In Proverbs 27:17, it says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." This is something that can definitely be applied to the church, but what about to the realm of politics? I personally think it can be. I may have shared with you my humble beginnings in politics, but let me expound on them again, and you can see what I'm talking about.
Until the 2008 TARP package I had never picked up the phone to call my U.S. Representative, let alone the White House. One September day, in 2008, all of that changed. I was actually on hold to speak to someone in the White House. I was freaking out, wondering what business little 'ol me had calling the POTUS. Little did I know, I had every right to call. I am a wife, a mom, a teacher to my own children, a taxpayer and at that time, I was a full time volunteer for pregnancy help centers. I have always had morals and wanted to 'do the right thing', felt that abortion was wrong, and still do, and definitely didn't want the government in my personal business. Although at the time, I didn't realize that they were in my business or that there was a potential for them to be. I am also not a student of history and I feel that has been a detriment to me as my political involvement has grown. Knowing how other presidents and administrations behaved in the past would have been useful, I'm sure, but, nevertheless, I got involved heavily. Dare I say I've 'evolved' since my first Tea Party Rally on Tax Day, 2009.
I became engaged and involved in local Harris County Republican Party politics, thinking of myself as a staunch Republican. Voting for someone because the person had the proverbial 'R' beside their name and doing no investigating beyond that. Shameful, isn't it? Then I got involved with Houston Tea Party Society and Katy Tea Party Patriots and started listening to what all of their members were talking about. It wasn't about party affiliation or social issues. It was about liberty! At one of the many meetings I have attended, I heard someone say, "Liberty is messy." I didn't understand what that meant at first, but now, I think I get it.
I have been 'sharpened' by the Liberty Movement, by the members involved and the 'new media'. My opinions and viewpoints have changed dramatically since that day I picked up the phone to dial the White House. I am now able to look at the bigger picture instead of having tunnel vision. I used to shudder when someone said the word Libertarian or "Ron Paul is the man'. I'm not a follower of Ron Paul, but I don't think that if someone is, that it automatically makes their viewpoint invalid. I don't think that all of his ideas are terrible, so why does the vast majority of what my friend, Felicia Cravens refers to in this blog as 'Party Regulars' always shudder at the mention of his name? Why do we dismiss those who do support him as 'Nutters' or 'Paul Bots' and subsequently dismiss any other candidate they may support because of their Love for Ron Paul? I'll be totally honest, I used to feel that way, but I guess since I recently supported candidates who do support Ron Paul, there was this 'guilt by association', and it really has bothered me....obviously. Not so much the association part, but the thought that I would become irrelevant to the conversation, too. Loving liberty shouldn't make you irrelevant to any political conversation. Liberty shouldn't be a scary principle. Liberty doesn't mean, "I support Ron Paul". Liberty is NOT a dirty word.
I think if we as conservatives would listen to each others ideas and viewpoints we really could 'sharpen' each other. The Party Regulars, the Liberty Warriors and the Part Time Republicans all have something to add to the political conversation we are having. We are in no shape as a nation to silence anyone. Liberty IS messy, but isn't liberty worth fighting for? Our founding fathers thought so....
*I wrote this last year for my own personal blog, The Political Chicken, and it had the second highest views when the blog reached the one year anniversary or birthday. I stand by this blog. I embrace this blog and the words I wrote. I don't do it because I'm a fantastic writer or for any other reason than that I love freedom and liberty. I don't think that titles, unless you are completely ideologically opposite of me, should get in our way.
