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Political soup, don’t eat the stuff, it’s quite toxic, but I wish to make sense of soup here, those mushy overcooked veggies now as indistinguishable as our political labels have become.
Has anyone seen the classical liberals? They seem to be lost in my bowl of soup somewhere, not unlike gelatinous pasta trying so desperately to incorporate itself into the broth. I once was a classical liberal I think, except they went and moved the middle and redefined the term itself, so now one is uncertain if they wish to even self identify with such an idea anymore.
So I like the clarity of conservative voices when it comes to things like faith, finances, building marriages, economies, and communities. I have valued wisdom from that quarter for years. Here’s the catcher though, I only value those who care. What does it mean to care? Well, that is a hard thing to define, but it speaks to the condition of one’s heart, it speaks to how one is motivated by a desire to make the world a better place for as many people as possible.
In a Christian context, you can put liberals and conservatives into your soup and they will begin to argue almost immediately, frothing all the broth around. Sometimes one must really put their reading glasses on in order to discern what is happening and glean some beauty, some fragrance, but they are actually fighting over how best to love one another. How amazing is that? Somewhere in the midst of the hubris and hyperbole of politics among the followers of Christ, there is still a powerful flavor to be found there, an essence of something quite lovely. They are fighting over how best to love one another. Charity, Agape, for the common good, for the greater world at large. Political love. How can we craft policies that most effectively show the grace and truth of Jesus Christ made manifest in our communities and in our country?
You aren’t supposed to say that these days but I say it all time. It is Christian values that have created this country where people are free to not believe or to express ideas that go against the grain. It is Christian ideals that built the idea of individual freedom and human rights. It is Chrstian ideals that fought to grant you the right to speak your mind without fear of being beheaded.
Now enter the alt-right, this swirling mass of toxicity that threatens to sour our whole pot of soup. Who are they, what are they? A rather diverse bunch of both evangelizing atheists and pseudo Christians, conservatives, libertarians, and anarchists. The right side of the political aisle, but the alternative-right. What many people don’t recognize is how much influence they have within our culture, especially on the internet. Here’s the catch though, they have a mantra and the mantra is “we don’t care.”
We don’t care. We don’t care about you, we don’t care about making the world a better place, we simply don’t care. VD with his millions of blog hits, seems to enjoy promoting this mantra himself, ad nauseam, so he says things like, “They will call us fascists. They will call us racists. They will call us Nazis. They will call us sexists. They will call us anti-semitic. They will call us ultra-nationalists. They will call us white supremacists. And whether those charges are true or not, we don’t care. Because we prefer to live in Western civilization, among civilized Western people.”
Wrong. I pluck you out of my soup, like a tiny unwanted rock trapped among the beans, just bits of meaningless grit, long forgotten dirt that should have been washed down the drain long ago.
One thing that defines “Western civilization,” is the fact that we care. We may argue over how exactly we are going to care, what our caring will look like and how it will manifest itself, but the idea that “we don’t care” is contrary to the idea of “Western civilization” and will therefore, quite rightly be rejected.
This does not necessarily please me, but as Jesus Christ in His wisdom has taught us, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
A victory in “not caring” is a loss for us all whereas a loss because “you care” becomes a victory. Love, war, or politics, doesn’t matter, the same principles always apply. Love conquers all. He already has and He’s now seated at the right hand of the Father. Our victory will always lie in Him, not in the world. Somewhat amusing, but God sure plays a good game.
Ross Douthat wrote about this here.
And Joel Stein of Time
Hat tip to dpmonahan who wrote about it, too
jeanleesworld said:
A lovely conceit! What inspired the soup concoction for this post?
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gmgoetz said:
Thanks IB for the always insightful writing, with Christ centeredness in life. Your wisdom and intelligence is looked forward to always.
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Susan Irene Fox said:
Wow. I LOVE this post. I must admit I’m one of those classic liberals (yes, we’re still around) and I agree with everything you’ve said here. And I like the clarity of those liberal voices when it comes to faith, social justice, and equality. 🙂
Really, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here. When you take away all the politi-speak, we “are actually fighting over how best to love one another. How amazing is that?”
Well done!
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dpmonahan said:
Well, the left calls anyone who disagrees with them racist and sexist.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Yes, often. However, that doesn’t mean you respond by transforming yourself into an actual racist and sexist and run about proclaiming your free speech rights. That reveals a kind of adolescent rebellion and lack of self control that should be kept far from politics. Or heavy machinery of any kind.
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Fromscratchmom said:
I like soup. 😉
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insanitybytes22 said:
LOL! Thats a good attitude to have 🙂
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Paul said:
Very cool IB. Love the soup analogy.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Thanks, Paul.
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Paul said:
It is so true as the soup base is democracy and then the various flavorings for the various parties are added to make the soup whatever flavor the electorate prefers. That said all the political parties here in Canada are getting closer and closer in their politics as well. There are 3 mainstream parties – one of which is usually in 3rd place but has formed the government a few times. Then there are the Green Party and the Marijuana party (which will likely fold up now that the feds are going to legalize weed,).There are a few Independents.
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Modus Pownens said:
I think alt-right does care, IB. Otherwise it wouldn’t cause as much crow as it does. They exist because conservative leaders, whom we bestowed in good faith to represent us, have failed to conserve anything, maybe except money, against the onslaught of the cultural left. The members of the alt-right honestly believe the fate of Western civilization is at stake, which to some degree, I agree with.
Does that mean the alt-right is a force for good? The net sum is TBD, but there are aspects about the movement that you are right to be cautious and critical about. It’s white identity politics has had the same effect it did on the left — racism against it’s deemed oppressors. Vox Day loves yelling from his soap box too much to nuance his rhetoric like he should, but he’s not exactly wrong that mainstream conservatism needs to change, i.e. that conservatism needs a legitimate, genuine representative at the political table to match its base.
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insanitybytes22 said:
There may be some who care, but the vast majority of them are quite vocal about not caring and while they speak of “saving Western civilization.” they also speak of destroying it, of fundamentally changing it. It reminds me President Obama’s words “,America is a great country… now help me to change it.”
Modus, consider how conservative I am. If the alt-right really is the conservative base seeking a genuine representative, than even I would do everything I could to keep them out of power. I’m pretty sure the majority of the country feels the same way. So when you have a movement so unpleasant that conservatives are willing to keep “conservatives” out of power, you got a problem, and that problem is not coming from the left.
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Modus Pownens said:
Yeah, perhaps I did play down the nihilism of the alt-right. They do think mere crassness and rudeness is cure to the ill of political correctness instead of — to borrow a leftist, self-serving phrase — speaking truth to power. The alt-right isn’t monolithic. Though there are racist and neo-nazis among its ranks, I would say there are true conservatives who sympathize with the concerted effort to combat political correctness and the paradigm of leftist orthodoxy that frames public debate in the west. I know these people get smeared as a part of the alt-right. Remember, you and I, the true members of the conservative base that we are, are just considered as backward, bigoted and as close-minded as the alt-right to our “betters” on the other side of the aisle. They make no distinction. And until we’re carved out a beachhead in the political landscape, the ugliness of the alt-right won’t dissipate or be relegated to the reddit corners of net.
The problem with the Right is that elites/leaders don’t represent or are out of touch, at the very best, or actually disdain us, at the very worst. Bushite neoconservativsm, “compassionate conservatism,” and this conservatarian — fiscally conservative, socially liberal/libertarian — is what needs to end as dominant in the Right. Our representatives’ success is measured in how well they do battle with the left, which has been abysmal, to the point they’re infected by the left’s dogmas. The George Wills, Jonah Goldbergs, William Kristols of the effete Right rather scrape before the left and prove themselves not bigoted — a mercy the slanderous left won’t bestow — instead of stand up to them for the sake of their base. They rather preside over ruins as the opposition to be overcome than show that they’re vertebrates, who not only are driven to stop the threat to religious liberty but expand it in this country, for example.
No doubt you and I are on the same side. We have our heads on straight and out hearts pointed to on high. I do think our disagreement, if you can call it that, is so slight it’s not worth getting sucked into a debate on a thread. But I understand these our interesting, emotionally trying times for us all.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Well Modus, I actually think you’re very smart, so I’m hoping you’ll help me to make sense of it all someday 🙂
The problem is, the negativity and ugliness often found in the alt right, has gone and tainted the entire conservative message. so rather than gaining strength and power with the general public, anything smelling the least bit conservative, right leaning, is now being rejected. When people think “conservative” they don’t see you or I, they see white nationalists, the alt right, and assorted other bullies, many who are actually shrieking, “we don’t care.”
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jenniferrecipes said:
Love your post!
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goldenbrodie said:
like it…soup base
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