Hashtags

Dear Joel,

I didn't write last week. You probably noticed. Both readers of this blog have probably been wondering where you and I have been.

Well, the answer is that you've been in Colorado (I've been enjoying the pictures you and your wife have posted), and I've been here, not writing and stuff.

Today I want to talk about politics, but only sorta, and not really.

For several years now I've avoided political discussion on social media. I don't remember it being a conscious decision, but at some point I just stopped posting links and content about political or controversial things (with the exception of instant replay, or the designated hitter in baseball). Somewhere inside my head I figured out that I had matured to a certain point where I realized that political and social "discussions" on Facebook almost always turned into "arguments," and that no one ever really seemed convinced by any viewpoint that wasn't theirs to begin with anyway.

But I'm starting to wonder if I'm right.

I think our culture is in a bad spot. I think our leaders are incompetent, and our country's citizens are either wildly uninformed or shockingly immoral (or both). The intolerance of the tolerant is amazing. I think one reason for the political and religious shifts in our culture during my lifetime has been that those who promote such shifts are very vocal, Their viewpoint is everywhere. I don't want to cede all ground to those who seek (however unintentionally) to undermine and eventually destroy the freedoms - particularly the religious freedoms - of our nation. So must we be louder? Should I be posting and hashtagging all over the place for the defunding of Planned Parenthood? One of my favorite bloggers, Douglas Wilson, certainly thinks so.

Sincerely,

Jake

P.S. I don't want to sign off without mentioning that I'm not worried about the church. I've studied history and the Bible enough to know a couple of very comforting things. 1. Christianity has a wonderful track record when it comes to thriving under trial and persecution. If that's what we're headed for, the American church will be better for it. 2. God is omnipotent. As irritating as many peoples' beliefs and values are to me, they can't actually do anything to thwart God's purposes.