A Complicated Ideology

Politically and culturally my worldview is complex, nuanced, and sometimes contradictory. I am a mixture of: conservative Culture Warrior (at least 40%); residual old-school (pre-1965) political liberal (20% or less); First Things Neo-con (20%); and "smallist-anarchist" in the tradition of subsidiarity (strong 20%). Cultural Warrior: The defining global drama of my lifetime has been the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and the global, imperial Cultural Liberalism that resulted. And so my entire adult political life is formed by defense of innocent, powerless human life, of sexuality (spousality, paternity/maternity, family) as sacred, of tradition-authority-and the Holy. Secondly, I remain in part Political Liberal in the image of my union organizer father and the hayday of Catholic liberalism (1945-65) in its defense of the worker, the the civil rights of blacks and farmworkers and all the underpriviled. Thirdly, in my adulthood I became a Neo-Conservative in my support for the free market economy, democracy, rule of law and constitution, and civil rights as less than perfect but so far superior to the alternatives available. This entails an aversion to isolationaism and libertarianism and endorsement of a strenuous American global presence to countervail Communism now resurgent in China. Lastly, as a >Smallist-Subsidarist-Anarchist I harbor a suspicion of "gigantism" in government and industry both and a preference for the little, the immediate, the concrete. Influences in this regard include: Ivan Illich, Schumacher, Ellul, Berry and the Communio school of the Schindlers-Hanby and some of Dorothy Day and Rod Dreher. I am no utopian but I am keenly aware of the negativities (without denying the positivities) of inhuman biggness, meritocracy, bureaucracy, technocracy and the entire culture of scientistic control. I am vigilant in care of my own soul, as well as family, Church and intermediate communities, as mega-corporations and the expansive state grow cancerously and devour immediate communities of all sorts to leave the individual isolated, unrooted and vulnerable. This strange mix leaves me ambivalent about our national politics. It leaves me free to embrace what is good in the different policies. It leaves me skeptical about both parties and without a real political home. It is firmly rooted in my Catholic faith and enhances my sense restlessness in my journey to heaven. It allows me to participate energetically in our ambiguous culture even as I detach in love. It focuses my energy to my Church and family and immediate communities organically connected to them and liberates me from over-dependence on the mother-state as well as smothering global capitalism. My most profound and passionate aspiration is that my children and their children and others around me carry forward this vision of life.