Politically Homeless, An Awakening.

Dwight Jeffress, Updated Jul 1, 2019

Re-post from FB, some months ago.

Long post... some rabbit holes, and some reflections - apologies. I wouldn't blame you if you kept scrolling.

Ahhh... another one I debated about posting... but I find so much in common with the author of this opinion piece. Politically homeless... yeah, that could describe me... but in a sense, after being a die-hard conservative Republican for almost 20 years I think personally I have found unequivocal freedom in abandoning it, well sort of. It will most likely continue to form the basis of some of my belief system for the rest of my life simply because of the influence it once had. To be able to now “take the blinders” off and see other perspectives, and not to tune out other opinions, as well as see merit in another way of belief, is freeing... in short, a liberation of the mind.

I found this also with abandoning contemporary Christian institutional religion, walking away from that community allowed me to see other viewpoints and other religions in a different light and to acknowledge, if not embrace their merits as well. I was able to come to peace with so much that bothered me over many years... the overwhelming tribal compulsion that if I belonged to a certain team, I needed to believe a certain way. That never set well with me. Mind you, I don't ever remember someone telling me I had to believe a certain way (which wouldn't have worked out very well), but it was evident in social discourse as well as other's beliefs exuding from their person. I still find it amusing that whatever the context, there are some people, who feel the need to declare their politics in a group discussion, even when it's out of place. One example could be a bible study... another personally telling could be social media.

I remember starting to delve into the history of socialism (primarily out of curiosity), as one who was economically conservative, if not outright libertarian. With that self-directed education, I was opened to another way of thinking about the world. I saw within 19th century England the desire of some of the upper middle classes and even a portion the nobility to find ways to end the plights of the poor, the working classes, as well as seek an end to slavery, child labor, and abysmal poverty. I saw in Revolutionary France the raising up of humankind from the horrid depths of centuries feudal exploitation unparalleled in Europe until one crossed into Tsarist Russia. A society overturned for the benefit of all mankind, one that was far from perfect, but in its beginning foundations would lay down a legal code followed by many governments in the world to this day (The Napoleonic Code). In short, the foundations of socialism and communism were reactions by the educated and intellectuals to the world they lived in, the tortuous and impoverished world they saw and had to travel through.

Among these theorists, there was a great divergence in how the ills of society could be addressed. As a side note: at the time, and even to this day, the church has not been able to contend with the entire issue of poverty and the exploitation of the worker in its totality. Some of these social, political and economic theorists called for revolution of the proletariat and an overturning of the status quo social strata that had been evolving for centuries from its foundational feudalism. While others sought to change the social, political and economic environment in a more peaceful and gradual way within the infrastructure of existing forms of government, democratically and through education. These two viewpoints split between the radical communists and the more conservative socialist movements. Both sought to end the sad situation found in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, and in some ways brought about the French Revolution and the upheaval of 19th century Europe. The picture is never as simple as one would like to paint it, whether it involved historic classical economics, the development of socialism or the emancipation of mankind from the fetters of slavery. It is multi-layered, complex and filled with a long and colorful history that is inundated with a diverse spectrum of ideologies and opinions.

The beginning of the 20th century, still quaking from the rumblings of the early 18th to late 19th centuries, saw changes finally come (more specifically in this context in America), in the form of labor unions to protect workers rights and wages from exploitative industrialists, to see Child labor to come to an end in most developed countries, allowing them to be children once again. Workers security and safety evolved over the last century to protect them from life paralyzing or worse, life-ending accidents and unsafe working conditions, to establish some sort of economic and social safety net for the elderly, who were too old to work, or for the disabled who found themselves unable to work in a job. In addition to, regulations on economic activity that could harm consumers, or workers whether financially or physically, just to name one, the break up of monopolies, which are endemic of an unrestrained economy.

Understand me, that these systems in place in the past and currently, are far from perfect, but have forged a world that we take for granted today with protections for the disabled, the elderly, the working class, as well as the middle class. Important changes that make life more bearable than it was just a mere 100 years ago.

It was with this knowledge through my continuous self-education, much reading, and journaling debates I had with myself in terms of intellectual stances I might take, that my belief system evolved and it continues to evolve. I was not the same conservative Republican I was years ago, but I had not swung completely to the left either, but I had found a new healthy respect and admiration for alternative opinions.

I do not seek to have a political label applied to myself, but I am sure I am more centrist than I was in the past. I am willing to see both sides of the story. Rather than seeing an issue from what some may see as the gutter of the moderate ( some would see being a moderate in a negative light), I would contend that I see the world now from the fence of centrism, where one has a good view of the playing field, where one can observe the movements of each team and see what is in the best interest of the country as a whole, rather than (I hope) being blinded by one ideology, seeking only its proliferation.

Like I have said I find a lot in common with the commentator who wrote this article. The Party I once at least followed at some points with earnest devotion is not quite the same party of the Ronald Reagan, of whom I viewed as a kindly man, whom I still admire as an exemplary President of the United States, as well as George H.W. Bush, who I admired as well. Over the years I have grown to appreciate FDR, Truman, Kennedy and even Johnson, though, I did not completely agree with all of their policies, and as I have also found, I did not agree with all the policies of conservative presidents either. I even came to admire President Barak Obama as well, in an equal light with his predecessors. Also, one must also extend a nod to Congress, who in some ways can be safe in its manifold anonymity of numbers, and to some extent does not suffer from the singular exposure of the Presidency.

In the end, it requires an open and teachable mind. One that is open to correction, and open to new ideas. It's not easy admitting you are or were wrong, and to this day, I still don't have all the answers, but really who does? In the end, it's being honest with one's self, as well as never tiring in the pursuit of understanding, knowledge as well as appreciate the concept of compromise. To think outside of that box (whatever that box may be) we so often like to put ourselves into. Civil Liberties are much more important to me now than they once were, I listen more to economic ideas that I would have at one time discounted. I look at the political landscape of America with different eyes now, with institutions or groups that I so closely supported and followed, I no longer seek affiliation with, and others that I was staunchly opposed to, I follow a bit more closely.

I like to think of myself as a social, political and economic Ronin, whose vote is still out, till I actually stand inside a voting booth. My concern is now more for my children's future rather than my own security and hopeful desires. I hope I leave them with a decent world to live in.

LINKS
The Atlantic Article referred to in this post, and in some ways inspired it.
I’m more willing to listen to those I once thought didn’t have much to teach me.