Funny story...I was thinking tonight about how I hate group projects because I'm formulating a class, and it reminded me of a project I had to do in college that typifies why I hate group projects, and it makes me laugh looking back on it.
So for some class in college I apparently wasn't there the day we signed up for groups and I got put in one to do a presentation on the religious political right. Now, I really had no idea what this was until I started researching it. (I think I was basically brought up to believe that parties don't matter, you vote your conscience on any issue, not a party line. So when I registered I called myself an independent.) Anyway, when I started learning what this political group stood for, I was outraged. But the others in my group were hardcore rel. pol. right supporters. We didn't meet as a group often enough to actually talk much about our opinions, though, so I didn't really understand that until we were presenting! I think I was supposed to present the rel. pol. right's view on abortion, and I went off about how I couldn't believe that people who called themselves Christians could be all about the sanctity of life regarding unborn babies, but once they were born it was alright to kill them in times of war just because our leader told us to. I also addressed how no one in the rel. pol. right was offering to take care of a bunch of unwanted babies.
Looking back it's really funny to me to think about how utterly surprising this piece of their presentation must have been to the others in my group! I wish I could transport myself back there to watch, knowing what I do now, to see their reactions and to hear my naive 17- or 18-yr-old self in my first exposure to these ideas as a "valid" belief system, this crazy combination of God and country.
(Sorry if I've offended anyone with this post, but if so you've probably been offended before if you've read any of my other posts! I'm not saying any other party or political group is much better...just the combination here of making political claims that are supposedly faith-based but line up solely with our country's agenda is really stymieing to me. I don't think this disclaimer helped much if you were offended...)
2 comments:
Love your post Cherice. I also wish I could have seen that presentation with close up on everyone's faces. I'm also curious what professor assigned that topic and what his or her own views were. College is such an eye-opening time.
The real reason I'm commenting though is that I thought it was very funny that the ad featured on this post is for pro-life checks. I should have known such a thing existed, but it creeped me out a little.
If I’d been there at your presentation, I think I’d have stood up and applauded.
It’s amazing to me, how often naïveté turns out to be the only way that genuine ministry can happen!
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