Get in Line? Nah.

Professor J,

You've asked about the political bullying of your female friends from those on the right.  I can't give you a precise answer because I'm sure the reason is a cocktail of some of the things you've mentioned. However, I might make this observation: conservatives see themselves as right, and I don't just mean in political leanings. This is the result (in my opinion) of the recent marrying of Christianity and political conservatism. Somewhere along the line my being a good Christian (which I miss by a mile, but that's where grace comes in) had to fall in line with my behaving as a citizen in a particular way. The recent Chick fil a dustup is a good example. There was an expectation that as a Christian I would buy a chicken sandwich on a certain day. My standing my ground and refusing to participate, for a variety of reasons, was looked at with bewilderment by some. And the attitude among some was --why couldn't I get in line? Literally as well as figuratively.

I'll admit that when everyone is doing anything it makes me nervous. But maybe I'm just a contrarian.

Thanks to the Moral Majority and other similar organizations, along with talk show hosts who make fortunes keeping the fire going, the "culture war" has been sold to vast segments of the country and in particular to the Republican base. This isn't my war. I am a Christian and a citizen. Those are two different things. I can't find in my New Testament where Christ told me to spread democracy and capitalism. To hear many speak these days you would think it was part of the Sermon on the Mount or the Great Commission. My job as a Christian is to spread His love and behave in a way that reflects His teachings. First and foremost is that LOVE thing. It is not to be a registered Republican or save the country from gay marriage and universal health care . My job as a citizen is (among other things) to be informed, know the Constitution, vote, and obey the law. At times the two things converge but not always.

Jesus didn't seem particularly concerned about the culture, except perhaps in reference to the religious establishment.

The problem is the group think that has taken over. Most people think like this: I believe this way on one important issue (let's take abortion for an example), so I will then unthinkingly accept another entire line of belief about totally unrelated subjects because that is how "we" think. I might point out that this can be a problem for Democrats as well, those who are social liberals but fiscal conservatives for example. And the conventional wisdom that conservatives "don't do nuance" is probably fair from what I see. This lockstep ideology makes me crazy.

Beyond all of that I would say that I often see a certain closed minded arrogance that our European friends might recognize as "the ugly American." The attitude of "knowing" one is right, sometimes without many facts and not much thought, is fairly common, I'm sad to say. It is frustrating in the extreme. If your female friends are getting this behavior from men, I would say that that goes back to an age old issue of control. I'd be interested in knowing the ages of these men as well. There might be a hint about the answer to your question there.