politics of our country. Here’s the link:
While the article sited above does not exactly say it, the way I see it is that as conservatism as a political movement devolved into what it has become, Fundamentalism, Conservative Christianity, Right Wing Christianity evolved into what it is now. The two movements are enmeshed almost like conjoined twins. One cannot really stand without the other. As one goes, so does the other.
My response to Trump’s “win” and all that has followed it has been to join the Resistance in the ways available to me. So I have gotten involved in the group, Indivisible. There are hundreds of us here in Boise involved. The main strategy of the movement is to actively oppose much of Trump’s and the Republican Congress’s agenda. That is done by making mass phone calls, sending mass emails, showing up in teams at the local offices of our MoC, town hall meetings, marches, etc. The idea of it is based on the partially successful efforts of the Tea Party that formed in opposition to all things Obama. So we present a constant questioning and protesting presence, just as the Tea Party has done. However, we strive to be civil, which I don’t think the Tea Party ever cared much about. I do find it a bit strange to be associated with an organization that models itself after the Tea Party. It’s unsettling and somewhat unsatisfying, although I will stick with it until something else comes along. This is where my further wonderings come in to play.
The only thing I get about the far right religious efforts to insert itself into political goings on is the desire to offer something “spiritual” into the conversation. Where they have gone with that is beyond the pale. But I do believe that the earliest of motivations lay somewhere in that that idea. The problem with all of that is that politics have been hijacked by conservative Christianity. There is no other “spiritual” point of view that has any home or means of expression in today’s political discourse. Almost all the political activity I have been involved in over the years and today has been devoid of any reference or fragrance of anything remotely “spiritual”. Nothing beyond what can be seen and heard and smelled and held in the hand for us lefty progressive types.
I believe that the way forward for all of us, if we are to survive as a democracy and not become a real life embodiment of “The Handmaids’ Tale”, is for the left and center to not just oppose, oppose, oppose. That is necessary and I will continue doing it. It is also to embrace and present an alternative narrative that may appeal to people not attracted to the alt-right/conservative Christian enabled vision of our country but perhaps don’t know where to put their loyalties in our present enviornment. What that means is that the loyal opposition needs to figure out a way to present a vision that includes hope and the possibility of a political ideology that has room for God or an acknowledgement that we are more than just our intellects or something beyond our lefty way of being “reasonable”. The Christian Left is an organization that puts forward a very different idea about what Christianity is all about and how it might be useful in these times. Here is a link that is actually from the Huffington Post but I believe written by the group, the Christian Left:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/four-reasons-why-the-resistance-needs-the-christian_us_5900f715e4b06feec8ac92ee
It is not so much that the writers are offering to insert left leaning Christianity into left leaning politics. It is more that they are offering help to a floundering progressive movement.
It is not so much that the writers are offering to insert left leaning Christianity into left leaning politics. It is more that they are offering help to a floundering progressive movement.
