The Struggle for the Ideal
During the 2016 election cycle and after, there were a lot of times when people would make the statement, "This is not who we are as a country." I appreciate the sentiment, but the statement clearly is not true. This may not be who we all are, but it certainly is a portion of the country. The violent, racist, misogynistic, intolerant voices that have dominated the political narrative are, indeed, a part of who we are. That doesn't mean they have to be defended, but saying that they are "not who we are" is only true in the sense that by "we" one means their own particular group. As a Christian, there are plenty of instances when I hear someone claiming Christ and then saying something that I feel is so vastly out of touch with the Christian faith that I, too, would be willing to say something to the effect of "that isn't how most Christians are" reminds me that I have heard and sometimes used that same argument for Islam. I have s