I consider myself to be left of center on almost every issue, which should be obvious to anyone who knows me. If you are a liberal in Iowa, you might think I am farther left than that, and if you are a liberal from the SF Bay area, I might seem conservative to you. I don’t see either term – liberal or conservative – to be bad words, if used properly. If we think carefully about ourselves and others, we will clearly see that nobody is only one thing or another. There are very few truly angelic people, just as there are very few purely evil people. Almost everything in life is somewhere on a scale.
For example, you might think homosexuality is a sin but have a nephew who is gay that you love completely. You might think marriage is an unnecessary human construct yet cherish your parent’s 50-year anniversary. You may have voted for Trump and given time and money to your local food pantry. You might have wanted to vote for Biden but are upset about the situation at the border. The idea that life is binary is easily disproved when we consider who we are and what we believe in. I don’t have any tattoos, but you are free to ink it up. I eat meat, but you are free to be vegan. When we allow ourselves to be put into strict categories – to be siloed – we allow the forces of mayhem to win. I dare you to sit down and put issues on paper and really think about where you are and what the exceptions are. You might be surprised if you allow yourself the freedom to admit that nothing is black or white in this world. It’s all on a sliding scale.
When I teach classes on ethics and morals, I start by saying that we won’t talk about Hitler or Mother Teresa. Why? Because they are the rare extremes, so if they are the bottom or top, we are all in trouble. Hitler was one of the rare evil people in history, and Mother Teresa was, in spite of her doubts, as close to purely good as we can come. If she is the standard for heaven, she will be very lonely. If Hitler is the standard for hell, we are all good to not go there. 99.9% of us are in the gray, which also means that we can change our minds and our lives, for better or worse.
I don’t care if you oppose abortion, but I do care if you impose your religious beliefs about it on others. I don’t care if you believe children should learn the Bible, but I do care if you force your way into the public schools to make that happen. I am completely committed to fidelity in marriage, but I will not support legislation to make adultery a crime. We have become a nation of busybodies, and we need to step back and take a breath. As long as you don’t hurt anyone, I will let you be you. I hope you will do the same for me.
Prayer – Help us, God, to live and let live. We all have enough to worry about in our own lives. Amen.
Today’s art is “Balance” by Selena Romero.