Enough frivolities…here is the promised conclusion to: The Ones Who Walk Away From Washington.
September 27, 2007 in Uncategorized.
← Three minutes and you'll never confuse a solar system with a galaxy again!
fascinating. true. frustrating. and incomprehensible.
if you have not already run across it, you might want to take a peek at Deer Hunting With Jesus by Joe Bageant. it's not terribly long, it's engaging and a pretty easy read, and it kind of touches on what you just wrote here, though indirectly. I haven't finished it yet. in fact I'm only in chapter 2, but so far it has been enlightening, if somewhat baffling.
I made this same discovery a few years ago (I thought of it as a kind of language barrier at the time, and I still think the metaphor is apt). You make some very insightful points here that I never really noticed myself. Thanks for posting this. I've gotten to the point where I either just avoid political debate altogether or I play devil's advocate and argue for the position that is least represented in the company. Not difficult, since as you say, both sides of every debate are usually informed by admirable views, it's just that we're human and so we kind of stink at actually doing our own ideals justice most of the time.
Your description of what you do is much like what I do.
By the way, it was partially your enthusiasm part one that pushed me to finally sit down and finish this. ;-) Just thought you should know. We so seldom know what affect we have on those around us.
Well I'm glad I inspired you to post this, since it was well worth posting (and reading!) and I enjoy hearing your thoughts on this subject.
Boy, you guys are fast! The smoke had not yet lifted from the posting and you've already visited!
I see this a lot on the homeschooling forums I frequent. There's always this huge disconnect in world-views between the people there (mostly women) who hold to one side of the political spectrum and the people who hold to the other–but it isn't a real disconnect. All of us want the pretty much the same outcome for any given situation, but we disagree fairly furiously (and with great verbosity) on the method.
I used to try to take a middle ground. I would never voice an opinion without carefully considering all sides. In religion, I suppose you could have called me a Unitarian. I marched for abortion rights. I thought everybody on the other side was deluded and sucking down an opiate for the masses. I thought Jesus was a very wonderful man.
I still think that Jesus is wonderful, but you would never find me at a pro-choice march these days. I occasionally make risky statements to old friends if I think it will help them. I am more confidant in my faith.
I realize that America is composed of lots of people with different views, but the conservatives and the liberals are at loggerheads. There is a culture war going on, and I've chosen a side.
What happened to change me?
That day my husband and I were driving home our unconscious child from the hospital in Baltimore. The world went crazy, but we hung together in good, dull, conservative fashion. Wherever we went, people were doing the same. We Americans are a people together. Or we were. For a time.
Consciously choosing to give my children cochlear implants–thus bucking the Deaf enclave–and teach them cued speech instead of signing opened up a world of opportunity for direct confrontation that required more courage than I had needed previously.
It was a process for me. At first I went to church because I realized my teen needed a counterbalance to all the depravity in the world. Then I discovered this really beautiful gift–it was as though I had brought my child to be introduced to Christ and along the way he took me in, too. It hasn't always been easy socially. I've grown closer to some friends and have drawn away from others.
I like your posting, Jagi. It is very gentle. I wish I were such a gentle person. But I am by nature a fighter, and I choose to fight for God. Funny how that came out, but there it is.
A slight side question– cochlear implants help you hear?
And cued speech– is that like the folks who are mostly deaf but learn to figure out what folks are saying, either by reading lips or by hearing a tiny bit and figuring it from there?
If I am understanding correctly, those would mean your kids can have a more normal life– making their lives easier. For this, you're willing to face down the folks who feel betrayed, right?
I think you're a heck of a mom.
Yes, cochlear implants help hearing in most cases. Our kids' hearing is improved. They enjoy music and will not dash out into traffic, but discrimination is poorer than if they were implanted at a younger age when the brain development was more plastic. Unfortunately that was not the protocol at the time, and a lot of that had to do with not causing a fuss in the Deaf community by being extremely conservative at implantation dates. It's changed now.
Kids implanted early enough usually are indiscernable from the hearing population.
If you want to see a great video about it, check out Sound and Fury. It was nominated for an Academy Award.
Jagi is a great peacemaker, yes, indeed!
*shrug* No complement, needfully– just the way I see it.
There's enough folks that won't fight for their kids that I feel a need to mention when someone does. Lord knows my mom and dad did and would, in a heartbeat.
She once shared with me a website called Mom's From Hell, a support group for moms who want to stand up to get the support they need for their children.
Thank God, I've never needed it, as the schools here have been pretty supportive — but I felt it tippified her fearless devotion to her wonderful children!
While you went from being a quieter person to one who is willing to take a stand for what you believe in.
I think that sounds like progress for both of us!
Very astute; I'll have to try to remember your words as I find that I am actually developing political beliefs of my own…. Lol. Not that I have a very big camp. A Libertarian viewpoint balanced with Christian beliefs seems to be relatively rare.
Before I withdrew I was a Libertarian Christian, too. ;-) There must be more.
That does make sense to me…since trusting to God rather than government goes hand in hand with Libertarian philosophy.
Lib political philosophy leaves a lot of gaps and holes with respect of non-rational or non-competent actors. But since, for Christians, no polical philsophy ever needs to be the primary one, those gaps are all filled in by the Best Possible Thing.
I can relate to this – I find typical political discussion to be full of mudslinging, with personal insults all too common. Additionally, I have pretty strong disagreements with both major U.S. parties, so I'm more or less an "outsider" in politics as I am in most areas of life. So, while I'm not without opinions, I tend to avoid talking politics as much as possible.