Thread by @JeffRoushPoetry

There are many problems with conflating religion and politics, but one of the biggest is it covers up all matters of nuance and, at times, reality. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue

I was raised in a Christian, Republican home. And at the time, I learned and bought into the idea that those two terms were virtually synonyms. Republicans were “good,” and Democrats must therefore be evil.

This covered all manner of sins, so to speak. The notion that a Jimmy Carter was somehow immoral or evil, and Reagan a beacon of goodness, seems almost laughable when you look into the lives, actions, and policies of the two.

And today, the notion that Trump is somehow a “good Christian man” as compared to Biden being a “secularized evil man” takes things well past the edges of ridiculous. But for those who can’t separate religious beliefs from party politics, it’s hard to see it.

We need to separate it all. Someone identifying as “Christian” isn’t necessarily “good.” Someone who identifies with the Republican Party may well be neither “Christian” nor “good.” The heuristics here don’t match reality.

We have one party trying to help the wealthiest Americans keep getting wealthier, on the backs of those who need help the most; to send children to work in factories; to encourage attacks on gay and trans kids; and to hide information or lie every day. How is this “good”?

And on the other side, we have one party working to help more people access health care and the social safety net; to protect kids from harassment and bullying based on identity; to slow the onslaught of gun-related murders. How are these “evil”?

Republicans rely on labels and sloganeering for two reasons: (1) they are simple, however inaccurate; and (2) if they openly share their positions, a massive majority of Americans will disagree with every damned one of them.

If we help move more voters to look deeper than labels and heuristics, to look at the actual people running to see who stands for them, then Republicans will lose every election. That’s the task ahead. It’s a hard one. But open, discerning eyes are what will save this country.