Vive la difference

If I hear one more person say there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats I may not be able to restrain myself any longer. A dear friend who is otherwise a thoughtful, concerned conservative uttered the damnable phrase just last week. I fail to understand how anyone with even a modest grasp of the big picture can make such a ridiculous statement.

Rush Limbaugh has coined a label for these people; he calls them “low information voters.” His theory is that either through disinterest or misapprehension this group accepts the sound-bite menu and talking point drivel of the major media outlets. Rather than taking the time to become better informed, they base their opinions on the six o’clock news headlines. This behavior leaves them with a very small slice of the news, and that slice is tailored and trimmed to fit the larger progressive narrative which colors all their reporting.

I agree with Limbaugh’s theory that Obama was reelected only because a significant number of otherwise conservative leaning voters fell into the category of low information voters. I would add that there are also many conservatives who have become frustrated by the gridlock that stifles even honest and true conservative politicians who do get elected. For my part, I think gridlock is the best we can hope for and not a bad thing considering the unappealing nature of the legislation which is being held up.

To make any real progress politically, American traditionalists, Constitutional republicans, Tea Partiers or whatever one calls us must not fall for the lie that there is no difference between politicians or parties. Given the current state of things in Washington D.C. the differences between parties are striking. Both sides are composed of flawed human beings, so there will be similar incidents of misfeasance and even malfeasance, but that does not make the two morally equivalent. The larger questions of what kind of government we want and what set of moral values we support do not have the same answers for both parties.

One could say that the Nazis and the Allies were both driven by flawed people. One could say that the Pharisees and Jesus’ disciples were imperfect representatives of their respective ideologies. But in neither case could one say that there were no differences between them. The same thing holds true in today’s political landscape. The two parties are seeing a different horizon, marching to different drummers if you will.

The entitlement mentality and moral relativism of the typical Democrat platform is worlds apart from the limited government and traditional morality of most Republicans. The willingness to shred the Constitution and legislate by fiat demonstrated by progressives is diametrically opposed to the vision of the typical conservative. Do conservative spokesmen make bone-headed statements? Of course they do. Will they occasionally fall prey to base instincts? Certainly. Did Jesus defrock Peter for his misunderstanding the program? Did Paul excommunicate the Corinthians for their indiscretions? No and no.

Sarah Palin’s Independence Day Facebook post draws a striking parallel between our situation and the picture of Orwell’s 1984. Huxley predicts something similar in Brave New World. Are we becoming so tired of the lies and scandals in government at all levels that we are retreating into a low information haze? Instead of Soma, are we taking a drug called Apathy or Fatigue with the same disastrous results. Jesus has called us to be working until he returns. One aspect of that work is to remain salt and light, preserving what we can save and revealing the dangers of things we cannot save. There is a difference among politicians; we must keep the light on those differences.