The election has come and gone. The president has been re-elected.
As someone who considers himself a conservative politically, I found this disappointing; however, there have been some recent things I've seen and heard from folks on the right (conservatives, Tea Party types, and "Christians") that have certainly made me question the intentions of many of those who are outspoken "conservatives."
While I may disagree with some of the policies of the current administration and the democratic (liberal) party, particularly when it comes to their approaches to taxes, spending, some social issues, and national debt, that doesn't mean that I allow myself to demean, degrade, or in other ways do things to try to make them out as evil people. That isn't my job - judgement for those folks is, ultimately, in the hands of God, to whom they will eventually have to answer for their actions and their choices.
Many voices on the right during the election were speaking out in volumes against the negative advertising coming from President Obama's campaign - claiming that his campaign was much more about making Mitt Romney out to be an evil rich businessman who was out of touch with normal people, wanted the worst for women, and wanted to take away people's jobs and ship them overseas, than it was about showing a positive light on the President's record or goals for the future of our country. That's a topic for another whole post...but since the election ended, I have heard and read a great deal of vitriol coming from the same folks who were critical of the President's negative campaign, directed towards the president and those in his party. Things that have been extremely negative and demeaning and, quite frankly, churlish and immature behavior.
I occasionally listen to a conservative radio host whose program airs in the mornings. Yesterday, as I was driving to pick up my son from preschool, I was horrified to listen to the host and his associates discussing the governor of New Jersey. They began by making fun of his weight in a way that reminded me of things I heard in elementary school. Then they began mocking his appearance with President Obama during the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. Ultimately, they shifted over to taking the same kind of potshots at the president, to the point of making crude sexual jokes about both men. Needless to say, I found their conversation crude and offensive. Then they had the audacity to ask their listeners to donate money to their program so that they can expand. My thought was, why would I want to send money to you so that you can do more of THIS? How does THIS behavior do ANYTHING to promote conservative values, or to help bridge the obvious gap in our nation between conservative and liberal folks? It does nothing but hurt, demean, and destroy.
I also recently saw an article posted by one of my wife's friends on Facebook. It was a response (called a "fact check") to a blog post written by an individual from the "Christian Men's Defense Network." The original blog post has evidently been taken down; for the sake of decency, I will avoid posting a link to either the original blog or the fact check (if you really want to read it, you can find it on your own). I was appalled to read that the original blogger, posting under the guise of being a conservative Christian person, wrote a fairly lengthy article detailing that he felt Obama won the election because he won the "slut vote". I found the pieces of the original article that are floating around the internet to be extremely offensive; and yet I remember another noted conservative radio host going on about the exact same topic (albeit with less blatantly offensive language) around the time when the whole issue of contraception became a big part of the election debate.
In addition to these two obviously appalling instances, I have seen many, many casual Facebook posts (and comments) from friends and acquaintances of mine who consider themselves conservatives, that have contained large amounts of vitriol, angst, anger, and rhetoric that, to me, shows nothing but intellectual cowardice and ignorance. I have seen instances of friendships being damaged or ruined by comments like these. This is NOT the way of wisdom and healing. It only serves to further widen the divide between conservative and liberal, between the right and the left. It is no wonder our government is gridlocked and nothing can ever seem to get accomplished!
I remain a conservative thinker; however, my respect for much of the conservative media and voices in our nation has diminished considerably. I can only hope and pray that those on the left do not paint me with the same brush as they paint these few outspoken individuals....because my intent is to approach debates with intellectual integrity, to discuss differences without demeaning others, and to respect people whose opinions are different from my own.
I may not be able to persuade people to think like I do, but I can certainly make a much better impression on them - as a conservative, Christian person - by relating to them with love and respect than I can by demeaning them and treating them with derision. Perhaps the next election cycle will swing things back in a direction I would prefer, but if it does not, it isn't the end of my world. My role as a Christian is to respect the authorities and support them - remembering that they are there because God allowed them to be. Let me issue a call to other conservatives - please, think before you speak, especially if you have influence on a national level. Discourse and dialogue are much more effective ways to get your ideas across than are name calling and denigration. And ultimately, if you disagree with the party in power, see what you can do to change it in the future. Calling them names demonstrates nothing but immaturity.
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