What "social prudence" has given Conservatives
I'm sure that anybody that is a certain age has heard the "rules" regarding social interaction that tell you not to discuss politics and religion.
Well, as I look at the landscape around me, where the left has grabbed control of political discussions (not out of merit, but because they have the termerity to "go there" time after time when those of us on the right won't) AND tried to make people defensive about their religious beliefs, I'm calling foul on those rules.
I will no longer be hesitant to engage in discussions about what I believe--social "norms" be damned.
Of course, this places a huge burden on me. If I'm going to engage with any hope of pursuasion, I must be a knowledgeable, tactful defender of my beliefs. And to be honest, I don't know which will be more difficult: getting "smart" on the topics, or showing tolerance to those who present me these opportunities--so ridiculous has the tenor of "debate" in this country become.
Regardless, no longer will I stand to be in a room where someone speaks (what I consider to be) lunacy and not challenge that person.
Part of the reason why conservatives have been marginalized over time is because we have kept ourselves on the sidelines at the lower levels of society, where the presence of "real" people might be pursuasive.
We cannot do that and hope to survive. Which is why the Tea Party movement is such a big deal--albeit just a start. Now WE must take the conviction of those parties held amongst friends and be willing to discuss our views among those who see differently than us.
Societal "norms" have this country on the verge of stripping "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance (as a nice two-fer illustration of the progressive movement of this country), among other bits of lunacy.
And I, for one, will not go quietly into that goodnight.
Well, as I look at the landscape around me, where the left has grabbed control of political discussions (not out of merit, but because they have the termerity to "go there" time after time when those of us on the right won't) AND tried to make people defensive about their religious beliefs, I'm calling foul on those rules.
I will no longer be hesitant to engage in discussions about what I believe--social "norms" be damned.
Of course, this places a huge burden on me. If I'm going to engage with any hope of pursuasion, I must be a knowledgeable, tactful defender of my beliefs. And to be honest, I don't know which will be more difficult: getting "smart" on the topics, or showing tolerance to those who present me these opportunities--so ridiculous has the tenor of "debate" in this country become.
Regardless, no longer will I stand to be in a room where someone speaks (what I consider to be) lunacy and not challenge that person.
Part of the reason why conservatives have been marginalized over time is because we have kept ourselves on the sidelines at the lower levels of society, where the presence of "real" people might be pursuasive.
We cannot do that and hope to survive. Which is why the Tea Party movement is such a big deal--albeit just a start. Now WE must take the conviction of those parties held amongst friends and be willing to discuss our views among those who see differently than us.
Societal "norms" have this country on the verge of stripping "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance (as a nice two-fer illustration of the progressive movement of this country), among other bits of lunacy.
And I, for one, will not go quietly into that goodnight.
1 Comments:
Awesome post.
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