The Faith and Patriotism of the America Left

Photo by Shari Sirotnak on Unsplash

There's a common assertion about those of us who occupy some space in the political or religious Left by our critics across the aisle or the pew: We don't love America like they do.

The contention is that we have less respect for our Government, our troops, our national security than they have; that our religious convictions are less sincere and our spiritual journeys less valid.

Everything of ours is determined by them to be counterfeit by comparison.

Because of this, our resistance to their lawless cult leader,
our opposition to what we deem to be the malfeasance of his movement,
our pushback against its apparent disregard for the civil rights of marginalized communities,
our disgust at what we see as a distortion of the message of Jesus in the Church—
are all dismissed by them as evidence of our alleged rebellion against God and country.

With stunning regularity we're chastised: our volume is always too great, our protests always improper, our tactics always inappropriate, our timing always wrong, our values always immoral.

Fortunately they don't get to write our story for us. The facts burn up their fictions:

We American Progressives, Liberals, and Left-leaning Moderates love the things the Right incessantly claims to:

We love the Constitution enough to demand that it be available to everyone and honored by everyone, especially those in our highest levels of leadership. No one is exempt from accountability or beyond critique. Not even a Republican president.

We love the men and women who serve our country enough to insist that our leaders not be reckless or cavalier with their lives by irresponsibly inciting conflict in the world; by believing war should be our last resort, not our initial threat delivered in an impulsive, taunting, midnight social media post.

We love the liberty we enjoy here enough to be compassionate toward those who come here in fear and desperation; who brave all manner of hardship and loss to escape the kind of horrors we'll never know—the kind that people don't always have the luxury of waiting out.

We love the safety of our citizens enough to ensure that all are protected from harm; regardless of pigmentation, religious affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, income level; whether these lives are threatened by terrorism, assault weapons, poverty, pollution, or even those entrusted with protecting them.

We love family enough to fight for all of them; for those transcending traditional definitions, for every marriage defined by mutual love and commitment, for every home where children find protection and affection and belonging.

We love the freedoms forged into our nation from birth: of expression, religious affiliation, and personal autonomy, and we love them enough to demand that everyone has equal access to them without interference and without exception. 

And we who claim faith love and treasure it, because we have reached our beliefs through the same careful, prayerful journey that yielded those of Conservative Evangelicals. We have studied as thoroughly, listened as intently, and walked as faithful as they have. Our spirituality means as much to us as theirs does to them.

I'm tired of being told I don't care about my country or that I don't respect our laws or that I don't love God simply because I don't fit comfortably within their platforms or their pulpits.

I am primarily for people, and against bigotry, discrimination, and violence assailing them—wherever those things come from. I will oppose those injustices loudly, even if this places me in direct conflict with our past, current, or future President, our political leadership, or the American Church. This is what true liberty looks like.

We need to obliterate the myth that a political party or religious tradition has the market cornered on national pride and earnest faith.

My friends on the Right can disagree with me all they want. In fact, I welcome it. They can dispute my positions, challenge my conclusions, and tell me they don't like the expression of my love for this country—until Jesus comes back or FoxNews uses facts, whichever comes first.

But I refuse to abide them telling me that I don't love this country or that this love is somehow inferior to theirs, because that simply isn't true.

In fact, I love America enough not to let anyone else decide what patriotism looks like for me.

My voice, as much as their own, is the sound of freedom ringing.