Most people avoid talking about politics with people who disagree with them. These cowards fear the heat of a meaningful discussion and retreat into the safety of safer topics like weather, sports, and their favorite sitcom.
Venturing boldly into neighborly political discourse can be dangerous though. It is easy to veer from the virtuous path of solving problems to defending the political parties that created them.
Defending parties is a waste of time. People can agree, but the parties cannot. In fact, political parties will always disagree. That is why George Washington hated them. The two parties can no more be on the same side of an issue as two football teams can stand on the same side of the line of scrimmage. McCain and Obama cannot agree and both become President. As in football, the rules are designed to prevent a tie. “On any given Sunday you’re gonna win or you’re gonna lose”.
Friendship is not a win-lose game. Neighbors can vote separate ways and come back together later. During the 2004 presidential election, my neighbor and I agreed on the war, taxes, and healthcare. At work, we agreed on the future of automotive industry, and after work, we drove similar cars to similar wives who decorated similar houses with the same décor. We were the same in every important way, but his views on abortion drove him to vote for Bush. After voting, we left the same polling location and went to the same bar and drank the same beer. Political debates highlight differences in opinion but not necessarily differences in people.
Good political debates, on the other hand, must divide politicians. Obama and McCain cannot walk on the same debate stage, say the same things, shake hands, and call it a night. We have to choose between them so they have to make the differences clear. They must define where they disagree.
- Neighbors can care for a sick child, but politicians must decide what happens if her parents don’t have health care
- Neighbors can agree to get better teachers. Politicians must determine how we define what we mean by better
- We all want to pay less in taxes, but they have to choose who pays more and who pays less
- Noone wishes an unwanted pregnancy on their daughter, but the politicians have to decide if daughter's choices end before sex or after contraception
- We can agree that Iraq was a mess, but they have to define America’s role in fixing it
Americans will never agree on which party is best. As soon as we do, the other party will be forced to change. Then, they’ll split the middle, and we’ll debate different things. The things we debate are important. They define us. In 2008, we are debating how to fix our economy. In 1948, it was how to fix Europe's economy. In 1908 and 1929, we were back to fixing our own economy. In 1848, it was Slavery, and that issue led to a war that left more Americans dead than any other.
Highlighting differences and choosing sides is lethal. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all follow the teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses, and Jesus, and yet we have been killing each other for 2000 years.
It is the nature of man to inflate the importance of small differences. I have known Taiwanese parents who feared their daughters would marry Chinese, Central Americans who hated being called Mexican, and Blacks who thought dark people were ugly. This is not God’s way.
When neighbors start dissecting each other in this way, it is time to reread the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
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