While I do wonder what a “political conservative” and a “religious liberal” does within her or his own mind, to reconcile what would seem to be to be values-costantly-at-odds-with-one-another, maybe this just reflects some of my own internal unconscious limitations. I would certainly want to hear some discussions of same, if for no other reason than to have a better grasp of a thinking or emotional style that is probably foreign to me.

UU culture definitely has had a telling effect upon me, over the thirty-or-so-years that I have been self-recognized as UU or UU-leaning; originally I was a Republican, but eventually left that Party in disgust after voting for Reagan both times and seeing the bait-and-switch tactics of that party and the moneyed interests that call virtually all of the shots there. I was Libertarian for a while, but lost interest, given the consistently lackluster candidates that they tend to produce, and their general self-definition in terms of what they do NOT believe (in a way, similar to the self-deprecating-image I saw of UU’s in my early days in the milieu) which probably does us more harm than good, but has an appeal to the iconoclast facet of many of us.

For around twenty years I’ve been “Independent” and non-Party-aligned. Frankly I see the two-party system as a remora upon the electorate; Parties seem to function for little else than financial-structuring reasons, and as such, have a muting effect upon candidates and issues that would “cross lines” as though those lines were somehow etched in concrete. I am generally supportive of the situations and sacrifices (and our commitments to) troops in military service, but very suspicious of too much “classified” information that insulates voters from the actual tactics that representatives of this country are using, on foreign soil (and apparently our own) and an ongoing “end-justifies-the-means” mentality. I support the principle behind organized labor and believe strongly that industry has historically abused its bargaining position in labor
markets, but on the other hand there is strong evidence that labor movements have been infiltrated by organized crime in some significant cases. I admire police in their somewhat
altruistic motive to “fight crime” but often their tactics border upon crime themselves, and
I am certain that corruption exists from individual cops, all the way up to the Attorney General’s office.

And, of course, being from a “minority party” seems somehow familiar, given my perspective
of “minority faith”. I have to say that, for those who have never had the experience of BEING
somehow a minority, and observing the behavior of the majority(ies) with respect to it, is at
least a mind-expanding experience if not a fundamental source of valuable, if not necessary, education.

Re: While I do wonder what a “political conservative” and a “religious liberal” does within her or his own mind, to reconcile what would seem to be to be values-costantly-at-odds-with-one-another, maybe this just reflects some of my own internal unconscious limitations.

I was baffled by Rev Sinkford’s warm words at that dinner for Iran’s No-Gays-in-Iran Ahmadinejad. But Sinkford’s just as UU as me. He’s just a badly mistaken one.