From the Inside

One of my main motivations for starting this page was to give those of us on the left some insight into the world of the religious right. After all, these are the people who appear to be running the show right now (ouch).

For the record I am a liberal Democrat and proud member of the ACLU. I have also attended an Evangelical Free church for most of the last 10 years. So, what is it like in Bush country? Do these folks really wear white hoods and burn crosses? Obviously not. For the most part they are working stiffs just like the rest of us. In fact, most of them belong to the social demographic that the Democratic Party once appealed to and that is why it is more important than ever to understand who the religious right is and what drives them. Truth be told, they are driven by the same things that drive us liberals - fear, concern and hope. They have just come to some very different conclusions about how to approach things, but some conclusions are not so different.

As a liberal, I have found Christianity to be a constructive outlet for my desire to effect positive change in the world. Through the church I have volunteered at a homeless shelter and helped repair the dilapidated house of an elderly women. I have prepared and delivered meals to people who were shut in and sat with families who have suffered a terrible loss. All of the stuff we liberals talk about but just can’t find the time to do. By the way, many of the same people who call themselves the religious right have gone out of their way to help me without regard for my party affiliation and without concern over my ACLU card. You don’t have to join a church to help people; I have some links to the right that promote worthy causes.

The church also teaches some very positive values. Jesus (the guy that seems to be the center of attention) had a lot to say about how much better the world would be if we just tried, in some small way, to stop being mean to each other. With these things in mind I believe the religious right and the political left can find some small parcel of common ground.

I promised dispatches from behind enemy lines in the culture war and at least from a liberal’s perspective, that is where I am. From time to time I will put up a flaming post on what I do think is wrong with our nation and with the religious right but we also need to find common ground.