Article
Socialism's Rising Popularity Threatens America's Future
Summary
We should feel alarmed that a survey by the American Faith and Culture Institute (AFCI) found that 40% of the adults in its study prefer socialism to capitalism. The article's author blames education where, he says, "The benefits of socialism are taught from the Ivy League to the local community college."
Of particular concern to the survey researcher and the article author is that 70% of the survey respondents who identified as liberal reported they support traditional values. The researcher warns, "liberals may redefine 'traditional moral values' to include beliefs and behaviors that are not at all traditional or moral from a biblical perspective."
Quote
"Conservative and traditionally minded Americans can no longer assume that their neighbor believes what they believe or that he defines the terms of political discourse the same way. The country has changed."
Understanding
The AFCI uses
a 15-pont checklist of belief statements to categorize people into those who view the world with a biblical perspective versus those who do not.
My summary of the list is that being on the AFCI team means worshiping the literal text of a document composed within the particular cultural constructs of the eastern Mediterranean between 1,500 BC and 200 AD and curated by religious, male elites in church councils during the fourth and fifth centuries of the current era.
People, liberal or conservative, seek a coherent system to guide how we live in society. Conservatives tend to prefer relying on concrete, time-tested principles. Liberals tend to prefer applying their values to an interpretation of a particular situation.
While the strategies differ, we can share a moral foundation. The contradictions in our approaches don't have to make us afraid to talk to each other about our differences since, at the root we share so much in common.
