As they seek authenticity, Emerging Evangelicals seek freedom - from loneliness, convention, unwanted authority, dominant paradigms, the prevailing social climate, and impersonal bureaucracies. Ironically, in this sense, their preferred narrative and their desired subjectivity are just as modern as what they seek to distance themselves from: the conservative Christian subculture, including its born-again narrative of awakening and transformation.
There should no be teams to divide a nation. There should be no such thing as "Them' vs. Us' - only 'WE'. The only interests that should be discussed in Washington are those that serve the best interests of the entire country. So why is there a blue team and a red one? What does it really mean to be conservative or liberal? And if you are conservative, does that mean you will blindly agree with every leader and issue brought forth by your team? And does it mean you only serve and support the upper class even if you are low class? How does that work in your favor exactly? I understand why professionals raking in heavy figures a year would hail the Republican slant for tax reasons, but why would a young unemployed kid from Jersey with an interest in acrobatics give a damn?
I dispute the right of conservatives to be automatically complacent on these points. My own Marxist group took a consistently anti-Moscow line throughout the 'Cold War,' and was firm in its belief that that Soviet Union and its European empire could not last. Very few people believed that this was the case: The best known anti-Communist to advance the proposition was the great Robert Conquest, but he himself insists that part of the credit for such prescience goes to Orwell. More recently, a very exact prefiguration of the collapse of the USSR was offered by two German Marxists, one of them from the West (Hans Magnus Enzensberger) and one from the East (Rudolf Bahro, the accuracy of whose prediction was almost uncanny). I have never met an American conservative who has even heard of, let alone read, either of these authors.
“Business conditions continue to be robust. The company expressed high confidence in its third-quarter guidance of greater than $3 billion in bookings, $2.6 to $2.7 million in revenue and EPS of 64 to 68 cents. We believe guidance is conservative and estimate bookings of $3.3 billion with EPS of 70 cents, versus the Street consensus of 68 cents a share.”
“His talent speaks for itself. We've got to step up our 'A' game and keep him from getting loose. You have to change the way you rush the passer because he can break contain if you give him any kind of space. We've got to attack and tackle full speed; you can't be conservative.”
“Lesbians and gay men are part of Muslim faith and society. We are not going to be silenced or victimized any more. We are out and proud, as both gays and Muslims. It is time the conservative leadership of the Muslim community got used to the fact that gay Muslims are here to stay and here to fight. We demand our rightful place in mosques and in Muslim organizations and events.”
“With the increasing number of millionaire households, comes an increasing confidence as over three-quarters of high-net worth households feel they will be financially prepared for retirement. These millionaire households understand that calculated risks are still a necessity within their portfolio design, however, over 50 percent have become much more conservative in their investment approach over the past year.”
“A lot of people were worried that challenges would go up under President Bush, but the highest numbers were during the Clinton administration, ... I think that came from resentment among conservatives that Bill Clinton was president. You had the whole thing about gays in the military. You had people who believed that somehow Clinton was not a legitimate president.”
To be allowed even one color plate in these rather stiff formal articles consisting largely of long scientific names, tables of measurements, fin counts, descriptions of viscera, ect., gives me a feeling of aesthetic release that perhaps the conservative businessman feels when he tops off a dull gray suit and plain white shirt with a red tie.
“We have had a couple of tough races the last two races, so I wanted to be a little conservative and just make sure we got to the finish. So I'd study the cars ahead and just focus on where they were weak, so I was able to make some good clean passes and move up pretty well.”