Pragmatism—I use to think of myself as a liberal but
as I got older I found myself realizing that people who call themselves liberal
could be just as self-righteous and obnoxious as people who call themselves
conservatives. It was all about the “I
am right—you are wrong” game which is
one of the worst games human beings can play.
If you carry it to the extreme, it is OK to kill the people you don’t
like. I don’t want to play that game. So
what does that make me? A moderate? A centrist?
Someone sitting on the fence? So
I started to call myself a progressive.
That worked for a while but soon I realized that many progressives had
not thought through how their ideas would work.
So I called myself a practical progressive…too many syllables.
I have come to think of myself as a spiritual and
political “independent.” My faith and
politics are based on values, not creeds or ideologies. I support civil liberties and oppose racism
and sexism not because of politics but because I love justice. These values are respect for all people. Respect for the Earth. Respect for all religions, cultures, genders,
and races. Respect for learning and
knowledge including art, music, literature, philosophy, theology, science, and
athletics. The love of justice and
compassion and the sacredness of life.
Comments
Post a Comment