On Ideologues and Collectivist Narratives

It has become something of a running joke lately with some of my friends, both in real life and on Facebook, that my intentionally obscure views on certain issues is both perplexing and, in some cases, potentially professionally harmful. That last part is something that I take to heart and I have to carefully discern how to address it; I was cautioned that being overly obscure purely for the sake of argument (or trolling) could lead people to believe that I am untrustworthy. I suppose I can see how this might be the case. That said, there are personal beliefs that I hold—shaped by my faith—that I often refrain from speaking openly (or honestly) about because our current political and social climate is such that dialogue on those issues is virtually impossible. Those who hold the opposing viewpoints on those issues have already made up their minds that anyone who dissents from their carefully scripted and rigid narratives is any number of things including hateful, bigoted and ignorant.

I have been an active debater since high school (president of the debate team in high school, vice president of the debate team in college) and one thing I learned very early on is that the moment someone begins using ad hominem attacks or lobs broad hot button generalizations such as “racist,” the debate has factually been lost by that person, yet has visibly been lost by the person being accused of the generalization because they are now faced with the prospect of digging themselves out of a hole they were thrown into with no merit. It is no wonder that I’ve become a much more introverted and prayerful individual as I’ve gotten older; I observe these things and the only person I can turn to, aside from my wife, is God because I have never been interested in teams or “sides.” Pack mentality is as American as apple pie (though I’m sure apple pie will be labeled as racist or privileged because I guess some people can’t afford pie? Not sure.)

I don’t adopt narratives and I don’t use talking points; I speak my mind based on my observations of the world around me. I don’t generalize; I see things and I comment. When it comes to people, I take them as I see them and I relate to them as I would want people to relate to me.

I’m not going to get into the topic of privilege because I’m not going to engage ideological people on their turf; it’s a lose-lose situation so it isn’t worth fighting the battle. I despise ideologues because in my view, they’ve replaced God with the “ism” of their choice. That’s between them and God. But I am not a believer in the concept of privilege; I believe that the natural state of being in the universe is suffering; if you don’t believe me, ask a Buddhist. Everyone suffers; everyone experiences injustice. Some people are rich, some people are poor; some people have it easy, other people have to fight tooth and nail to survive; that’s life. It sucks. People die. People suffer. People go hungry. It is called life in a fallen world.

I am a Christian; I place my faith in Christ because I believe that he was who he said he was. If he wasn’t, we’re in trouble. I do not place my faith in my neighbor because more often than not, my neighbor has proven that he or she is human; that they have their own selfish needs in mind because they’re human; that’s human nature. We’re all guilty of it because it is what we’re hardwired to do. Disagree? Okay; invite a homeless person into your house tonight to stay on your couch while your wife and children sleep upstairs; let me know how that works out.

I have been a registered Republican since my 18^thbirthday and I am currently 38. That isn’t likely to change, despite the fact that I do not like Donald Trump and I loathe the spinelessness that I’ve seen from scores of Republicans who have failed to stand up to some of the vile tactics and policies rolled out by the Trump administration. That said, they don’t define what it means to be a Republican. Republicanism is a belief in liberty, small government, rejection of aristocracy, opposition to monarchical figure heads, fiscal responsibility and true Federalism. These people believe in autocracy, authoritarianism, cronyism, idol worship (Trump) and obscenely out of control spending. Their behavior does not change who I am as a person nor does it change my beliefs. I’m on record opposing their policies and behaviors. That doesn’t mean I’m going to jump ship and change my principles.

The Democratic approach is idealistic and irrational; it promotes utopian ideas that could never succeed.The State can never bring about the Kingdom of God on earth; never. It is ridiculous to even pretend that it is possible. There is no such thing as an egalitarian society because the strongest and most ambitious will always rise above, and what are you going to do to prevent them from doing so? Kill them? Jail them? No thanks.

As for the Trump crowd, in time, they’ll be out of power eventually. Trump might win reelection; or he might simply choose not to leave power. It is entirely possible that we’ve entered a new phase of human existence and sure, things might get real dark real fast. So what am I supposed to do if that happens? Panic? Scream? March with signs? Punch people? Throw rocks at police? Some people might do some or all of those things; I won’t. That isn’t how I operate. I’ll pray. It’s what I do. If that isn’t enough in your opinion, then you really need to look inside yourself and consider whether or not your faith is real; if prayer isn’t the most powerful weapon we have, then this whole religion business is an exercise in futility. My devotion to the Blessed Mother is rooted in my admiration of her relative silence throughout the Bible; she said next to nothing and yet is perhaps the most powerful and influential woman ever to live. There is power in silence. There is power in prayer.

I have always been respectful and observant of the inherent human dignity of all people I’ve encountered because they are human and they have dignity; I have no say in any of that and it isn’t my acknowledgement that makes it so. That is a God-given gift and I have no choice but to acknowledge it in everyone I meet—including people I don’t understand; including people I don’t like; including Nazis, Klansmen, mass murderers, rapists, child molesters, war criminals, you name it. Using rhetoric that implies taking the offensive and punching people because you don’t like who they are makes you as big a monster as they are and that isn’t my opinion. You don’t have to like them; but you have to love them and punching does not equate to Christian love.

We live in an increasingly narcissistic society—trust me, I fully admit that I fit this bill. Everyone thinks they know what is best for themselves and the world around them. Some go so far as to think that they own their own lives. Newsflash: you don’t. You belong to God. Your life isn’t yours. If you take yourself more seriously than you take God, you’ve deified yourself; congratulations. If your identity becomes an obsession, you’re the literal definition of a narcissist. Enough said on that.

If you’re down for a debate, let’s have at it, so long as you want to actually debate and not pretend like you’re my parent. It doesn’t take a village; it takes learning how to have a civilized debate with someone who you disagree with and being able to accept that they aren’t “wrong” just because you think you’re “right” (though I am not a moral relativist or a postmodernist). You can still have civilized discourse with someone and at the end, shake hands and be content with the fact that neither of you budged on your positions. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t enter into debates. Scream into a fishbowl; throw a rock through your own front window; but for the love of God, stop acting like a petulant child who throws tantrums anytime someone says something that doesn’t stroke your preconceived ideas of what it means to be “woke;” secular collectivism is egotheism at it’s most dangerous. Count me out.