My Take: A call for truth in Republicans

[aubiefifty 18,250]

My Take: A call for truth in Republicans

Leon Schaddelee

Tue, October 18, 2022 at 11:15 PM

 

 

It’s that season when somebody has to complain about the nature of political ads. It might as well be me.

It’s not ads that attack opponents that I find offensive, but ads that do it dishonorably, by misleading, even portraying opponents falsely. As usual, it’s Republicans who are more guilty of this than Democrats. Yesterday I got an email from Ottawa Impact that underscored that reality, with statements like this: “The Democratic Party is currently led by radical progressive Marxists who seek to divide the American people, rapidly bringing our nation to a state of decline which is nearing socialism and communism.”

What follows is a litany of falsehoods that demonize Democrats, portraying them as un-American and enemies of real Americans. The communique ends this way: “… we love you, The People.” I don’t think so. The People are also Democrats, and there was no love for Democrats and their leaders there in that document. Love sees the good in people, including Democrats who ought to be respected for trying to do the right thing for persons who have historically been oppressed in the country, like members of the LGBTQ and Black communities. It doesn’t take a Marxist to see oppression where it exists; Christians can do it, too, and, if they care at all about justice, they must. And then they must do something about it.

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states,” the Russian writer Solzhenitsyn famously said, “nor between classes, nor between political parties either but right through every human heart.” That means "good" and "bad" America are in each of us Americans, where the two are engaged in a great struggle for dominance. Our civil war is, first of all, within each individual soul.

 

Good America in each of us respects opponents for their motive, even if it doesn’t respect their policy. It doesn’t label people good or bad — only God can do that — but debates ideas. When does the other guy’s bad idea turn him into a bad guy? A dangerous question to ask in a democracy, where national solidarity is a necessity. Even more dangerous to try to answer it.

If we don’t stop mischaracterizing each other and don’t start loving, we lose any chance of democracy; we set the stage for its opposite. Both fascism and communism begin with the demonizing of political opponents. And because that’s happening, we have a right to fear for our national future.

For Good America to win, it must not only see good in others, but tell the truth about them. If Republicans don’t want to invite the label "Bad America," they ought to be honest about their political opponents. In case they actually believe the falsehoods they’re spreading, I will not call them lies but misconceptions. I challenge local and national Republicans to stop behaving like Bad America and, as Paul put it in Ephesians 4:15, speak the truth in love.

Assertion to the contrary, no Democrat leader is a radical progressive Marxist. Leaders like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, a distinct minority in the party, only want what every other Western nation has: nothing more sinister than social democratic government. A far cry from communism.

• They say Democrats are seeking to divide the people. Wrong.

• They say Democrat leaders want to defund the police. Wrong.

• They say Democrat leaders wants to “sexualize” our children. Wrong.

• They say Democrats want the right “to end the lives of full-term babies up to and on the day of birth.” Wrong again.

• They say Democrat leaders want to put dangerous criminals back on the street. Why would they?!

No Democrat wants people to revile their country. Rather, she wants everyone to know the truth about us, that we’re a mix of Good and Bad, just like individual people. (It’s always amazed me how the Jews can be so honest about their nation, as depicted in the Old Testament, while American conservatives can be so dishonest about theirs — and with so much less incentive! If conservatives are Christian, who belong first of all to a spiritual nation, they should be the first to criticize the worldly nation when it’s wrong.)

If Republicans are really as Christian as they say, they love the truth and hate the false. Truth: the foundational value, the essence of Christian faith. If you don’t have that, any other values you have count for nothing. Let Republicans prove their much-vaunted values are godly by renouncing falsehood.

— Leon "Chip" Schaddelee is a resident of Zeeland.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: A call for truth in Republicans

 

this guy might be from out of the country but he sure gets it.

[autigeremt 7,208]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

My Take: A call for truth in Republicans

 

Leon Schaddelee

Tue, October 18, 2022 at 11:15 PM

 

 

It’s that season when somebody has to complain about the nature of political ads. It might as well be me.

It’s not ads that attack opponents that I find offensive, but ads that do it dishonorably, by misleading, even portraying opponents falsely. As usual, it’s Republicans who are more guilty of this than Democrats. Yesterday I got an email from Ottawa Impact that underscored that reality, with statements like this: “The Democratic Party is currently led by radical progressive Marxists who seek to divide the American people, rapidly bringing our nation to a state of decline which is nearing socialism and communism.”

What follows is a litany of falsehoods that demonize Democrats, portraying them as un-American and enemies of real Americans. The communique ends this way: “… we love you, The People.” I don’t think so. The People are also Democrats, and there was no love for Democrats and their leaders there in that document. Love sees the good in people, including Democrats who ought to be respected for trying to do the right thing for persons who have historically been oppressed in the country, like members of the LGBTQ and Black communities. It doesn’t take a Marxist to see oppression where it exists; Christians can do it, too, and, if they care at all about justice, they must. And then they must do something about it.

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states,” the Russian writer Solzhenitsyn famously said, “nor between classes, nor between political parties either but right through every human heart.” That means "good" and "bad" America are in each of us Americans, where the two are engaged in a great struggle for dominance. Our civil war is, first of all, within each individual soul.

 

Good America in each of us respects opponents for their motive, even if it doesn’t respect their policy. It doesn’t label people good or bad — only God can do that — but debates ideas. When does the other guy’s bad idea turn him into a bad guy? A dangerous question to ask in a democracy, where national solidarity is a necessity. Even more dangerous to try to answer it.

If we don’t stop mischaracterizing each other and don’t start loving, we lose any chance of democracy; we set the stage for its opposite. Both fascism and communism begin with the demonizing of political opponents. And because that’s happening, we have a right to fear for our national future.

For Good America to win, it must not only see good in others, but tell the truth about them. If Republicans don’t want to invite the label "Bad America," they ought to be honest about their political opponents. In case they actually believe the falsehoods they’re spreading, I will not call them lies but misconceptions. I challenge local and national Republicans to stop behaving like Bad America and, as Paul put it in Ephesians 4:15, speak the truth in love.

Assertion to the contrary, no Democrat leader is a radical progressive Marxist. Leaders like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, a distinct minority in the party, only want what every other Western nation has: nothing more sinister than social democratic government. A far cry from communism.

• They say Democrats are seeking to divide the people. Wrong.

• They say Democrat leaders want to defund the police. Wrong.

• They say Democrat leaders wants to “sexualize” our children. Wrong.

• They say Democrats want the right “to end the lives of full-term babies up to and on the day of birth.” Wrong again.

• They say Democrat leaders want to put dangerous criminals back on the street. Why would they?!

No Democrat wants people to revile their country. Rather, she wants everyone to know the truth about us, that we’re a mix of Good and Bad, just like individual people. (It’s always amazed me how the Jews can be so honest about their nation, as depicted in the Old Testament, while American conservatives can be so dishonest about theirs — and with so much less incentive! If conservatives are Christian, who belong first of all to a spiritual nation, they should be the first to criticize the worldly nation when it’s wrong.)

If Republicans are really as Christian as they say, they love the truth and hate the false. Truth: the foundational value, the essence of Christian faith. If you don’t have that, any other values you have count for nothing. Let Republicans prove their much-vaunted values are godly by renouncing falsehood.

— Leon "Chip" Schaddelee is a resident of Zeeland.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: A call for truth in Republicans

 

this guy might be from out of the country but he sure gets it.

I don't agree with his opinions on several things but hey.....it is America. 

[aubiefifty 18,250]

2 minutes ago, autigeremt said:

I don't agree with his opinions on several things but hey.....it is America. 

free country brother..............i agree with it almost totally but i see the bull almost every single day.

 

[homersapien 12,239]

Apparently it's pretty effective.  You hear very similar statements on this forum frequently, such as Democrats being "pro-crime" and "communists". 

It's literally insane.

Edited October 21, 2022 by homersapien

[pensacolatiger 313]

36 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Apparently it's pretty effective.  You hear very similar statements on this forum frequently, such as Democrats being "pro-crime" and "communists". 

It's literally insane.

Where do you even find this stuff?  Read the bullet points again, if you can’t identify three of the 5 bullet points that are blatant lies I don’t think there’s anyone here that can help you

[homersapien 12,239]

18 hours ago, pensacolatiger said:

Where do you even find this stuff?  Read the bullet points again, if you can’t identify three of the 5 bullet points that are blatant lies I don’t think there’s anyone here that can help you

"Find" what stuff?

I see various versions of those points almost every day on Republican political ads as well as in various posts made on this forum.

If you were honest, you'd concede that.

Edited October 22, 2022 by homersapien

[icanthearyou 4,468]

The last place you will find honesty is in a cult.

[AUFAN78 4,156]

3 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

The last place you will find honesty is in a cult.

Accusing others of precisely what you are guilty of is rich.