Thoughts of a Doubting Christian ✓

Political Negotiables vs Non-Negotiables

Often times, I get the impression that conservatives feel attacked because of their political label ("conservative") or party affiliation ("Republican"), instead of their beliefs. But most of the time, that isn't true. Just as there is a difference between a feminist and a misandrist, a man and a misogynist, or a Christian and a religious fundamentalist, there's a difference between someone who is politically conservative and someone who is a bigot.

Conservatives, here's a secret: I actually don't really care what you politically identify as, or even if you disagree with me on many things. That's totally fine.  There are many things that I consider "political negotiables" — if people hold beliefs on these "negotiables" that are different than mine, I could easily still be friends with them. It doesn't mean that I don't care about the issue necessarily, just that it isn't a non-negotiable, aka something that if someone disagreed with me, I'm not sure if we could be friends. So here's a sample of some of my negotiables vs non-negotiables, which may or may not surprise some of my readers:

Examples of Negotiables:

~ Abortion — while I personally think that abortion should be safe, legal, and available for all women (along with better, inclusive sex education and access to birth control, condoms, etc.), I understand why people would be anti-abortion (I take issue with the label "pro-life") and I don't judge them for it.

~ Death penalty — I don't support the death penalty, but I don't think someone is a bad person if they support it.

~ Economic policies — I know little to nothing about economics, business, or anything to do with money. So if people disagree with me on economic policies (e.g. minimum wage, government spending, taxes and tariffs, subsidies and pensions, welfare, etc.), I understand that the issues are rarely black-and-white, and that there are pros and cons to every policy.

~ Euthanasia — same as for the death penalty.

~ Foreign policy — just like economic policies, I know so little about how foreign relations work that I could never reject someone for disagreeing with me on a plethora of foreign policy issues (e.g. foreign aid, drones, military assistance or presence in different countries, etc.) I just don't know enough about them.

~ Governmental regulation — this is one of the few issues that I tend to lean conservative on. Too much governmental regulation (e.g. the PATRIOT Act, NSA domestic surveillance, social media regulation, etc.) makes me antsy. But as with everything, there are reasons for a whole host of stances, even if I disagree with some of them.

~ Gun control — I definitely support gun control, but people can disagree with me on this. It's a complex issue, and I understand where other sides are coming from.

~ Healthcare — there are some issues that I feel strongly about (e.g. universal healthcare, better mental health services, drug price regulation, legalization of marijuana, etc.) but even those I can agree to disagree with people on.

~ Planned Parenthood — I'm torn on whether or not I support government funding for Planned Parenthood or not, so people can support or not support it; I think there are reasonable people on both sides.

Examples of Non-negotiables:

~ Bigotry — racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia . . . I can't be friends with anyone who believes that one group of people is better than another based solely on something like race, gender, sexuality, or country of origin. Same goes for people who believe that racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry don't exist in today's America, or people who think that opposing homosexuality is different than being homophobic. That doesn't mean that I can't be nice to you. I can be civil. I can be friendly. I can talk to you and be polite and understand of your issues. But social equality, human rights, and compassion for my fellow humans are SO important to me. I can't handle people who live in a bubble, willfully ignorant of the unique daily struggles minorities face, and closed off to the atrocities of the world.

~ Same-sex marriage and adoption — as a queer woman, I can't hang out with or consider myself friends with someone who doesn't support basic legal marriage rights and adoption opportunities for queer couples. Sorry not sorry, I just can't. As I said above, I can be civil, friendly, polite, and understanding. I have family members who fall into this category, and it's not as if I've cut off contact with them. But if someone can't support or accept such an important part of my identity, I have no obligation to carve out a space in my life for them.

~ Science denial — the denial of basic facts in the face of mountains of scientific evidence is one of the few things I can't stand. This includes climate change deniers, evolution deniers, young-earth creationists, flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers, and anyone else who rejects established scientific truths. If you really don't trust thousands of scientists' lives' work and continue to blindly believe in things that the evidence doesn't support, what else are you blatantly ignoring?

What about you guys? What do you consider your political negotiables and non-negotiables?