The distinction between ‘partisanship’ and ‘politics’ intrigues me. I’m no political analyst, but here are a few inadequate thoughts of mine for the time being…
Partisanship seems more like law, and politics vibes more toward gospel.1
Partisanship is about in and out, us and them, etc. It’s about ideology.
The politic/politics is about the commons. It’s about how we live together and treat each other on the ground.
Are people being literally stepped on?
Are people robbing others blind?
Are people keeping other people away from what they need to live?
This is the politic.
Or maybe I should put it this way…
Partisanship is inward-facing. It’s about me and my affiliation. It has a strict set of purity laws and if I drift outside of those purity laws, I am outside the gates of that partisan identity.
We can be political in a partisan way and get tangled up in legalism, casting people and calling people out into outer darkness, smearing their names to show our allegiance, etc. This is toxic politics. But when it finds itself at the foot of the cross and it becomes revealed how limited it is (and how the only end of it is death and separation from God, self, and other), it can be softened and turned outward toward neighbor and creation in loving self-emptying service. This is authentic politics. Our identity is no longer found in our partisan allegiance. It’s found in Christ.
This is when we are freed of partisanship divides that keep us away from each other’s embrace. It’s based on interdependence rather than autonomy or purity. Authentic gospel politics is concerned with how others are doing and what they need rather than this (my) group’s rightness vs. their wrongness. We become outward-facing rather than posturing to perform an abstract partisan ideology.
I don’t think they’ll hire me at FOX or CNN, but hey… I hope this makes a little sense. Still a work in progress, but there you have it.
P.S. Give this song a listen. Jon Guerra is a solid Christian artist and this one is prophetic in our current cultural moment.
Hence why I am not a political analyst; pretty sure they wouldn’t let me slide with ‘vibes’ at Yale (though UC Santa Cruz just might).
I needed to read this! I've been contemplating my actions as I spar with the other side in the comments section of my local newspaper (online, of course, as i worked in the industry for 30 years). While it is seemingly so over the top and hypocritical, full of projection, I know my side isn't clean as well. I need to bow out of the comments section because it is not being neighborly (even though Jesus did let the Pharisees have it a time or five). Thanks also for the link to the song...it encapsulates the vibe here. Peace.