I’m a YouTube junkie. When I watch the current events videos for hours each day, I usually ignore the ones that are a day or more old because they are outdated.
I tend to gravitate to the ones that are less than an hour, or at most five hours old. In other words, news and information that is “old” is not as valid as the most recent.
I’m also a social studies teacher with a master’s in history who values the past. I have studied ancient history and have read many of the classics: Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian of first century Palestine, and Aristotle, the Greek political philosopher who wrote about the principles of democracy. I have a degree in Christian theology, so I deeply value the Bible as an ancient source of authority and guidance in the present.
In ancient times, the older something was, the more valuable it was. Something that endures for thousands of years does so because it has a certain value that has stood the test of time.
This conflict between the old and the new revolves around one’s source of authority. The desire to “Make America Great Again” reflects an attitude on the part of conservatives who believe there was a largely undefined time in the past where America was superior to all other nations.
For most conservatives, it was the time after World War II where the U.S. was the major superpower that possessed nuclear weapons and had defeated, with Allied help, the Germans, the Italians, and Japanese empires. It was a time of prosperity and economic growth for white Americans.
The queer community and minorities then were considered as either deviant or inferior to white culture and dominance. A women’s place was in the home as wives and mothers. Women were taught to be submissive to their husbands. Husbands were to be the main breadwinners who supported and protected their families. This nostalgia for the past is what most conservative Americans cling to.
Progressive views toward LGBTQ, race, gender, and ethnicity reflect and emphasize a more forward-looking future. The teachings of the Bible have been largely rejected as ancient, outdated, and harmful. Women claim the right to be treated as men’s equals. .
Left-leaning progressives demand that the LGBTQ community be treated as normal healthy human beings. If conservatives disagree, then they’re bigots, ignorant, and homophobic. As our current governor stated: Conservative Christians have the right to believe what they want, but they don’t have the right to act on what they believe (or to disagree with progressives).
By now you should be able to see where you fall on the spectrum between those who look to the future and those who hold to values of the past. If you’re like most people you see that you hold beliefs that cross over, depending on your upbringing, education, and geographic location.
Conservatives tend to mass in rural areas closer to nature, with its unchanging rhythms and where religious and racial diversity are rare. Most progressives live in cities where diversity is common and change is constant—buildings exist, only to be torn down. Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and many races congregate in urban areas.
So, who is correct? What’s the answer?
Should we look to the future and ignore the past as outdated, or should we hold to the past with its time-tested values and attitudes? My answer is that “It depends”. Wisdom and discernment come when we value both perspectives— to live in the Goldilocks Zone between the extremes.
King Solomon advised his readers to “avoid extremes”. Socrates and Buddha taught us to follow the “Golden Mean” and the “Middle Way”. The Daoists teach us to live in the tension of “Yin and Yang”.
Follow your own lights, and benefit or suffer the consequences of your decisions. Just remember that the more certain you are, the more insecure you are likely to be.
(“Let him/ her/they who think he stands, take heed lest he fall.”)
