On the eve of General Convention a Prediction

A few interesting items have crossed my view making me think about ‘my side’ of some arguments now excessively current in both the society and my church.

Liberals tend to believe that the opposite of liberal is uneducated. This idea sees expression in the concentration of lefties in public education, the comments one reads by liberals about conservatives, and such amusing ideas as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Indaba and “kept them at the table” policy. “If only they understood and were educated {like I am} they would agree” is what, in one variant or another, one hears. One of the ultimate words of condemnation on the part of a liberal speaking about a conservative is: ignorant.

Conservatives perceive liberals think them stupid. Now stupid and ignorant are not exactly the same thing. But the conservative knows he knows what the liberal is saying. But for whatever reason, the conservative comes to different conclusions. So clearly (he thinks) when the liberal says ‘ignorant’ or ‘uneducated’ he must mean ‘stupid.’

This misassumption problem finds all sorts of unfortunate expression.

The archbishop foists Indaba on the church because if only we talk long enough the conservatives will finally ‘get it.’ Oh that is not the rhetoric; the official version is that we are ‘seeking common ground.’ But no one believes it. What is really going on is that the liberals are out to raise the conservatives to their level of understanding. Yes the liberal view is every bit as arrogant as it sounds.

One might when it is stated baldly, begin to understand why conservatives translate Indaba as, "liberals and conservatives talk forever while liberals take over all the authority and do whatever they want." One might also come to understand why people with legitimate university credentials are insulted.

If and it is, the great failure of conservative thought is beginning with the conclusion, the great failure of the liberal thought is the assumption that the processes and conclusions are inescapable.

So we have the interminable efforts on the left to get the conservatives to ‘understand.’ And we have the evolution of the conspiracy theory. Sometimes the link is amazingly clear. To wit:

The Anglican Consultative Council has received a substantial grant from the Satcher Institute to extend the “Indaba” into a “listening process.” Liberals see this as a good idea, "after all if we are still talking" (we say to any and all) "there is still opportunity for understanding." Conservatives see a conspiracy. They know the object is to educate them into liberals so they start looking for the conspirators. And they “find” them.

They trace various people in the organizational structures of the grant, and find some whose past conduct or statements they consider outrageous. Clearly, those people taint the money and their presence explains what is ‘really going on.’ Actually, what is going on is the liberal assumption – educate them and they will reach our clearly inescapable conclusions. It is really that simple but that does not make a good conspiracy. So of course, the conspiracy theorist finds other things, indoctrination, false information and lulling before the ‘strike’ are favorites.

It is likely that not much will come from the listening process or the general convention. Conservatives will continue to talk about ‘clarity’ while the liberals will continue to educate. Neither side will actually listen: nothing will be resolved.

FWIW