Note to the history nerds: Yes, there was a Third Great Awakening already posited to have taken place in the 1850s but whether or not it was really a "Great Awakening" at all is highly contested amongst historians. Even more so is the "Fourth Great Awakening" of the 1960s to 1980s. I bypassed both because neither are taught in high school history which is where common historical knowledge ends.
You present yourself as having grown up in right wing fundamentalism. I did as well. I observe the world view assumptions that drove our youthful selves to judgment, inflexability, and self righteous attitudes and actions in both the left and the right today. Your article assumes the worldview of the left rather than the right, but I see the same assumptions and outcomes. In the end, it does not help for both left and right to judge the other through their own assumptions and frames as though avoiding or defeating the other is the solution
It is not a solution. Your article, in my opinion, is participating in the problem
You desribe the problem in the right. But the solution is not a return to the left. Rather than be part of the conflict, help us see a third way. We know, ad neauseum, how the left and right interpret the other, as beyond bad.
Does this video capture our situation?. I think it describes our situation, the real problem
I did grow up staunchly Evangelical Christian nationalist (for more on that read my book available at fine bookstores everywhere) and that specific group is who I am writing about. This is not a Right v Left argument that I am making, though in our country, much of the Right is comprised of Christian nationalists. I am pointing out, and have been for over a decade, that Christian Nationalism Vs everyone else is the defining conflict of our generation.
While I agree that those in power feed us culture war rage bait to keep us from fighting a class war, I strongly disagree with the idea that the larger problem is merely a mass infection of “thought germs.” This isn’t some online clickbate issue. Christian nationalism is a real, organized, and demonstrable threat to people’s safety, rights, and lives. And while much of our discourse plays out online, the consequences absolutely do not stay there.
It sounds like you’re running into the paradox of tolerance and Instead of grappling with its implications, you seem to have settled on the notion that “if we just understood each other’s worldviews, we’d all get along.” But history shows that understanding isn’t always enough. No matter how well the PKI understood the worldview of the Indonesian army, that understanding did nothing to prevent Suharto from killing three million of them.
Note to the history nerds: Yes, there was a Third Great Awakening already posited to have taken place in the 1850s but whether or not it was really a "Great Awakening" at all is highly contested amongst historians. Even more so is the "Fourth Great Awakening" of the 1960s to 1980s. I bypassed both because neither are taught in high school history which is where common historical knowledge ends.
Shouldn’t Christian Nationalists instead be called Nationalist Christians? Or NatCs for short?
You present yourself as having grown up in right wing fundamentalism. I did as well. I observe the world view assumptions that drove our youthful selves to judgment, inflexability, and self righteous attitudes and actions in both the left and the right today. Your article assumes the worldview of the left rather than the right, but I see the same assumptions and outcomes. In the end, it does not help for both left and right to judge the other through their own assumptions and frames as though avoiding or defeating the other is the solution
It is not a solution. Your article, in my opinion, is participating in the problem
You desribe the problem in the right. But the solution is not a return to the left. Rather than be part of the conflict, help us see a third way. We know, ad neauseum, how the left and right interpret the other, as beyond bad.
Does this video capture our situation?. I think it describes our situation, the real problem
https://youtu.be/rE3j_RHkqJc?feature=shared
Please think about what might be helpful beyond calling the other group the problem. We need help with solutions.
I did grow up staunchly Evangelical Christian nationalist (for more on that read my book available at fine bookstores everywhere) and that specific group is who I am writing about. This is not a Right v Left argument that I am making, though in our country, much of the Right is comprised of Christian nationalists. I am pointing out, and have been for over a decade, that Christian Nationalism Vs everyone else is the defining conflict of our generation.
While I agree that those in power feed us culture war rage bait to keep us from fighting a class war, I strongly disagree with the idea that the larger problem is merely a mass infection of “thought germs.” This isn’t some online clickbate issue. Christian nationalism is a real, organized, and demonstrable threat to people’s safety, rights, and lives. And while much of our discourse plays out online, the consequences absolutely do not stay there.
It sounds like you’re running into the paradox of tolerance and Instead of grappling with its implications, you seem to have settled on the notion that “if we just understood each other’s worldviews, we’d all get along.” But history shows that understanding isn’t always enough. No matter how well the PKI understood the worldview of the Indonesian army, that understanding did nothing to prevent Suharto from killing three million of them.
Be afraid, be VERY afraid!