I’ve been thinking about the polarization of our nation. I believe one of the biggest factors in the growing hatred of left v. right is the simple fact that people on both sides refuse to ever soak in any information from the other side. I know people that only watch FOX for news, listen only to Rush Limbaugh for political commentary, and only discuss politics with their conservative fundamentalist friends. I have friends on the left that do the same thing on the other side. Being a libertarian, I’m usually stuck arguing with both of them but they are all so brainwashed that you just can’t get them to think out of the box.

We can fix this by stretching ourselves a bit. I'll do my part....

Earlier this year I made a commitment to read some books that were outside my view point and give them a good listen. Not to try and change my view, but to try and understand what makes them tick. I realized that I respected a few people on both ends of the political spectrum and I wondered why they could have views that seemed so irrational to me. Since I originally came from the “right” before I completely left both camps, I decided to start my journey by reading some things further on the “left”.

I read a book by a guy that was pretty far from my background in politics but had made some of the same changes in Theology. He is liberal seminary professor and former Methodist pastor from Georgia that now lives in the northeast. His name is Kenneth Cauthen and the book is “I Don’t Care What The Bible Says”. I’ve also since read one of his books about theology and that process helped me understand why I never felt comfortable in a theological fundamental church growing up. This book however is more of a journey through his life as he migrated away from the south and its political and social views. I thought I would try seeing how an intelligent person could actual call himself a liberal. The book really helped me understand how he wound up on the far left in spite of being from the south and being a Christian. The title of the book is a little scary at first, but it is not at all what it seems. Here is the story of the title…

Being a pastor in Georgia in the early 60’s he got fired for preaching about racial equality. During the committee meeting where they were discussing the issue, Cauthen tried to explain how the bible supported racial equality and how God would not endorse segregation. One of the deacons stood up and said “I don’t care what the Bible says; we are not going to permit the integration of races in our schools”.

The book it is an interesting view of the south and I can identify with the struggle between his love of barbeque and disgust of racism. The book didn’t reveal any facts that I didn’t already know, but it let me into his head and heart for a moment. I can see how he ended up leaving the south. We always assume that when someone claims to be democrat or a republican that they mean they love 100% of that party’s platform. That is obviously not true and we should try to understand more deeply what aspects of the platform lead them to cast that vote or make that stance.

For me, there is too much wrong with both of our nations 2 main parties. I can no longer support either. But I've learned my lesson now and I will now do my part to seek to find the good in both.