politics

I’ll admit, my initial reaction when I realized that I would need to write about the second anniversary of the Capitol riots was somewhere between “not this again” and “I just don’t care.” That’s not to say that the breach of the Capitol lacked significance or was in any way an appropriate or moral response to the 2020 election. The truth is that most Americans think what happened that day was wrong, but far fewer think it is worth continuing to dwell on or investigate going forward. So, if that’s the case, why am I writing about it today?

In short, it’s because it provides a good opportunity to think about a larger cultural question that continues to impact all of us, regardless of our political affiliation: Why is it that we so often feel the urge to push views to the extreme?

The House of Representatives failed to elect a House speaker for the second day and adjourned without a decision.

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions for myself a few years ago. I found them to be pointless goals that I was not going to chase just because the calendar flipped. Instead, I use the New Year to examine my weekly rhythms and routines to see what I need to change.

My personal disavowal of New Year’s resolutions does not extend to other people. No public figures are coming to me for advice, but if they were, these are the New Year’s resolutions I would recommend.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his sixth term in office in Israel this week.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered pandemic-era restrictions at the border to remain in place.

If this leaked draft opinion overturning Roe is indeed reflective of what the final decision will be, then we must do two things. First, we must thank God that this decades-long legal nightmare is over. Our efforts to protect babies and care for vulnerable women will no longer be pre-empted by an evil masquerading as an invented “right.” Second, the Court has done its job. It cannot do our job. State legislatures now have very important jobs to do, but they cannot do the jobs that we are called to: to speak the truth in love and to create a culture of life and care.

Our secularized culture is making the mistake of celebrating Christmas while ignoring Christ. So will we unless we take intentional steps every day to focus on the miracle in the midst of the mundane.

Celebrity culture is at odds with Christianity. The Christian Gospel goes forward and bears fruit, not when it is espoused by the talented and the beautiful, but when ordinary and faithful men and women commit their lives to Jesus. Celebrities need to hear the Gospel and believe, but the Christian church does not need its large platforms or influence to thrive. The Christian church thrives on weakness and endurance. It bears fruit through faithful witness over the long haul. It is not thrilling or exciting by the world’s standards, but it changes lives and brings glory to God.

By linking opposition to the Respect for Marriage Act to (rightly) ostracized ideas like racism, advocates, like the president, are setting the stage for leveraging hate crime legislation and other cultural tools to criminalize dissent. For those who assured us otherwise, this is a step beyond what Obergefell v. Hodges imposed. In that opinion, Justice Kennedy assured us that good people could disagree. On Tuesday, the president assured us that no good person could disagree.

A poll released Wednesday from USA TODAY/Suffolk University suggests that most conservatives would rather vote for someone other than Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee in 2024 despite wanting the former President's policies.