(indistinct chatter)

Tag: dailyprompt

  • Schminciples

    Daily writing prompt
    What principles define how you live?
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    “Fight fire with fire” has never been my mantra. But in this age where lying and cheating gets you power, and honesty and integrity gets you nowhere, I occasionally wonder if I should rethink that.

    To be fair, it’s been easier to stick to my principles in my recent political context. It’s highly unlikely the Indiana State Legislature will enact my preferred economic and social policies in my lifetime. So I could shout my sincere opposition to state officials from the rooftops (or the Statehouse lawn), and share my vision of the benefits of a multiracial, multicultural democratic society, and keep it 100 (percent hypothetical).

    But now my principles are being tested, because sincerely opposing the state means the possibility of facing state recrimination. I’ve been thinking a lot about where my values are grounded, and how that will influence my actions over the coming months and years. Will I face this moment as the blessed peacemakers in the beatitudes? Or will I give in to reactive and vindictive impulses? Or worse yet, will I shrink from the fight altogether?

  • My Political Crossroads

    Daily writing prompt
    How have your political views changed over time?
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    My political crossroads came early – at age 13. Up till then, I had pretty much done like most kids: taken the lead on politics from my parents. My folks were WASPy, middle-class Republicans in the 70s and 80s. Politics as such was rarely discussed, though my earliest political memories include telling Jimmy Carter jokes among the other kids in our family-friend group.

    Two running currents in my life intersected in 1984: one was the Reagan/Mondale presidential race. The other was my own developing moral code, which was influenced heavily by viewing the 1982 film Gandhi, and by studying the Gospel in my church confirmation class.

    I considered myself pro-Reagan, or as pro-Reagan as a sheltered 13-year-old white kid with no context could consciously consider herself. In our social studies class’s pre-election debate, I was enthusiastically on Team Reagan. Even at that age, I sensed and enjoyed the feeling of power on the incumbent side. I also remember the importance of rhetoric; even though we lost the mock debate on points, our teacher gave us credit for the persuasive delivery of our (admittedly) stupid arguments.

    At the same time, my study of Satyagraha and of the Gospel of Matthew, in particular, the Sermon on the Mount, were substantially influencing my worldview. My politics, previously an unconscious performance of power, crystalized around compassion, love of the neighbor, and non-violence. By the next general election, I was a bleeding-heart, flaming lib. While I continue to interrogate liberal and progressive politics through the lens of my values, I have never found the need to turn back.