See the previous installments in this ongoing discussion about American values, Left vs. Right, Biblical morality, and New Media activism:
By Michael Lumish on October 13: Politics Vs Theology: Beginning A Debate With David Swindle. “Why we should not frame political issues as a matter of Good versus Evil.”
By David Swindle on October 20: Secular Political Ideology Vs. Biblical Moral Values: Continuing a Debate with Michael Lumish. “Why I don’t care much about Left vs. Right anymore. And four more points of disagreement.”
By Michael Lumish on October 27: Debating America’s Ideological Origins: Part III in Lumish Vs Swindle. “A disagreement about the founding fathers and classical liberalism.”
By David Swindle on November 3: What To Do When Progressives and Conservatives Can’t Communicate: Part IV of Lumish Vs Swindle. “Set the straw men on fire.”
By Michael Lumish today, November 10: Why I am Disgusted and Horrified. “We have a President who embraces the Muslim Brotherhood. Part V in Lumish Vs Swindle.”
Dear Michael,
This dialogue appears to be moving in an unexpected but very welcome direction: you recognizing the errors of your positions and coming to adopt mine instead. Here you agree with me that we need to speak more broadly beyond just our own cultural communities:
My intention, you should know, was never to speak strictly to Jewish people and I very much regret giving you that impression.
And in your encouraging conclusion you state clearly your opposition to both the party and ideology to which you’ve dedicated your life:
What I want, and I hope that you will help me, is simply to alert other American liberals that we need not be enslaved to the Democratic Party and the Progressive-Left movement and that if we wish to promote social justice then we must oppose political Islam.
Where you don’t seem to go far enough yet is in acknowledging what “social justice” actually is and from where it emerged. Among the reasons why you’re so doomed in your efforts to push so-called liberals and activist Democrats to fight for “social justice” in the Muslim world is that the value you are trumpeting is not essential to either ideology or party. “Social justice” is a Jewish concept — tikkun olam, which translated from Hebrew means “to heal the world.” This is not an inherently political idea and its perversion and secularization is mostly a recent development. One can — and should — pursue the biblical concept of healing the world apart from political engagement.
But our political activism can still be motivated by our religious values and we can still use a party to do God’s work. I explained how in the previous installments of this dialogue. I believe the most important thing God wants us to do on this earth is what he called Moses to do — liberate enslaved people. And that’s been the Republican Party’s charge since its founding. Politics is just a means to an end. The ballot box is a hammer to smash chains. My favorite all-American motto, again, and its biblical depiction:
Last November, after the defeat of Mitt Romney, I decided to stop being an “independent Tea Party conservative” and formally declare myself a Republican, committed to reforming the GOP, and returning it to its anti-slavery roots. I’m a Frederick Douglass Republican.
I wrote about it here, providing 3 primary reasons for my change in party affiliation:
1. Today I’m joining the Republican Party because I recognize that it’s not enough to take back the culture. We could spend four years pushing the culture and expanding the base and then it would be all for naught because incompetent GOP campaign operatives cannot run a campaign.
2. Today I’m joining the Republican Party because over the coming years as ideological factions compete for influence the antisemitic elements within the party — Ron Paul’s Paleo-Libertarian, Old Right, Anarcho Capitalist, Conspiracy Theory cult coalition — threaten to gain greater influence.
3. Today I’m join joining the Republican Party because as I’ve returned to Bible-based religion and a faith in God during the past year I’ve come to understand the story of the ancient Israelites rebelling against slavery and idolatry as the basis for Western Civilization, our ancestors’ flight from Europe, and the founding of this nation. The Republican Party was founded as the anti-slavery Party. It still is today.
So Michael, my question to you: having cast off your allegiance to the Democratic Party, why have you not yet picked up your trunk and joined us? Remember, Ronald Reagan was originally a New Deal Democrat too. Hat tip Ed Driscoll:
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– David
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