Chris: You are right when the subject is a family under stress, or a set of problems that
you or I might have with respect to someone else. I "get" that. What I'm talking about, though, is politics and the need for political effectiveness. Granted that there are exceptions. there could be a city council where everyone knows everyone else, and they all basically are friends and neighbors seeking common good. But such things are not at all the same as hard core Leftists who want to destroy our culture, who are at war against Christianity. Or if we were discussing rabid anti-Semites or anti-white racists like the Nation of Islam or anti-black racists like some neo-Nazi group. A pietist would treat everyone the same, the nice folks in the city council and also the Leftists or the neo-Nazis. I've got a war to fight. Against organized sexual degenerates, and I sure in heck cannot win it by compromising or telling them that they, too, are children of God, and seeking to sing kumbaya at ever opportunity. As far as I am concerned they are offspring of the Devil. In that case I want to tell them that their whole shtick is evil and completely unacceptable and must cease immediately. Politics is war -but without tanks or machine guns. A pietist thinks that politics is one more problem in interpersonal relations. I totally disagree with the pietist view of politics, totally. This isn't radical centrist in one sense but it can be in another sense, and that is always my objective. That is, RC is also about balance, it isn't always about seeking a unique solution to a problem where each side has some things right and some things wrong. Sometimes one side is simply wrong, not the least question about it. So, in this case, it is the Left that is horribly wrong. But is the Left wrong about everything? Not at all. Hence I am also in favor off some version of single payer medical care for all. This is unrelated to the issue of sodomy but in terms of the sweep of politics it balances out my strong anti-sodomy stand with a strong stand in favor of single payer health care. Maybe you would understand this better if you had kids in school. How much sodomy would you compromise with in terms of what they were being taught in 3rd grade? Would you be OK with seeking some sort of compromise accommodation with perverts who want to homosexualize your kids? In other words, sometimes you simply have to fight for what is right with 100% commitment to the right and 100% commitment to winning. In all such cases a pietist would be a huge liability in the fight. Especially if he was someone like Jerry Falwell Jr, who simply is poorly informed and stumbles in debate because he doesn't know even the basic facts of the issues before him. And pietists simply don't care all that much about practical politics -the word "practical" as it is understood by 95% of the population, not the slithery way it is understood by pietists who want everything to be an issue of religious faith. In a war you should want to be led by General Patton, not a religious pacifist. Martin Luther understood this completely, and he is most relevant to me. Sure, about some other areas of life, Schweitzer is my hero, but not in this area of life. In this area, it is Luther -or Patton. Billy ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Chris Hahn <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 7:48 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [RC] PBS did it again Billy, Obviously, as you point out, we are all individuals and define our battle lines differently. That said, I would define the objective of my battles differently. Instead of “I am interested in destroying such people, not physically, but in every other way open to me.” I would say, “I am interested in destroying such toxic ideology, not physically, but in every other way open to me.” And there are different ways to approach the battle. As a mediator, I tend to start with an open (radically centrist) discussion. If that fails, other tactics are available. Chris From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Billy Rojas Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 2:49 AM To: Centroids Discussions <[email protected]> Cc: Billy Rojas <[email protected]> Subject: [RC] PBS did it again Ernie: It can be painful to watch PBS. Once again they did what they always do in their typical hypocritical fashion, supposedly showing how open-minded and fair they are by having an Evangelical represent the conservative side of an issue and a well-informed Leftist represent the "liberal" POV. It isn't that all Evangelicals are uninformed but way too many are, and PBS makes sure that they do not invite, as a conservative, someone who really knows his stuff, like David Horowitz. It is like having a "debate" between a kid in grade school vs. a grad student. Jerry Falwell, Jr., takes after his father. One more Evangelical who lives in a bubble and who studiously avoids becoming well informed. Plus there is the Evangelical tendency to "make nice" with the opposition, in the process cutting oneself off at the knees. Which is to say that I now must explain what is perfectly obvious to me but that sails over the heads of Evangelicals. Namely, sure, sometimes it is best to be nice. But not for one nanosecond do I believe that this is a good idea in all cases, it is not, and especially not when what is most needed is a serous fight with the objective of smashing the opposition to dust. Whenever the chance comes to become a public person you can be sure that I will NOT surround myself with Evangelicals as close advisors or as political consultants or anything of the kind. Yes, Evangelicals can be great as people, really great, but in some areas they exemplify the adage: "With friends like these who needs enemies?" Politically I am spoiling for a fight. I mean a real fight. What I do not need and do not want is anyone near me -in any political context- forever pitching for niceness and forgiveness and gentleness or any such thing. There are some people whom I want to utterly defeat because they have it coming and deserve the strongest possible adversity I can deliver. I have no interest AT ALL in the least bit of niceness toward sexual degenerates for instance, or toward Muslim Salafists or Left-wing feminists, to use those examples. This also includes Cultural Marxist anti-Christians / anti-Semites. I am interested in destroying such people, not physically, but in every other way open to me. I do not want anyone near me telling me to be nice to my mortal enemies, to be "forgiving," etc, any of that. That type of counsel is not at all on my agenda. This is to speak of politics, of course, not some other realm. But many (most?) Evangelicals do not make this distinction, which, for me, is essential. Yes, I can be strategic, I have no desire to make needless mistakes. And yes, I am most interested in making new friends and building alliances, but no way in hell do I intend to do what Evangelicals may want in terms of meekness and timidity, Remember that my hero about such things is Luther, not somebody else. And my preference, by far, would be to recruit people who also are willing -and capable of- taking strong and well-informed moral stands. This is all about boldness and intelligence, not meekness and political naivete. You are entirely free to pursue a meekness policy all you want, of course, on your own. At RC.org we observe the same ground rules. This is not about Centroids, about which, for sure, it has real value and it provides a common forum for exchange of ideas. But anything seriously political and I intend to set out on my own. As happens now and then, Trump signed an executive order that I approve of whole heartedly, In this case it was the demand for free speech on college campuses. I am 100% in favor of that action. I also remain 100% in favor of seeing Trump vacate the White House at the earliest opportunity. In case anyone is interested Billy -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
