Maybe an idea for this thread is for people, if they are so inclined, to give their background and experiences and how they've gotten to where they are with regards to their political views.
I definitely grew up with the mindset of Christianity/American/Republican were linked. More so the Christian/American than the Republican part. Looking back, though, I don't think I was necessarily taught that; just being a stupid kid who linked things in my mind that aren't linked. I grew up in a Christian household where we talked some about God in our house. We were at church every week, multiple times a week. My closest friends were always from church. I grew up in America, the DC area no less, and my dad was in the military and then worked for the government as a civilian so I think that is what gave me the Chrisitan/American link in my childhood mind. Of course, the Soviets were all Satan worshipers. My parents rarely talked much about politics, but somewhere along the line I got the sense that they voted Republican, which is what probably gave me the Christian/American/Republican link. That was my elementary view of what "We" were as a family.
As I grew older, it became obvious that the three aren't necessarily linked. Democrats can be Christian and Atheists can be Republicans. And, of course, people from different countries can be all sorts of different things. I do remember a couple very brief "conversations" I had with my mom that were kind of aha moments. (They weren't really conversations because I'm pretty sure I just asked a question and she responded and that was the end.) I remember once making some comment about what I perceived to be a potential conflict between the death penalty (a Republican position, in my mind) and forgiveness (a Christian position, in my mind). Pretty sure my mom's response was kind of a chuckle and "Forgiveness?" My mom was a Christian and definitely a believer in the importance forgiveness. I still have no idea exactly what she meant by her response, but I think it was a moment that started to show that the Christian/Republican link my not have been what I thought it was. My second "conversation" with my mom involved me saying something along the lines of "I don't understand minimum wage. If someone accepts an offer to work for a certain amount, then they've agreed to that amount and I assume they have determined that's what's best for them at that time." Something like that. My mom's response was in the ballpark of "Minimum wage is needed to make sure people have enough money." This exchange might have been the moment that I started to wonder what Republicans are for and against. I was under the impression that Republicans were the party for limited government, yet here was a Republican (as far as I knew, and still assume that's true) who was advocating for bigger government by way of minimum wage. It was kind of a dog tilting their head moment for me.
I was a bad student starting around 5th grade. From 5th grade through over 2 years of college, I had my fair share of bad grades. I didn't do homework and rarely studied. There were almost no classes or subjects that interested me. Then, I was in an intermediate microeconomics class. The professor made it interesting (infinitely more interesting than the boring professor I had for intro micro and macro, which I mostly slept through), it made sense to me, so I declared it as my major. As I continued through the courses, I started getting good grades. I was interested in the topic. Learning about the theories made sense to me and the way I thought. This is when I started learning that there's more than just Republican and Democrat. There are Libertarians. If I had to pick a party (which I don't have to), I'd claim the Libertarians. None of this led me to be super political (I've voted twice my whole life and don't follow politics a ton), but it was a philosophy that clicked in my brain and one that I could even relatively easily reconcile with my faith.
As for the American aspect of my early thinking, I don't know when that link started to fade. At some point, I became turned off by a high level of patriotism. I'm glad to be an American. I like it here. I think it's a great place to live and I'm thankful I was born here. But, I don't think that makes us better and others worse. I don't have any more love for Bob in Ohio than I do Sergei in Russia or Li in China. I don't know any of them and their nationality doesn't make me like one more than the other. I'm turned off by those who put country over humanity. And, as a Christian, I'm turned by putting country over God.
While I've moved away from being Republican and the thinking that American automatically means good, I have not moved away from Christianity. I'd say my faith continues to grow stronger and I, hopefully, keep maturing in my relationship with God. That doesn't mean I haven't changed some of my beliefs in this area. I have. And I'd say this place has been a big part of that. The discussions here have altered my perspective on a number things within religion and outside of it.
So, today, I'm a Christian who happens to live in America who theoretically favors limited government (despite working for the government
) but understands the need in practice and isn't overly concerned when the government, yet again, increases their presence in certain areas.
