Making Our Case Successfully

Citizen Action: A Bedrock Value

As I read and listen to people discuss the current candidates for President and the prospects for a Democrat Party domination of Congress, one thing seems clear to me: the substance of the issues is probably well over the heads of many of our fellow citizens. I don’t say that to be insulting or condescending. As a pastor and preacher, I realized, many years ago, that educated people tend to express themselves in language often unfamiliar to everyone else. A person like Barach Obama plays to that; he uses positive sounding generalities that seem to make sense. In response or reaction, those who read past his rhetoric, disagree, and oppose him tend to use terms that many hear only as opposition. If Hannity says it, then it’s conservative, pro-Bush, and Right-wing; they never really hear the content of arguments he attempts to make.

For some people, all the want to hear is Obama's promise to leave Iraq because that war was wrong or all war is bad. Wouldn't be nice if we lived in a world where we could play by those rules. Such people seem to miss a most fundamental point. People who hate the United States often hate us for imposing our rules and our view of the world. It doesn't matter to them who imposes them--President Bush or a President Obama--or which American values they are—vegan environmentalism or capitalistic freedom. Of course, the prefer those whom they regard as weak, such as Obama, because they will thrive while such a man leads the most powerful country in the world.

How do thoughtful people communicate ideas and persuade with rational arguments when we live in a Rod McLuhanesque, “the medium is the message,” kind of culture? I believe the tools I learned to become a mediator and peacemaker are the answer. To people who may merely react to words like big government, socialist, communist, or liberal, we need to learn to “preach” less, listen and ask questions, and help people understand the substance without using such words.

Christians seeking to discuss their faith with Muslims must do a similar thing. Words like Christian and church often create an immediate antagonism to the speaker, partly because from history and some unfortunately bad experiences with early missionaries. Those words have come to be associated with the Crusades, and, for good or ill, they regard the Crusades as proof of Christian inferiority if not evil. Attempting to deal with those prejudices, head on, leads to argument, anger, and counter-productive attitudes. Loving Christians (Camel Method, Secret Believers) have learned to start with the Koran, with the positive statements in makes about Jesus, and deal with the love of Christ at the heart of the gospel apart from history and rhetoric. I believe something similar is necessary if we are to prevail in making our case for the conservative and traditional American values we treasure, for a future of freedom and prosperity, and for ultimately giving the majority of Americans what they really want when they respond favorably to the big government socialism of progressives like Obama.

Unfortunately, we cannot assume people understand the meaning of words like conservative or liberal, progressive or reactionary, socialist or capitalist. Even democracy and republic are often misunderstood. Most people don’t take the time to learn the meanings of important words, and leaders with “malice of forethought” intentionally misuse, confuse, distort, and contradict true meanings to create misunderstanding, make false promises, and manipulate an ill-educated and gullible public. An era of instant messaging and sound bites discourages depth of meaning. Ad slogans and “talking points” replace thoughtful analysis. If we who know words and understand concepts fail to engage our neighbors, co-workers, and family members, without provoking their knee-jerk reactions programmed by skillful spin doctors, we all will pay a dear price.

To much of our cultural and interpersonal conversation tends toward winning arguments. After candidate debates, the analysts always ask, “Who won?” Winning a debate or dominating an argument doesn't make the winner right, it merely means they played the better game. Winning or striving to win is not what we need; we need our finest values to prevail—integrity, freedom, wisdom, and decency. Unfortunately, those values are not even well represented among our own leaders!

Barack Obama is the ultimate image candidate, often compared to John F. Kennedy, who would be rolling over in his memorialized tomb, if that were possible. Kennedy was a hawk who faced down the aggressive designs of the Soviet Union; Obama wants to negotiate with a terrorist sponsor like Iran and walk on the Iraqis, who've already lost so much. Kennedy stopped the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba; Obama seems indifferent to the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran. Kennedy was a Democrat, as is Obama; but the Democrat Party is a very different kind of party today.

Obama may use image and appealing rhetoric, but he does believe something. Wise people will try to be sure they know what that is before they vote for him. I learned, a long time ago, that utopian visions are pipe dreams; a positive future is the product of ideas and hard work. “Give peace a chance” was the utopian mantra of the 60’s; Reagan’s “peace through strength” ended the Cold War. Obama’s idealistic rhetoric won’t defeat or defuse radical Muslim fanatics who regard the United States as the “Great Satan.” Fascist dreams of global domination didn’t come from failed American policy; they arose in the evil hearts of would-be oppressors who use the Islamic religion to cover their anti-religious malice and thirst for power.

I do not trust Barack Obama. A man that slick and superficial could simply be shallow--skillful with words but lacking substance. I rather thought that to be the case with Hubert Humphrey. The alternative is that he is cleverly masquerading and hides a dark side, and I wonder about that. Too many things about the man and his associations suggest darker intentions than his rhetoric reveals. However, if he were only a typical politician, grasping after power and prestige, I would be troubled, because his method for winning votes is to promise what can only be given through socialism, big government, high taxes, and a loss of freedom. He represents one of the biggest dangers of pure democracy—the people voting themselves the good life, regardless of the cost, which he is willing for taxpayers to pay.

Words mean things, but too many people don’t know their meanings. Liberal means free, but modern “liberals” favor all manner of freedom stifling ideas and programs. One might assume that progressive promotes progress, a good thing, but often it sees progress as a rejection of the past with its traditions and proven values of liberty and faith. Democrats have often successfully characterized Republicans as favoring the wealthy few at the expense of the many poor, but it is elites from both parties, supported by wealthy secularists, who make empty promises to the poor while growing further and further out of touch with ordinary people. I am a conservative, and I’m by no means wealthy, never have been, nor ever expect to be. I am not opposed to progress; indeed I believe progress is the fruit of freedom, individualism, hard work, and faith. America has enjoyed enormous progress through its history, based on this simple formula. Socialism claims to seek the common good, but it uses government control to redistribute rather than foster true prosperity. Under socialism, progress ends because people receiving the government's largess, possible only by taking from those who are productive, stifles the urge to work toward a better life. If no one is producing, progress soon ends. I have yet to see socialism succeed.

As a mediator and peacemaker, I have learned that neither physical force nor forceful words change minds; instead they promote defensiveness and intransigence. When we are pushed, we instinctively push back. I listen to conservative talk radio, but I get really frustrated when hosts “push” their callers. Perhaps arguments and rudeness makes successful programming, but it defeats our ultimate purpose in winning over people to a better way of thinking. Whether people have been ignorant, gullible, honestly misled, or feeling without thinking, we must help them learn and understand without provoking defensive barriers that we then cannot breach.

I am finding it harder, every day, to care about this election, and I think that the majority of the American public feel the same. Shallow political rhetoric from shallow politicians does not instill confidence or optimism. Somehow, I doubt that Barack Obama is the epitome of Martin Luther King's dream of a man judged by the “content of his character,” as race surrounds his campaign. Those who oppose his ideas will be called racists, and those ideas will not be discussed or challenged, for the most part. The media have made him their darling, so will will get nothing meaningful from the media.

However, this country is not just politicians, party hacks, or left-leaning media personalities. The future of this nation is still in the hands of its citizens, if we assert the power we have, if we take the time to understand the words and ideas that can make or break us, and if we demand our leaders to be men and women of integrity, who represent us, not the other way around. To do that, we must stop playing their game, their way. We must start talking to our fellow citizens wherever we can, in a manner that gets to the substance of the issues and away from the sound bite superficiality of the present system. In the process, we will have to confront the poor state of publicly educated people from schools where indoctrination has supplanted teaching.

It starts with the words I mentioned earlier and other words like them. It builds on intelligent questions and thoughtful observations, where those words are considered but not mentioned. It continues by suggesting that we need to verify that candidates stand for what they say and that their words are not empty rhetoric, spoken for the sole purpose of gaining votes. It ends with us electing representatives from the top down who indeed represent the values and character we need. Then, the United States will continue to be the truly free and progressive nation that blesses both its citizens and the people of the world, a place where we can safely seek our futures without fear of foreign aggressors or internal oppressors.