Recently I stood in a block-circling line for a liberal news media event. Surrounded by liberals, all of whom were aware that they, too, were surrounded by liberals--it’s just about as close to a literal political echo chamber as one can get. There is something deeply instinctual in the human psyche that is emboldened by this type of setting. Opinions are stated as obvious facts, views that might be hotly debated in other circles are here voiced with no parsing of words, no measured phrases or cautious clarifications. The assumption here is that at large this group agrees with me. We may debate, but only for intellectual stimulation; at the end of the day, we are all on the same team--go team!
Honestly it makes me smile for just a moment, but a mild nausea quickly follows. This reminds me of a similar setting on another end of the spectrum. This reminds me of church. Much of my adolescence was spent in conservative Christian church settings--the weekday youth group, weekend retreats, summer camps and Sunday church. In a church lobby it is known that God is good, that Jesus saves, that we’re all sinners saved by grace. It is also known that we are “in”, and, necessarily, many others are “out”. There are jokes and judgments and knowing looks that only someone who is “in” will get. Every word you hear in a church lobby assumes that it will be met with agreement.
At first these settings are comforting, they feel a little like home, like you’ve found your people, your tribe. It feels good to be agreed with, to say what you believe and hear “yes!” and “exactly!”. But camaraderie tends to very quickly focus us inward. This is where my feeling of nausea came from. There is an arrogance that comes with an echo chamber. You begin with the assumption that everyone here agrees with you, which gives you a feeling of freedom to say whatever you want, no one challenges your opinion in part because many people here do agree with you and in part because group think is extraordinarily powerful and silently shuts down dissent, and there you are, left with the assurance that you and this large crowd agree. You, who are in, are right, “they” who are out are wrong.
So here you are, in a line full of liberals whose standpoint writ large is defend the poor and oppressed, making jokes about the daily news about the idiot conservatives, walking past a man who’s asking for spare change without saying a single word to him, and not ten seconds later making a joke about how the MC at this event is probably pumping up the crowd FFC style with chants of “cut taxes for the poor!” and “medicare for everyone!”.
Alternatively, there you are, in a crowd of Christians whose namesake stood above all else for defense of the poor, oppressed and marginalized, making quiet remarks about the "questionably dressed" woman at church and avoiding eye contact with the guy sleeping on the sidewalk, having nodded in impassioned agreement not five minutes earlier when the pastor preached about doing “unto the least of these” and judging not lest you be judged.
Bunch of arrogant jerks all around, really.
Now, I personally do not understand where the connection between Republican and Christian ideology came to be. I mean, I guess I can see it from the perspective of a Christianity and a Republicanism I do not agree with in any way. But the religion that Jesus talked about--the politics that Jesus talked about--looks so much more like the marginalized-saving message on the liberal side of aisle. But I think it’s a bit of Jesus-ish-perspecitve that the Democrats need to push their message beyond the insular walls of their self-righteous echo chamber and into the ears of the folks who would benefit from their policies, and help tip the electorate.
The burning question among forward-focused Democrats and non-enfranchised liberals these days is “how do we reach people?” How, in 2018 and 2020, do we reach the people that we missed in 2016. It’s widely understood that the Democratic message missed “Middle America” somehow, failed to win over swing states, and even missed in states they had won easily in 2008 and 2012. “Reaching people” is what Christians are all about, in theory, and their (unfortunate) strong tie to the Republican party I think has carried that connection factor with it. Christians are good at “we” messaging that makes many feel right at home--Republicans piggyback off this message and carry a large portion of our population with them. Democrats are better at “they” messaging, which leaves a lot of people feeling decidedly shut out: they’re backwards, behind the times, all the same.
Clearly Democrats consider their views and policies to be better--better for Americans individually and better for the country as a whole--and yet they have failed, quite spectacularly, to convey that message convincingly to an electorate majority of voters.
And this is where Jesus comes in. Not literally, mind you, at least not literally for everyone. But in action, in love. The great thing about Jesus--whether seen as savior, historic figure, or myth--is that what Jesus talked about, he did. He talked about loving the poor and the oppressed, and he loved them. He talked about bringing in the marginalized, and he brought them in. He talked about tearing down the tyranny of the rich and did just that, not by putting his money where his mouth was, but by putting his poverty there. Jesus was hugely politically subversive, and no one ever called him a coastal elite, no one ever said he was out of touch with their experience. The rich and powerful feared him, the poor, oppressed and marginalized saw hope in him.
So why is the Left, with its people-loving policies, not reaching people, while the Right, with its corporation-loving policies, is--and with an 88% approval rating among its base?
I think, policies aside, that those folks feel loved there. When they hear things like “America first”, they think “yeah that’s me, ‘America first’ means me first,” even when the policies don’t fully translate. Because the Party’s message is “we are here for you, you’re one of us, we feel your pain”. Somehow the Democratic message always feels like it’s talking about someone else, or just plainly against whomever.
The Republican base claims to be the Christian base, and I think it’s time for liberals to beat them at their own game. Love the hell out of people. Serve the hell out of people. Be with people where they are at, hear their stories, feel their pain, and work along side them to bring them into a better future. The whole magic of the story of Jesus is that the high and mighty God, the coastal elite of deity, decided to step down into the fray and figure out what all the fuss was about--by actually experiencing it. Jesus was incarnate--there in the flesh--and I think it’s time for liberals to quit merely touting high ideologies and do the same.
Neither side is perfect, and a multi-party system is imperative to a thriving democracy, but I think it’s time for Democrats to breach the divide to show hurting Americans that they are seen, and show Christians that what they’re looking for might be a little more blue than they thought.
