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Show Your Opinion PAGE A6 MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005 The state of the Democratic party Well, it's easy to look back at the months preceding the elec-( Opinions Writer tion to tell. Within the party, people like Terry "Demzilla" I have the honor of reportMcAuliffe, the DNC Chairman ing to you on the state of the at the time, called the President Democratic Party. My fellow Americans, I stand before you to a liar, Al "Sore Loser" Gore rereport that the state of the Dem- ferred to the President as a traitor to the country, and Howard ocratic Party... is in shambles. "Wraaaaah!" Dean, the former In the wake of this last elecleading Democratic Presidention, the Democrats not only tial nominee, with his incessant lost the bid for Presidency, but several seats in congress as well. riotous rhetoric, all make it clear that the predominant voice This is a clear signal from the sounding out of the party is that American people that they are wholly dissatisfied with the pro- of anger and resentment. As if that is not bad enough, gressive and radical direction in which the Donkeys are running. there are the radicals like MiWho's to blame for this shift? chael Moore and MoveOn.org, Ron Cardon outsiders representing the party, whose message was one of divisiveness, designed to vilify Republicans and create chaos. Both did the job very well, I must admit, but not without consequence. Because of their bloody tactics, they succeeded in alienating themselves from mainstream America. Their plans for chaos backfired and crippled Democrats everywhere, even ones who had been in power for a long time, like Errinjulkunen Editor-at-Large/NetXNews . Tom Daschle, the former senator from South Dakota. I wonder what he thinks of these folks now? After the widespread defeat that brought Democrats to their "Democratic Party" cont'd on Dace A7 Faculty Corner... Why Jesus was not a conservative put it this way, "For the love of Christ leaves us no choice... Associate Professor When anyone is united to Christ, of Philosophy Faculty Guest there is a new world; the old orContributer der is gone, and a new order has already begun" (2 Corinthians Jesus was 5.14-17). not a conservaConservatives want to contive because he serve things not only because rejected all of the conventional they tend to be advantaged by understandings and practices of the way things are (it's no achis day in a radical way. cident that the rich and powerThe Pharisees, Sadducees, Es- ful are, statistically speaking, senes, and Zealots all offered Je- overwhelmingly conservative), sus conventional approaches to but they may have philosophiunderstanding religion, culture, cal commitments that undergird and politics. These communities their conservatism too. represented four options: drivJohn Kekes and others, for exing a wedge between religion ample, argue that conservatism and politics, co-opting religion rests upon moral skepticism with politics, withdrawing from the idea that we are not likely to politics, and the violent overdo the right thing, or even know throw of political regimes. As a what it is. radical, Jesus rejected them all. Also, many conservatives Conservatives in any time, believe in "spontaneous order," culture, or politics are those who that is, if people are simply left want to conserve the convenalone, they will spontaneously tional, the status quo, hence the handy and inThere is an incoherencey in formative label, conservatism. Everything the conservatism. (By the way, the conservative wants to conserve opposing word to was at one time new, perhaps use in distinction Michael Minch undertaken...Whatever is to come cannot outweigh the importance to man of what has gone before." Jesus disagreed with the view represented by Kekes and Buckley (and George Will, and others). Jesus had no interest in clinging tightly to the past. Jesus did not think our best days were behind us. Jesus had no interest in keeping things as they were. Too much remains to be done. We live in a world of injustice, mercilessness, unforgiveness, and violence; the lack of compassion and the depth of greed is staggering. Only those who are morally dead cannot see the need for radical change. Jesus rejected the view that things were about as good as they ever can be (whether they are as good as they ever will be is a different questionthat's up to us). Jesus also rejected the notion of "spontaneous order," the idea that if we photo illustration Vegor Pedersen/NetXNews just live our individualis- Like Che Guevara, Jesus was a radical revolutionary who advocated social justic, self-interested lives, from conservatism even radical, scary and threat- pursuing our own desires tice. Unlike Che, Jesus believed in nonviolent revolution. is not-liberal," • where would today's vatives had won their cultural, without organizing our e way. Jesus was not naive about but progressive. ** ' religious, and political battles? care for others - that everyy human sin. He knew that we What would we be without? thing will take care of itself. conservatives conservatives be if yesterday s were bound to screw up often. What civil and human rights He wouldn't have demanded a ding to the past, conservatives had won their He knew that simply changing zillion times that we take care of would be missing? Think of all and parts of the u i i- j «_ i-*.i things is no guarantee of making the good, decent, and important one another if he thought conpresent; progres- Cultural, rdlglOUS and political them better. But why do conserthings we take for granted that servatives were right. sives believe in battles? vatives prefer the sins of the past would be absent from our lives Alfred North Whitehead progress toward over the sins of the future? What if yesterday's conservatives had makes the screw-ups we've put wrote, "The pure conservative a better future.) is fighting against the essence of won. What are today's conserva- into place better than the ones Jesus had no interest in conserv- figure out how to make the best tive powers and policies stealing we might invent tomorrow? ; ing the conventional. He clearly of things. Adam Smith's "invis- the universe." And John Howible hand" that somehow guides ard Yoder wrote that working in from our children? What impor- After all, we might not screw v wanted to overthrow and transtant things will be delayed in hu- up, we might make the world everyone's self-interest to the the world to make it what God form it (but through nonconman history because of conserbenefit of all, is an example of intends it to be - a change from ventional means, which meant a more compassionate, just, ; vative control and obstruction? this ideological commitment. the past and the present - is simviolence was delegitimized). forgiving, peaceable place - just That's why he said the first In his book, Up from Liberal- ply living "with the grain of the Conservatives seem to have an like Jesus told us to do. We need irrational fear of change, but shall be last and the greatest will ism, William F. Buckley writes, universe," the radical politics of Jesus; that Jesus demanded, and crucially, be the servant of all. He brought "Conservatism is the tacit is, we need change. There is an incoherency in empowered change. Jesus told a great reversal and an upsideacknowledgment that all that conservatism. Everything the us that if we don't change, we down kingdom. Jesus takes our is finally important in human conservative wants to conserve die. This is not only a biological, conventional categories and experience is behind us; that the was at one time new, perhaps but a spiritual truth. Michael Minch earned his stands them oh their head. Paul crucial explorations have been even radical, scary, and threatWas Jesus a liberal? Not in Masters of Divinity in Theology ening. Where the proper sense, historically or from Eastern Baptist Theologiwould today's "The Faculty Corner" is a new addition to the College Times in politically speaking. But he was cal Seminary and served as a conservatives 2005. If you are an employee of UVSC and want to write an op-ed a radical. He was a progressive minister before teaching at be if yesterpiece for The College Times contact us at uvscopinions@hotmail.com. day's conserin the most robust and profound UVSC. |