IDEOLOGY

“For while one saith, I am of Paul;  and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”  (I Corinthians 3:4)

I’ve been “all over the place” politically during my life!  My parents were registered Democrats.  I would call them “conservative Democrats”.  Like most registered Democrats, they favored government programs which helped working-class people.  They viewed Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman  as heroes.  In the 1950s my parents DIDN’T particularly like J.F.K.  They voted for Nixon in 1960, although I think they both regretted that, and they considered J.F.K. a surprisingly good President.  As a young person, it was clear to me that the Democrats were good and the Republicans were bad.  Democrats cared about the struggles of Black people.  Democrats like R.F.K. and Gene McCarthy wanted to end the Vietnam War (as I did).  (I guess it didn’t occur to me that Democrat President Johnson ESCALATED the Vietnam War.)  Like most 18-year-olds, I did not state a party preference when I registered to vote in 1972, but I strongly leaned toward the Democrats.  I proudly cast my vote for George McGovern in the ‘72 Presidential election, and I was devastated when he lost.  I just could not understand how ANYONE could vote for “evil” Tricky Dick Nixon.   Again, it was all too simple:  Democrats were good and Republicans were bad.

In 1976 I proudly cast my vote for Jimmy Carter.  1976 was one of the very few years in which the evangelical Protestant vote overwhelmingly went for the Democrats.  Jimmy Carter was a “born-again Christian”... a guy who endorsed Billy Graham and espoused Graham’s message of “making a personal commitment to Christ”... a guy who taught Bible classes.  The paperback book “The Miracle of Jimmy Carter” sold like hotcakes in Christian bookstores.  I was one of millions who bought it and LOVED Carter.

Like millions of evangelicals, I was very disappointed in Jimmy Carter’s presidency.  I expected him to be a crusader against abortion, for prayer in the public schools, and for Godliness.  While Carter was “personally” for most of the agenda of the evangelicals, he was a political realist and understandably loyal to the Democrat Party establishment.  Double-digit inflation, out-of-control interest rates, the Iranian hostage crisis, and Carter’s frankly inept leadership left this one-time liberal Democrat kid confused and disgusted.  By 1980 I was a registered Republican and a huge fan of Ronald Reagan.  

I was ECSTATIC when Reagan was elected in 1980 and even more thrilled that “pro-abortion” George McGovern was defeated for reelection to the U.S. Senate.  I now knew who the good guys and bad guys were.  Obviously, George McGovern was not the outstanding man I’d believed him to be in 1972.  He was a cruel ungodly man who wanted babies aborted.  Ted Kennedy was pretty-much the Antichrist.  Ronald Reagan was the greatest man alive.  Yup, it was all too simple:  Republicans were good and Democrats were bad.

I spent almost fifteen years as not just a conservative Republican, but a far right wing Jesse Helms admiring ideologue.  I was disappointed in 1988 when “God’s man” Pat Robertson was defeated for the Republican nomination by the “internationalist country club Republican” George Bush.   As a good hard-line right winger, I held my nose and voted FOR George Bush and against Michael Dukakis for President.  I was thoroughly disgusted by Clinton’s election and reelection, but something began to happen within me during the Clinton years.  I turned 40, and I finally grew up.  Although I was clearly on the conservative side of MOST major issues, I was not on the conservative side on all of them.  In watching political roundtable shows, I was surprised to agree with the liberals about one-fourth of the time.  I began noting that I had evangelical minister friends who were not necessarily RepRepublicans or even conservatives.  And I LIKED these people.  

I’m still registered Republican and I’m mostly conservative, but I don’t think life or politics are “all too simple”.  I’m bothered by two kinds of people that I frequently run into:  Those who HATE George W. Bush and consider him evil incarnate, AND those who LOVE George W. Bush and believe he is incapable of doing anything wrong.  Both types are ideologues.  Both see a world that’s “all too simple”.  Both are wrong.

Ideology.  Is is really ideology, or is it IDOLATRY?
This is part of why I’ve really resonated with the Framingham Interfaith Clergy Association’s efforts this year to foster a climate of peace, UNDERSTANDING, and respectful dialogue.  When it comes to this political, ideological intolerance, I grew up at 40.  I hope most people won’t wait that long...