Facebook is great! No matter what legalists living in the stone age say, it's a great tool to communicate with friends all over the place, as well as find out certain things about yourself. I just took one of those "analyzing your friends stats" quizzes, which brought me confirmation of what I already knew. And that is, that most Christians are living a sheltered life within their church, unwilling or unable to get out of the bubble and love the "outside" world.
Basically one of the stats in the quiz was a breakdown of your friends' political views. The ones I've seen posted by Christian acquaintances have been ridiculously similar so far. 75%+ republicans. The best was 92%. (And yes, I am aware that it depends on where they live. That's what makes it so shocking! "They," for the most part, live in WA, RI and NY! Where do you even FIND so many republicans to be friends with in those states?!) From this demographic breakdown it is evident not that most republicans are Christian, but that most Christians are republican! It further shows that they are more willing to associate with others who are of "like mind" and are terrified of venturing out of their comfort zone. Here's why that's bad:
Not only do democrats not bite and are actually great people when you get to know and love them, but my darling Christian republicans -- you are getting no experience standing up for your faith! It's SO easy to hold up certain values and beliefs when everyone you surround yourself with thinks the same way and supports you 100% (wait... 92%. My bad.) Try doing it when you're alone.
Please bare with me while I selfishly use this quiz to alleviate myself of guilt that the devil has been using to oppress me. For a long time I've been tripping over the fact that when I end up having to stand up for my faith, it's always so difficult for me to do. I've struggled with guilt over situations when I've passed on opportunities to witness to people because of fear. I've also felt guilty about being afraid to publish certain values and beliefs that I uphold. You see, I always thought that it's wrong that I don't speak out as easily as others do, and that there's always an internal struggle that has to go on before I open my mouth or strike the keys. But now I see that I was horribly harsh on myself. Because my demographics showed that I'm friends with 73% democrats and 27% republicans! Which means that I have approximately 50% more chance of being scorned for what I uphold than an average Christian. I know that it's selfish, but I'm just gonna be happy about my discovery now because condemnation of guilt is freaken awesome!
It also explains in a way why I don't ever feel like I fit into any particular church. Apparently I don't get along well with republicans. :) Of course, you can easily turn it around and say bad things about me based on these stats. But I'm just gonna let you come up with them yourself and not put ideas in your head.
Disclaimer: This post is not intended to say that being a republican or a democrat is bad or good. I did not say I was either democrat or republican, so don't assume things. The post makes no claims that democrats can't be Christian or Christians can't be democrats. I love (SO much) the people who hold both democratic and republican views, as well as everyone in between!
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omg lol girl this is quite a rant hehe I think Tembi will like this post :) and of course, I don't consider myself either one. hate politics with a passion :P Proverbs 21:1 all the way baby, it doesn't matter who is in the white house as long as HE is on the throne :)
ReplyDeleteStacy,
ReplyDeleteThis blog sparked my interest because I just happen to be one of those "sheltered" conservative, right-leaning republicans! And I'm proud of it.
First, your blog is based in large on the assumption that the only reason people identify as republicans is social politics, i.e. moral issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc. That's often not the case.
I find more and more that people chose to indetify themselves as republicans first and foremost for reasons like the size of governmnet, personal liberties, government spending and the belief that the individual is in charge of his/her own success and that the government isn't obligated to provide money earned by others to the ones that are "less fortunate". Social politics and morality often, not always, but often, comes in second.
That fact aside, how you get to the conclusion that "they [republicans] are more willing to associate with others who are of "like mind" and are terrified of venturing out of their comfort zone" is a puzzle to me.
Like you said, living in WA, RI or NY, it's probably a challenge to find someone who is to the right on the political spectrum. People are surrounded by liberal democrats whereever they go, whether it's work or school, mall or movies. If your claim was true, all the "sheltered, terrified" conservative russians would migrate to Texas or Alabama or Kansas to avoid dealing with people of other political views. But we're still here, in one of the most liberal states in the Union, socializing day in and day out with VERY liberal, leftists, who very often (again, not always, but often) ridicule and disrespect (to say the least) our beliefs, including the God who we all claim to serve and love.
Therefore, I wouldn't be suprised if facebook quizzes (not sure how credible they are or how seriously you should take them) show that most chose to create friendships with those that share their beliefs and values. This doesn't show that we're closed-minded, sheltered and terrified of a different world view. It merely shows that our views are important to us, and we are not willing to bring those people into our lives who chose to mock and disrespect our beliefs.
I'm not declaring war on all those that think differently. I don't resent liberals or ever act unlovingly towards them. I'm just defending what I believe in.
In any case, I wish you luck in determining your political affiliation. It's more important than most people think.