By George Templeton
Gazette Blog Columnist
August 25, 2024
GAZETTE BLOG EDITOR'S NOTE: Last month, Gazette Blog
Columnist George Templeton wrote
about how the Republican Party platform misaligns with Christian
principles and values. In his new column which follows, he offers a
similar analysis of
Democratic Party principles as espoused at their recently concluded
convention. To compare the two analyses, we have reprinted the
Republican Party column following the Democratic column.
Reviewing the DNC Convention
Truth
The truth is always incomplete. We make the mistake of thinking that for anything to be real, we must be able to stub our toes on it.
You cannot put a ruler on love, appreciation, intention, patriotism, and God, but these reveal patterns in measurable behaviors (proxies). They are our character and, in the long run, our destiny.
Some things must be understood from the top down. We cannot understand the interactions between the individual particles of the moral universe. Theology finds them from above.
We seek the truth, but we fear it. Our bright side wants to pursue truth wherever it leads. Our dark side balks whenever the truth leads us to where we do not want to go. It is easier to change the minds of men than their hearts. For only one to be right, everybody else must be wrong. It leads to “us versus them”.
Independence
Returning to the past and marching into the future depends on the path taken, not just the start and end point. Life is not a reversible process. We must believe in something beyond ourselves. We belong in this world. We are free to choose, but we are responsible. Jesus freed us to do what we ought to do.
Dreaming
We do not dream the impossible dream. Reality Demons create opportunities, and solutions need optimism. In Second Corinthians 4:18, the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “… look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Healthy
Immanuel Kant claimed that good comes from intentions and cold-hearted duty, not self-interest.
It’s evolution. We have a subconscious scaffolding that makes us defend our children and not want to kill our babies.
I am pro-life. My mother died giving birth to me. A long time ago, I was the future. Now, our children are our future.
Jesus had empathy and compassion for suffering people. He would have agreed that health care is a human right, not The Art of the Deal.
Our Economy
Saint Thomas Moore wrote that ethics is all that is not the self. When we are self-interested, we want and admire wealth without understanding its price.
In Matthew 25:35-36, 40, Jesus says that whatever you do for the least of his brothers and sisters, you do for him.
Criminal Justice
How are you a force for good? Does a bad apple spoil the bushel? Is justice revenge or redemption? Does force work better than encouragement?
We are stuck halfway between forgiving and punishing. It is assertive but not brutal. Kindness promotes non-aggression. Our dark side is satisfied when someone gets what we think they deserve. It makes hatred seem O.K.
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving, as God in Christ forgave you.
Climate Change
Global warming is a big problem. But the world does not heat isotropically, and we don’t know its natural frequencies. Its tipping point depends on feedback amplitude and timing. It could have already tipped.
Heat is energy in motion, and this causes local weather.
Immigration
America should be inclusive. Our Statue of Liberty reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, …!"
Wars
Immanuel Kant found evil in self-interest taking priority over the general good. Striving is not the same as fighting.
Carl Jung did not just believe. He knew that God existed, finding him in the archetypical scaffolding of humanity. He said, “Good and evil do not derive from one another but are always there together.” We must learn to recognize the evil in ourselves.
The Real GOP
The 2013 news by Megyn Kelly claimed that Jesus was a conservative white man. Let’s look at the GOP platform’s alignment with this view of Jesus.
1. Make America Rich Again (I’ll buy your vote):
While the pursuit of wealth can be a noble endeavor, the 'Make America Rich Again' policy, with its implied Faustian bargain, raises concerns. The Art of the Deal, which trades souls for wealth and power, should give us pause to think about the potential consequences of such a policy.
It is in the famous Sermon by Jesus: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God… But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. (Luke 6:20-25)
2. Make America Safe (From Immigrants and Muslims) Again:
When a leader lets go of what he is, it opens the door to what he could be. A strong leader’s concrete results, not measured by himself, speak truth to power. When Loyalty is all that matters, the truth dies.
Jesus said: “… everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You Fool” shall be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)
3. Make America Strong Again (quarantining, punishing, and forcing instead of persuading):
Do we want to live in the world, with all its joy and sadness, with all its misunderstanding and controversy, or will we withdraw?
Is tough smart? Knowing that you don’t know is more important than thinking that you do. The effective leader must take care not to see what he believes and then subsequently believe what he sees. He must enjoy being wrong when it is in our favor. He must remember that for every force, there is an opposite reaction that divides instead of bringing people together.
According to this analysis, a great president is one who embodies understanding and compassion in politics. He is quiet, contemplative, deep, inscrutable, philosophical, and professorial. He has empathy because he has been in that situation himself. He comes from what he manages over. He is not a carnival barker. He helps others understand themselves, invoking a sense of empathy.
Heidegger described it by saying, 'Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.' This emphasis on empathy and the meaning of life underscores the need for understanding and compassion in politics, which seems to be overlooked in the current political landscape.
4. Make America Great Again (White, segregated, Christian, patriarchal, uneducated):
No leader can make us great. That can only come from us. We must humbly search for the “good” in America and work to continually improve it.
There is no smaller package than an America all wrapped up in herself. We grow when we are selfless. It is not a feigned love, contrived put-on, or stage show.
Thousands of years ago, the big questions were “why” and “who”. Now we must ask “what” and see “how” things work. Our judgments should be based on facts and truth, not politics and religious dogma. It is not a game or popularity contest.
Cause and effect could be fundamentally religious or a consequence of human perception. When God becomes the prime mover, controlling the minutiae of everyone’s life, there is no need for Newton’s laws or understanding anything academic.
There is a moral imperative not to neglect the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith lest we become “blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” as Jesus put it. (Matthew 23-24)
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