Worthwhile Reads: On Politics, Religion, and Libertarianism

After the two posts I wrote yesterday, I thought I’d offer some on related themes from a couple blogs I read:

Libertarianism, Patriotism, and Starting Points: How I Apparently Became a Pinko Commie, by Sierra

“You’ve been brainwashed by those bleeding heart liberal college professors of yours.”

I stared at him. I hadn’t changed my position on issues of poverty and structural inequality at all. I had simply learned to talk about them using the appropriate terms.

“You’re a feminazi now,” he joked. And then he proceeded to lecture me on free-market economics… as though I hadn’t spent my whole youth listening to conservative Christian radio, watching the conservative news with him, debating with my libertarian friends, or hearing periodic rants from him and from the pulpit about the Democrats being salivating sex fiends addicted to abortion who want to set up a nanny state and turn the whole world gay, then urinate on the cross and shoot Christians.

It was surreal.

The Christian Left, Part 1, by Katy-Anne

Today, I “liked” a page on Facebook called “The Christian Left” and shared two of its pictures on my own personal Facebook page. The very first comment I got was from a tea party conservative which simply said the “Christian” Left? insinuating that one could not be Christian and politically left. I know of good Christian people who are liberal and good Christian people who are conservative, and while I would never indicate that you can’t be Christian and liberal, or can’t be Christian and conservative, for me it is harder to imagine being conservative and being able to live by Christian values. However, it appears that many Christian conservatives don’t believe one can be both a Christian and liberal, so I thought I would write some posts on why I, as a Christian, choose to be a liberal rather than a conservative.

The Christian Left, Part 2, by Katy-Anne

I totally get that our faith influences our political decisions (it’s why I choose to be a moderate that currently leans left), what I don’t understand is that people who trust in Jesus for their eternal destiny would suddenly not trust that he cares and knows about what is going on in the country and that he can handle it. If Jesus can save us from our sins, can’t he be working behind the scenes in America despite which political party is in power? It troubles me to see how devastated some Christians get when the right is not in power. It troubles me to see how ugly and disrespectful some conservative Christians can be to government they disagree with, it troubles me to see what extremes some conservative Christians will go to. After all, I thought Christians believed that God was ultimately in control, so why all the panic?

‘Libertarianism is [not] a philosophy of individual freedom’, on The Slacktivist