Confessions from a Former Right Wing Republican - Part 2

After college, I took a good look at the uncomfortable ideas Jesus talked about. He had this troubling way of challenging the cultural, religious, and political lines and reminding us that we’re all equal – equally wrong and he wasn't impressed. Furthermore, he had a thing for siding with the poor, powerless, the ugly and outcasts. To make matters worse, I read much of the New Testament recently, and oddly enough, never heard him tout the American dream, capitalism or even challenge gay marriage or pro choice (not that He did not care about these single issue voter “hot buttons”). He said he did not come to judge the world, as we had already judged ourselves as lost and needy, rather he came to heal the sick, stand up for the prostitutes, and invite all of us into his redeeming love – and then called us to pass on that love. Oh, and not just to other white conservative Americans, but to the terrorist – and even our neighbors who migrated here from Mexico and don’t speak English very well yet (but remember, "English Only" is something we should really fight for!). The scriptures went on teach us to actively make peace and to go directly to people where there are a problems(which is now being cast as a risky approach if a president did this). Most of Jesus' kingdom of God ideas are pretty risky, you know. Jesus did not spend any time at political cocktail parties; rather he seemed to move in the direction of people like us – people who come from every-day disappointment and disorder. He associated with the crooks from Wall Street and the strippers from Las Vegas and ate dinner at the pubs with the blue collar drunks. He seemed to have a broad definition of "pro life"... while, in contrast, many in my former party hate abortion and defend the rights of unborn babies (as do I), but also speak as though they hate immigrants, hispanics, blacks, and the poor, and certainly sinners and the French. Is that really "pro-life" or just pro-life, if the baby is a white, conservative American baby? It strikes me that Jesus lingered with the crack addicts at the homeless shelters... and I think he only went to church one time - and he got mad at them. So, he took the time to get to know you and me - and saw the unpredictable dad who alternated abuse and pizza-nights in lieu of an apology. He saw the hunger and embarrassment of poverty, or a cruel sibling that carelessly wounded with lasting insults. He saw the school-yard bully who stole your lunch or a thin-crazy-culture that told you that you were not beautiful – while persistent boys that told you otherwise - only to steal some of that beauty. For many of us, childhood insecurities blossomed in to high school pressures, which were confronted by loneliness or broken-hearted-ness or both. Next, college yielded thought-formation and freedom but also financial debts and a new identity crisis. By the time we reached 30, we were either single, trying to be content with a condo and a cat, or married with two kids and a stuck in the corporate rat race. Along the way, we may have stayed in church, leaving behind some of what we were told to believe while finding some of it as our own. But still, the inner voice is restless because we’re still not totally sure who we are, if we are beautiful, if we are loved, if we are more than just our resumes and reputations. And since we are not sure, we either do the best we can to stay on this road less traveled and do the hard work of figuring out these questions later in life or… we just try to forget all the questions and trade them in for membership to a club where we cling to a set of rigid ideologies that bring a sense of order an identity. Essentially, we join an “us” – so we belong. Unfortunately, this often involves a harsh definition of a “them” – and we end up being more against something then for something. And the only sanity - the only alternative is the stuff Jesus talked about and the invitation for us to find belonging with him.

I did. And it did not let me stay so blindly attached to a political site, so, I left the Rebuplican party. If you were overly loyal to the Democrat party, you may find yourself needing to leave as well. And ironically, while I am now somewhat of a problem to my friends... in leaving the "right" club that promised belonging, I have actually found a place where I really belong.