Simple Living Isn’t Always

[Disclaimer: I’m still wrestling with the Christian’s proper place in politics. It’s an issue I return to periodically, and never with more verve than in the months (or in this case, year) leading into a presidential election. I get jazzed about politics and current events despite myself. But as a Christian, I know that my hope is not in either processes or personalities. And as a bit of a cynic, I doubt that any elected official is going to do much to change day-to-day life in America. After all, the war does little to touch everyday Americans unless they have a family member or friend in Afghanistan or Iraq. Nonetheless, I’m so weary of the soundbites and handled candidates that a rogue thinker like Newt Gingrich gets my brain juices flowing.]

National Journal has posted an interview with Newt Gingrich. I agree with at least one statement of his:

“We need very bold, dramatic change, change at every level — from school board to city council to county commission to state legislatures to the presidency.”

There’s no energy in any conservative candidate apart from Ron Paul, and he has lacked the ability to energize the number of voters necessary to make him a contender. But he is a man with big ideas, and that’s what we need. Unfortunately, we live in the era of soundbite politics. You can’t discuss big ideas with pedestrians from a speeding train, which is what segmented television offers candidates. Neither can you discuss big ideas on Leno or Letterman, or even on The Daily Show. (Though you get a little more of it on TDS; John Stewart doesn’t shy away from “scary” issues.)

And Newt seems to have big ideas and the communication chops to talk about them. The problem, however, is that Newt’s not well liked. He’s the kind of polarizing figure on the right that Hillary is for the left.

I think we conservatives (not Republicans) will have to recognize that cultural change is sea change. It takes years, even decades, and we’ve been so consumed with making apologies for George W. Bush and his war that we’ve been unable to focus on anything else. If our economy survives the Bush era, perhaps a far-reaching movement can catch fire and make a difference in ‘12.

I caught the end of Clear and Present Danger (1994) yesterday. That’s the Clancy-inspired movie where Jack Ryan goes back to the CIA and ends up taking on a Colombian drug lord and his KGB-trained intelligence chief. It’s probably the weakest Jack Ryan movie, but I found myself almost cheering at the end. (Couple of spoilers below, so if you haven’t seen it, you may want to skip to the end.) Continue Reading »

As Election 2008 draws near, we’ll hear countless pastors and Christians assert that electing the “right person” (literally and metaphorically) is the only way to see the nation redeemed from evil and returned to its roots. I’m certainly susceptible to this idea, and while it’s true to some extent, we tend to overestimate the power of top-down social influence. The Scriptures present a very different model, one that’s not bottom-up but bottom-out. In remembering our weakness, we open the door to God’s omnipotence. Professor and farmer Dave Black posted the following reminders on his blog recently, in response to the increasingly politicized American existence. Continue Reading »

I’m frustrated with the media fawning over Rudy Giuliani. His performance in the debate last night was weak, by and large, but he benefited from a bit of 9/11 grandstanding at the expense of Congressman Ron Paul. Paul’s performance was far better, though they asked him far fewer questions. Thanks to our soundbite media, no one will understand that Paul was blaming not America but 50 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East for 9/11.

The National Review’s Byron York is on the bandwagon, apparently. His analysis of the debate has Giuliani the undeclared winner, even though Fox’s survey put Paul ahead of him by 6 points. (Paul also won the MSNBC debate poll, but MSNBC says it wasn’t legit.)

Read on for my open letter to Byron York about Ron Paul and the soul of conservatism. Continue Reading »