How not to be a political whacko . . .

Since the beginning of the Obama administration my email inbox has filled daily with alarms about outrage and betrayal. It seems that every day our nation is on the verge of total dissolution.

“There are no check and balances. There is no Constitution. The enemy is everywhere, controlling everyone and if you don’t forward this email to your local list of like minded voters you might as well join the blue helmeted Belgians that could come marching down the street at any moment!”

These emails don’t just come from the disaffected and marginalized fringe. I get the same emails from most local politicians in my party of choice. (That’s what I’m calling the GOP these days.) The only difference is they want my time and money as well as my email list.

In our defense, mainstream Democrats weren’t much different in the last eight years. In one sense, they are reaping what they sowed. “Those who demonize and criminalize shall be demonized and criminalized.” It’s the first rule of politics.

So just in case you care about current events but don’t want stain your reputation or ruin perfectly good friendships in the process, I’m offering a short list of truths that I’ve found helpful over the last twenty years. If you apply these truths you’ll be effective in the arena of ideas, avoid saying the most ridiculous things and possibly actually make a difference in the world.

JIM'S 10 MAXIMS TO HELP YOU NOT BECOME
A RIGHT WING (OR LEFT WING) NUT

1. Things are always way more complicated than they sound.
2. American voters are not by and large "idiots" – for that matter neither are foreign voters.
3. No more than 3 people can collaborate together without someone else knowing about it.
4. You are not the only person who has heard about this.
5. If no one else seems upset about something there's probably a good reason for that.
6. If your point of view was really the majority opinion the laws would be different.
7. People who don't agree with you love this country just as much as you do.
8. All media is biased; even the media you trust . . . and that's ok.
9. Almost all research is agenda driven, even the research you like.
10. The real reason nothing changes is because things are basically the way people want them to be.

These are the maxims that I follow to stay in the game, stay relevant and not look like a raving lunatic. Maybe they’ll be helpful to you as well.

Look, as Christians who are called to work in government, we have to keep things in perspective. Our job is to promote justice, encourage mercy and forgiveness and walk humbly before God.

This is the God whose inexorable plan has come to pass and will ultimately continue to unfold. Yes, my side might not win today but that doesn’t mean that God lost. In fact, this is as good a time as any to square my side more fully with the three goals I mentioned above.

Anybody up for that?