365-Day Two (Sometime in the Summer of 2009)

This was written in the Summer 1 college course I took in 2009:     

Today, in my Concord Writer's class, we were discussing Hawthorne's writing. Dr. Wilson was explaining the author's puritanical roots and how those roots probably affected his psyche; and, therefore, his writing. It was a common belief during those days that--if you were lazy, you were immoral.  Wanting us to think and apply all these 'old" ideas to our modern lives, Dr. Wilson asked us to consider this puritanical idea in light of today's welfare society and the poor. 

    I think it was the very beautiful and intelligent Kate who said something akin to, "Well, we don't believe that today. Well, unless you're a conservative. Then you'll think the poor are immoral." Needless to say, I was incensed! I'm sure my ire showed clearly on my face, but--since she was facing the other directions--she didn't notice it. She just laughed and the conversation flowed onward. It always strikes me as kinda funny that someone with as much intelligence as she has can have such ridiculously unintelligent ideas.

    How many conservatives does she know, I wonder? Her comment illustrated very clearly how little liberals understand conservatives. And, how strangely hypocritical they can sometimes be.  In my mind, I can almost see a large group of them gathered together, toting signs with slogans of toleration hand-painted in many colors. They are shouting "Toleration NOW!" and "Peace, Love, and Toleration!" I imagine that they have a key-note speaker (someone chosen specifically to whip them up into a rabid franzy of toleration and love) saying these words: "We expect toleration of our beliefs from everyone! And, in return, we will tolerate everyone else AND their beliefs, no matter how diametrically opposed they are to our own, EXCEPT Christians and Conservatives. NOPE. Those people we shall scorn and ridicule and berate. Go Toleration!"

    I guess, in a certain sense, you could say that conservatives/Christians are less tolerant than other groups, but I think it is more an issue of not really understanding the whole picture:

a) Our motivations are different.  We don't really want to help the lazy to sit around always depending on the help of others. If it is just a matter of poor--and NOT lazy--that is a different matter all together. But poor AND lazy is just really not acceptable. There are many things which could be said to support this antipathy for the poor and lazy.   (If a man will not work, neither let him eat, etc.)

b) We're not hypocritical about it. We tell you from the beginning that we have a standard which is above earthly standards and that we strive to live by it. We hold OURSELVES to this standard, too. We're not 'high and mighty' as Hope (another student in class) accused us of yesterday. We're just doing what we think is the right thing to do. We're living here on this earth, on this 'vale of soul-making', trying to please our God and help each other.  How is that wrong? How is that the ugly thing Kate tried to make it? It isn't. I guess I just need to keep trying to understand the fact that some people just don't get it. Or--even better--if there was a way I could teach myself not to care about the ideas of people who don't understand what is really and truly and ULTIMATELY important about our world. But I don't think I have it in me not to care.