I remember the moment when I realized that the real political struggle is not really between left and right ideologies. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was struggling over the issue of women’s reproductive rights and I suddenly realized that all the pro-life denominations also believe that women shouldn’t be leaders in the church. This is not to say there isn’t also a concern for life, but that concern also allowed men to maintain control over women’s lives. It was about power.
I began to see a pattern. Many of the issues I considered as fights between liberal ideas and conservative ones, were actually about who gets to have power. Supposedly unrelated issues like welfare reform, protecting Christmas, making it harder for minorities to vote, opposing gay marriage, and fighting a minimum wage all have one thing in common, they are also questions about who gets power and who doesn’t.
Learn to see this pattern and a thousand obscure political issues will be come crystal clear. The real dividing line in politics is not between left and right ideologies. The real dividing line is between who gets power and who doesn’t. Always has been, always will.