Get Religion has been doing a good job covering what I can only call the anti-Christian hysteria emanating from the grand poobahs of our high culture. See here, here and here.
Many liberals seem convinced that America is on the verge of a takeover by the forces of reaction, by “theocrats” and “religious fascists” whose fervid dream is to turn the US of A into a Christian version of Afghanistan under the Taliban. All this in part because people in a handful of states voted for measures that would forestall what, if we’re being honest, amounts to a revolutionary reconstruction of one of humanity’s oldest institutions. I’m not saying that’s the right position, but it is understandable. And it’s a position shared by vast numbers of ordinary people, not just the “religious right” (shudder).
But remember: no one in the mainstream of American life is seriously proposing the re-criminalization of gay relationships, or any other forms of consensual sex as far as I can tell. There is a difference between tolerance and official, public recognition. The denial of the latter doesn’t necessarily mean the former is in jeopardy.
And, yes, there are many people in America concerned about our easy acceptance of abortion on demand, an acceptance that has hardened into one of the Democrat Party’s most central dogmas. I admit to being one of them. Is this no longer a legitimate topic of public discussion?
It’s tiring to keep repeating the same point over and over again, but here goes: Christians, even evangelical, born-again conservative Christians, have just as much right to inject their voice into the public arena as anyone else. And sometimes they may even win. That’s democracy, folks.
No I certainly don’t agree with many of the positions taken by religious conservatives, but then again, I disagree with a lot of the positions taken by secular liberals too.
Yes I would like to see a party that was committed to the protection of all life, to a truly humble foreign policy, to a healthy environment, and to economic security for everyone. But that doesn’t mean I can dismiss those who disagree with me as ignorant, hateful zealots.
I grew up in a small industrial town in western Pennsylvania. Many of the people there fit the profile of your classic Reagan Democrat: socially conservative and economically liberal, hard-working, patriotic and neighborly. After college I lived in Pittsburgh for a year, then moved to the heartland midwest for graduate school. After that I lived for three years in the San Francisco Bay area, the bluest of all blue zones. Now I live in Philadelpia, a city that went overwhelmingly for Kerry in a state that did the same. So I feel like I’ve sampled life among a pretty healthy cross-section of “red-staters” and “blue-staters.” They aren’t that different in my experience. Some of my friends and family voted for Bush, some for Kerry, some for third parties. None of them are evil, thoughtless or cruel.
Democracy means accepting your fellow citizens on an equal footing, as people with just as much right to participate in the political process as you. It doesn’t mean agreeing with them. It may mean getting to know them and trying to understand them a little better.
A Thinking Reed 
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