Confession #1

I have a confession to make, actually several confessions, which I plan to be making in this very open forum. I am a liberal. (It's kind of liberating to see it in print, and not just think it.) I believe freedom of speech is sacrosanct. It's no accident that this freedom is first in the Bill of Rights. In my opinion, freedom of speech is the liberty that we Americans should guard more carefully than any other. Without it, freedom begins to ebb from our grasp as sand through even the most tightly clinched fist. Indeed, the others all depend on the constitutional guarantee to express ourselves in the ways we see fit.

In fact, I hesitate to endorse any restriction on our right to express ourselves. Of course, this means that even unpopular and vulgar speech has a right to exist, constitutionally speaking. Do I like that kind of speech? No. Do I think vulgar speech has any intrinsic value? Again, no. As a Christian, I cannot and will not endorse such speech. But, do I believe it is my job to stamp out such speech? NO! What should do I do then if I find vulgar speech, well. . . vulgar? I must compete and overcome the profane in the marketplace of ideas because my experience leads me to believe that the sordid nature of the human mind cannot be overcome with more legislation. Thus, the task for Christians is to allow the light and love of Christ to transform the person from the inside out, replacing the desire for the sewer with a yearning for the sublime.

Problem is, this is an extremely hard task, and a long one too. However, I would contend (1) that this task yields the greater results and (2) that this is where Jesus Himself competes. If Jesus had intended to form a new political regime wherein He ruled with an iron fist and subjugated all of humanity to him the first time around, he could have done so. He chose to take a redemptive course instead, a course wherein he competes for and wins the hearts and minds of his followers, if they be His followers. And, then, he commited this same agenda to us, His co-laborers. Thus, the task before us is not passing a legislative agenda in which people's rights (even their rights to do evil) are restricted, but overcoming evil with good, especially good ideas.

I guess this makes me a liberal.