What Team Sports Mentality?

I’ve discussed this quite a bit with friends, and it’s pretty clear that our political discussion has come down to “Are you red or blue?”.  The answer to that question determines whether you are on my side or if you’re trying to destroy the country I love (and that you obviously hate).  There doesn’t seem to be a lot of middle ground available, even when there is a genuine effort.

Say you’re a conservative and you are immediately lumped in with George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin, and all the other conservative cartoon characters. You hate gays, you love guns, you want no limits on any company, you want to ship all the blue collar jobs to China to maximize profits, you hate the environment, you also probably hate black and hispanic people, and if you’re from Texas you’re ready to secede from US at the drop of a hat.

Say you’re a liberal and you are immediately lumped in with Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, and pretty much anyone else that hates the US of A or is for any sort of class warfare.  You like dogs and cats more than people, you probably smoke pot regularly, you kinda understand why the terrorists attacked the US on 9/11, you desperately want the US to be exactly like France, or Canada, or Cuba, you hate guns and want them banned, you abhor violence and just want to make nice with all the other countries in the world, no matter what.

It’s crazy, really, but it’s so widespread now I wonder if we’ll ever get out of this mess. There are no discussions any more, just track meets where the finish line is at the lowest common denominator.  There are no more policy talks, just talking points.  There aren’t town halls, there are productions to produce just the right TV clip.  The media has become the sideshow, making news not reporting it.  The blogosphere is among the worst culprits of spinning any and every event to their specific agenda.  Some are so open about it that they will list their objective in the opening paragraph on their “About Us” page, like this from MediaMatters.org:

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

They couldn’t care less about misinformation in general, they are simply working against conservative misinformation.  I’m sure there’s plenty of it, but the fact of the matter is that they aren’t interested in clearing up the picture for people, they are interested in making the picture fit their mindset as much as possible.  Reality doesn’t really factor into the equation.  And the problem is that this is pretty much true for media all over, at least in the US.  And it’s killing our country.

So, What Team Do I play For?

This has been a difficult thing for me, because I’m one of those moderates that doesn’t fit into any political mold.

• I think abortion should be outlawed, because I think it’s the obvious killing of an innocent baby.
• I have no problem with gay marriage, because I believe that what makes my marriage sacred is the vow I took before God, sanctified by our submission to His will.
• I think the health care system is obviously broken, I believe there needs to be substantial reform, but I don’t think the idea of a public option is anything I want a part of.
• I hate the idea of wide-spread wire-tapping for the same reason: I have no reason to trust the federal government enough to trust them to use that power responsibly.
• I think there’s enough evidence for global warming that we should at least try and do something about it; not to mention the fact that using less and being responsible for the land, water and air we have is what I consider being a good steward of what God has provided us with
• I think the Christian Coalition / Moral Majority / whatever other organization seeking to maximize the political power of the Christian Church has done more to hurt the conservative movement and the Church than it could have ever hoped to have helped
• I think the Republican Party is more liberal than it’s ever been, that it’s lost its voice and that there’s little hope that they will ever find a meaningful message again

So, what am I?  I’d call myself a conservative.  Maybe a “rational conservative”…  I hate labels, period, but people generally want one, so that’ll work for now.  Most Republicans out there would laugh at the thought that I’m conservative while liberals would simultaneously be laughing at the fact that I think half the things up there are “rational”, but it is what it is.

I’m a conservative because I want the government out of my life as much as possible.  There are, of course, going to be things that will be governed, we live in a society, so there’s going to be rules that we play by, and I’m fine with that.  I’m even ok with there being rules protecting behavior that I don’t agree with, as long as it means that when I want to do something that someone else thinks is ridiculous, I’m free to do it (within reason, of course).

A Few Examples

I have this argument a lot when bringing up no prayer in schools or gay marriage.  I’m fine with both, and it’s a completely selfish, and I think rational, reason.  I’m going to preface something before I get into why I can call myself a conservative and be ok without prayer in schools or having gay marriages legalized.

I am a Christian, born-again if you will.  I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, He came to Earth, lived a perfect life, took the sin of the world onto Himself before dying on the cross.  I believe that three days later, He rose from the grave, appeared to as many as 150 people, and then ascended into Heaven where He sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.

I believe that I am a sinner, a fractured, broken vessel who’s only hope to achieve a relationship with God is through His Son.  I depend on His grace every day, because I sin every single day.  I’m no good person, and I don’t think there is such a thing as a good person.  I believe that the best life we can live is still a life of sin.  But because I believe that, I also know that I have absolutely no place in this world to do anything other than praise Jesus and God for the salvation made available to me, and to love those around me.  I’m not perfect at it, but I work at it.

All that said, why wouldn’t I want prayers in school!?  First of all, I don’t believe that anyone can keep prayer out of school.  Anyone can pray at any moment, in their heart and their head, and that’s something no one can stop. Second, who’s to say the prayer being said is one that you want to be praying?  That’s an awful big assumption.  Imagine that the prayer being offered in school is the Muslim Salat and you are a Christian.  How would you feel?  You’d probably be angry that you have to sit there while they pray, or worse, what if you were forced to take part?  The gall!  But for some reason, we want to push that experience on those that don’t share our beliefs.  We feel it’s our right.  How is that showing God’s love?  Do you really think that’s the best witness we can offer?

What about gay marriage?  How can a Christian support gay marriage (a Baptist no less!)?  Well, let’s start with a clarification: I’m not a supporter of gay marriage, I’m just not willing to lift a single finger to fight it, and I don’t think anyone else should, either.  I hear over and over about how God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.  Sure, that’s all well and good, and I absolutely agree that the marriage that God intended was between man and woman. But guess what? We live in a country with a wonderful thing called the separation of church and state.  That means that what God intended and what the law of the land is won’t always match up.  Marriage is sanctified by the church and by God.  If my church started approving gay marriage, I would take issue with it, because I don’t believe the Bible supports that, but I’m also absolutely certain that the Bible doesn’t state that we should fight to keep this from being a legal civil union in the eyes of the state.  Especially in such an unbecoming way as has been traipsed about the cable news networks over the past few years.

And what are we really worried about?  Is our concern really health care expenses?  Lost productivity from vacations?  Or is it that we think these sinners shouldn’t get the same rights us good “real” married people deserve.  Or does the idea of two guys kissing at the marriage alter just give you the willies?  That’s not a good enough reason, folks.  We are ALL sinners.  Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians, so it’s not like our marriages are the city on the hill that we’d like to believe they are.  There is one that will judge, and the rest of us, well we get to be judged at the end of days.

I think that if we all took a step back, took a deep breath and really thought about things, we’d realize that we’ve all gotten a little out of hand.  There’s been quite a bit too much screaming, demonizing and fear-mongering on both sides of the aisle, and there’s been far too little reasoning, listening and humility.  We have such short memories about our actions and our shortcomings, but such long memories when it comes to others.

So to bring it back to team sports and why I think it’s killing our country.  The team sports mentality is destroying our ability to have meaningful conversations with those that disagree with us.  It forces us into more and more homogeneous groups that solidify our misconceptions into statements of fact, sharpen our prejudices into judgement and hatred, and poison our spirit against anyone not on our team.  The fewer dissenting opinions we allow ourselves to hear, the less we challenge our beliefs, the less we understand why we believe something.

I’m a conservative, but I listen to NPR exclusively.  It’s a good source of news, and it definitely has a left-leaning perspective.  It keeps me thinking. My best friend (brother from another mother type best friend) is a liberal, and the only thing he listens to is conservative radio, for much the same reason, I think (although I have to agree that conservative radio is a lot more entertaining than NPR).  I think our openness to other viewpoints makes it easier for us to both confront wrong headed group think, and also gives us better understanding of what makes our beliefs tick, if you will.  In much the same way, I post on a message board where I am the lone conservative voice, by a long shot.  I’ve had my eyes opened on a number of issues, and I dare say that I have had my own influence in return.  That’s not to say that there have been any radical shifts in our stances on ideas, but there has developed a very real, refreshing dialogue that allows issues to be discussed, and doublethink to be purged.  For those of you who haven’t read 1984 in a while, here’s an excerpt that will help explain what doublethink is:

The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them….To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth.

It’s so true and so prevalent.  And dangerous.

Alright, this is a monster post.  What do you think?  Am I off base?  Is the team sports mentality ok?  Or does it not exist?

Now, on to less publicized, but equally important in my opinion, is the presidential campaign going on in Iran. Ahmadinejad has been President since 2005, and let’s face it, he’s an insane man. He’s called the Holocaust a “big deception”, he’s called for the dissolution of the state of Israel, and he has been responsible for encouraging insurgents in Iraq, stoking the anti-American fires and pursuing a dangerous nuclear weapons program.

Facing him are three other candidates: Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karoudi, two moderates, and a hard-liner like Ahmadinejad in Mohsen Rezaei. Mousavi apparently has some guts. Check out what he said in a debate with Ahmadinejad:

There are two ways of confronting the country’s problems. One is through a management style based on adventurism, instability, play-acting, exaggerations, wrongdoing, being secretive, self-importance, superficiality and ignoring the law. The second way is based on realism, respect, openness, collective wisdom and avoiding extremism.

That’s awesome! Way to go Mousavi!

This is a big election for Iran. Much depends on the new spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He doesn’t have the influence that Khomenei had, but he’s still a hugely, hugely important influence on the outcome. There’s a long way to go in this election even with only one week until Election Day, but Americans should really be hoping that Iran elects one of the moderate candidates. Mousavi sounds pretty good to me.

A moderate (or more moderate) Iran could have an amazing calming influence on the entire region, moreso than any other country in the Middle East. Using the credibility of the Islamic Revolution, they have created what amounts to a hegemony whereby they exert their influence even into countries with no binding legal or political ties. If the fire of political Islam were allowed to cool, especially at the center, it could have a drastic effect on the entire region.

Which is why I prefaced this post with the Obama speech. President Obama’s speech went a long way to helping lend credibility that Muslim states have an open ear in the US, and that it’s possible to deal with the US in a non-violent way, but they are still wary. With the right actions, especially in the coming days, President Obama can help give a boost to the more moderate elements in countries like Iran and Iraq, even Saudi Arabia and Egypt. If Iran were to moderate, even a little bit, Syria would likely back off some of their aggressive stance. If Ahmadinejad wins, it may be the last election in Iran for some time, as he could easily seize power much like Mubarak did in Egypt, nearly 30 years ago.

It’s a fascinating time to be following the happenings in the Middle East.