We live in a time when it seems that the left and right in America are moving further apart than ever. Those at the extremes, who tend to be the loudest, make it seem that way, but actually the core values and beliefs of Americans have not moved very much in either direction throughout our history. As we have covered, from The Revolutionary War to the present, the American people have been about 30% on the liberal left, 30% on the conservative right, and the remaining 40% between them. 

         There are times when the extremes on either side have gotten more extreme, and since they tend to be the loudest it may seem that their entire side has gone to such an extreme. However, the American people have tended to be moored to a position slightly right of center. 

         So, how has it been that the federal government has turned so far to the left? By means that disconnected it from the will of the people by disconnecting it from the moorings of The Constitution that enabled it to be controlled by the people.

         Actually, much of our social discord is superficial. Most people do not have time to dig very deep into issues and policies, so we tend to respond more to slogans and sound bites. Politicians learn this and use it to their advantage. This works for winning elections, and that is the goal of politicians. Politicians who deal mostly in the superficial have been winning more and more power. The result has been a devotion by elected officials to what keeps them in power rather than preserving the power of the people, and so the people now have little real power in the running of their government. 

         We have an abundance of evidence of the level of superficiality in America in regard to even some of the most pressing issues of the time. We see this in interviews of people on the street who claim to stand for a position, but when questioned cannot even explain what that position is. In one shocking example of this, graduate students at one of the leading universities claimed to be socialists, but not a single one could define what socialism was. A few offered a definition for what socialism was, but they were not even close to the truth, even though they asserted their opinion very boldly.

         What do the “left” and “right” stand for in America? To be accurate we need to define what they are now as these definitions can change with the times. For example, the patriots during the War for Independence were considered liberals, on the left, and the conservatives were the colonists who wanted to stay loyal to the British crown. Now patriots are considered to be mostly conservatives.

         There are degrees to liberalism and conservatism. One can be a conservative on some issues but a liberal on others. For this reason, one of the highest accomplishments we could attain would be to see Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of being a people who do not judge others by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This can happen if each of us will start with ourselves. 

         As we dig down just a little into the definitions of what it means to be a liberal or conservative, on the left or right, we may find that we thought we were one or the other, but as we understand them we find that we are mostly the opposite of what we have even branded ourselves. This is called “illumination.” 

         There is a saying, “If we do not stand for something we will fall for anything.” One of the most deceptive presumptions is that if most people believe something it must be true. There is some truth to “crowd intelligence,” but as we examine history we will find that the crowds can be wrong about most things most of the time. That’s why our Constitution was designed for a government that was not just ruled by the majority, but requires anything that passes the high bar of becoming a law would go through a process that would bring illumination to its real impact. 

         Crowds can be astonishingly fickle. The same crowd that was crying “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of The Lord,” when Jesus entered Jerusalem were just five days later crying “Crucify Him!” We can see that this is still true by the wide swings in opinion polls. That’s why careful process is so crucial in governing. The Jewish leaders who condemned Jesus had the most brilliant judicial process ever devised, and they violated almost all of its principles to condemn Jesus, which may be why He remained silent throughout the mock trial. When we violate due process, bad things will almost always happen.

         Stability can begin with just a few resolving that if they are going to stand for something, they are going to understand it.  Definitions matter. When definitions are overly superficial, they tend to confuse the issue and hide the truth. So, we will take a few of these words like “left” and “right,” “liberal” and “conservative,” and establish what they really mean. If we do this, we may find that many of us are really on the opposite side that we thought we were, at least on some issues. That’s ok. That can be the beginning of clarity for us, and the light will grow if we resolve to dig down just a little deeper into these meanings. 

         Before going into a few of these in the next Heritage Brief, consider that just as every snowflake is unique, every tree is unique, and even every leaf on every tree is unique, every human being is unique. It is also true that no two conservatives are alike, and neither are any two liberals alike. There are ways that we must lump some groups together for considerations because of time and other factors, but the larger the generalization that we have lumped together, the more inaccurate our assumptions will be.  

         Consider also that with as much freedom as we have in America, it is truly extraordinary that we have as much unity as we do. It may seem that we are horribly divided because some on the extremes of the left or right wing can be so loud, but we have throughout our history agreed on far more than we disagreed on. 

         The Prophet Amos questioned how two people can walk together if they are not in agreement. Many have interpreted this to mean that we cannot walk together with anyone we do not agree with on everything. If that were the case then none of us could walk with anyone else. Even with the people we agree with the most, we will have some things we disagree with. So, a better interpretation of the prophet would be that we find points of agreement with others and walk together in those things. 

         All our previous positions are now exposed as absurd. But people don’t draw the obvious conclusion: it must also mean that our present situation is absurd. –Terence McKenna

         The media landscape of the present day is a map in search of a territory. – J.G. Ballard

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